Hunts for all ages
Hunting has perennial appeal. Adult versions include bird watching, word puzzles, hunting for solutions to actual world problems, and of course game hunting or fishing. Kid versions can mirror the adult ones, and they also include time-honored games that are easy to set up and adaptable (sometimes with technology) for toddlers through teens. Here are a few ideas:
Create and hide
Our preschool-age grandchildren love a game they came up with after hunting for Easter eggs. They get me to cut out dozens of paper eggs in varying sizes (12 to a sheet, even smaller, a few big), then they decorate them simply or elaborately with magic markers. Finally, they use masking tape to hide the eggs all over—on walls, under beds, in drawers. (Note to the careful: Our grandkids have been respectful of where masking tape is allowed and where it isn’t. Not on the new paint, yes on wood or glass, etc.) They have used the same idea to hide paper ghosts. Maybe your grandchild would prefer Valentine’s hearts, or spaceships, or…who knows? For this game, anyone can be in the role of finder, including the child who did the hiding!
Hide-and-seek
Classic hide and seek https://www.britannica.com/topic/hide-and-seek-game (you remember! I close my eyes and count to 100, you hide, I try to find you) is most fun with a bunch of kids. But a grandparent and a grandchild or two can have a lot of fun with it. With the young kids, part of the grandparent’s job is to pretend that finding the kids is hard. With all kids, especially outside, don’t forget boundaries to mark the hiding area, because sometimes finding the kids is hard. (And then it’s scary.)
Scavenger hunts
At least in our area (Minneapolis), scavenger hunts are a staple of public parks and libraries. The hunts make a great way for the grandkids and me to explore and enjoy the surroundings. Library scavenger hunts tend to lead through the stacks of children’s books, where the child or I might happen on an interesting volume. The Eloise Butler wildflower garden’s scavenger hunt got the children and me looking for different colors (pink, white, orange)—I helped the grandkids notice white and pink(ish) spring ephemerals, they spotted a fellow visitor’s orange jacket. Our local park’s scavenger hunt led the kids and me through the playground equipment and building. Even in a territory very familiar to us, the hunt required noticing new details. Of course, the kids also delight in the prizes they win for finishing—stickers at the library; stickers, patches, or seeds at the wildflower garden; and candy at the park.
For older kids
• Scavenger hunts are adaptable. While the hunts I just described are best for the younger set, maybe ages 4 to 9, older kids can get interested if there is enough challenge and good enough prizes. Even grownups! Three grown-up examples that I hope can give you ideas to adapt to your particular grandchild: We visited New York City on “Macaron Day,” and made a day of traveling from bakery to bakery to sample the wares—and tour the city. On one visit to Edinburgh we explored by scoping out all the Hume sites—the Portrait https://www.nationalgalleries.org/visit/scottish-national-portrait-gallery, the Old Calton Burial Ground https://www.edinburghexpert.com/blog/edinburghs-graveyards-old-calton-burial-ground, statue on the Royal Mile, https://www.edinburghexpert.com/blog/edinburghs-local-heroes-philosopher-david-hume, etc. Another Edinburgh example: visiting the real places where Ian Rankin’s https://www.ianrankin.net fictional character Detective Inspector John Rebus hangs out. The trick to your grandchild’s having fun with a hunt like this is, of course, that the hunt be for something they actually are interested in—preferably passionate about. And that they get a large say in planning and executing it.
• Older kids can also have fun designing hunts for the younger ones. Hopefully also helping the little ones out if the hunt they plan turns out too diabolical!
• More independence is going to appeal to a lot of tweens and teens, though. PokemonGo https://pokemongolive.com is a scavenger hunt variation kids 9 and up can enjoy (get their parents’ permission to encourage this phone use, of course!). It’s a GPS-based app you use walking around the “real world.” It periodically presents a character, which you capture using Poke Balls, also collected as you walk around. Walking around with you is the idea, but with something to keep the tween or teen engaged, and to give you an in to talking with them, too.
• GeoCaching https://www.geocaching.com/play is another hunt variant that is fun for all ages. In GeoCaching, you use your phone or a GPS unit to follow directions to a cache. Geocaches are probably right in your neighborhood, and also far-flung—in 190 countries, the website says. Some caches have prizes that you trade out, so bring a trinket or two to leave behind. Not all GeoCaching is prize-based, though. I’m excited to try the EarthCache https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/GSA/fieldexp/EarthCache/home.aspx variation, in which you find and learn about geological features. I can let you know whether the grandkids care to join in my fun!