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The Inspired Treehouse

Growing healthy bodies and minds through play!

Sensory Motor Outdoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids

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This sensory motor outdoor scavenger hunt for kids is the perfect way to explore the senses and the outdoors!

The Inspired Treehouse - This outdoor sensory motor scavenger hunt for kids is the perfect way to explore the sense and the outdoors! this …

One of my favorite memories from childhood is going out on walks with my mom, collecting leaves, sticks, and other bits of nature along the way and then assembling it all into a “nature collage” when we got home.

As a pediatric therapists, we like to put a different spin on activities for kids like this one, creating new ways to target skills that are important for child development.  Today, we’ll take the traditional outdoor scavenger hunt for kids to a whole new level!

This Sensory Motor Outdoor Scavenger Hunt will get kids moving, touching, listening, noticing, and interacting with the outdoors in a totally different way!  It’s a great way to show kids how to explore many of their sensory systems at once!

It’s also awesome to try inside on a rainy or snowy day!

What you’ll need:

-Outdoor Sensory Motor Scavenger Hunt Printable (fill out the form below with your first name and email address)

-pencils or crayons

 

What to do:

Scroll down and fill out the form to download and print the outdoor scavenger hunt list, round up your little ones, and head outside!  Give everyone a pencil or crayon to bring along so they can mark off the things they have found.

The kids will notice right away that this isn’t just any old scavenger hunt.  Rather than just finding and collecting items on a list, they’ll have to find the listed objects and perform a variety of gross motor tasks.

They’ll use all of their senses, looking, touching, and maybe even getting a little messy along the way.  Who will be the first one to find everything on the list?

How to change it up:

-Make it a photo scavenger hunt!  Take a picture of your child performing each activity and pictures of each of the items they found to complete the list.

-Make it a team effort – have two groups competing against each other to find everything on the list!

-Too windy or rainy to make it an outdoor scavenger hunt?  No problem!  Try this same scavenger hunt in the classroom or around the school building or around the house!  But definitely give it a try outside in the snow during the winter months!

For Virtual Sessions:

Simply print the downloadable PDF or pull it up  on screen share and have the child find items around their house to fit the different descriptions.  Have them bring the item to you to show you and complete the action for you to see.  Or encourage them to move away from the screen with their caregiver to find the different objects and complete the actions in different parts of the house, returning to the screen for their next instruction.

Skill Areas Addressed:

Gross motor skills, coordination, balance, motor control, sensory integration, proprioception, visual motor integration, visual perceptual skills

Did you like this scavenger hunt?  Check out the whole Printable Sensory Motor Scavenger Hunt Pack!  This great little activity pack has scavenger hunts for looking, listening, feeling, and moving!

The Inspired Treehouse - Sensory Motor Scavenger Hunts for Kids

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The Inspired Treehouse - This outdoor sensory motor scavenger hunt for kids is the perfect way to explore the sense and the outdoors!

 

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Claire Heffron

Claire Heffron is co-author at The Inspired Treehouse and a pediatric occupational therapist in a preschool/primary school setting. She began her career with a bachelor's degree in magazine journalism but quickly changed course to pursue graduate studies in occupational therapy. She has been practicing therapy for 10 years in public and specialized preschool/primary school settings. She is a mom to three funny, noisy boys and relies on yoga, good food, and time outside to bring her back to center.
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Comments

  2. Heather says

    What a fun idea. I just printed my list to do this with the kiddos this summer. I’m stopping by from Share day on FB @ Fun at Home with Kids. New follower :)

    • admin says

      Hi Heather! Thanks so much for stopping by! :) Hope you guys have fun with the scavenger hunt – my boys LOVED it! Glad to find out about Krafts and Kiddos! We’ll be following you too!

  3. Linda says

    What a great idea – we love scavenger hunts and this is a fresh take. Just printed my copy and shared on FB!

    • admin says

      Hi Elise! We’re so glad you liked the Sensory Motor Scavenger Hunt! Our kids had a blast with it – we hope yours do to! :) Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

  5. Beth Crawford says

    I am a mom with an almost 6 year old with SPD, always looking for new resources.

    Thank you!!

  8. Krystal says

    Thanks so much for this great idea! My son’s birthday party is this weekend and he is a SPD kiddo, so he LOVES anything sensory! I am printing out your printable today (thanks for that, too!) so the kids can play this game.

    • inspiredtree says

      Hi Krystal! Thanks so much! So happy this activity will come in handy for you! Let us know how it goes at the birthday party! We’d love to see pics – share them on our Facebook page! :)

  10. yify says

    I just finished watching this great video and found so many creative tips and ideas on design. Thanks for sharing that was a great idea.

  11. Joyce says

    Thank you! I am an SLP and find these so useful and so conducive for language experiences and enrichment ov vocabulary! Thank you so much!

  12. Nedra Schofield says

    Hi,

    We recently did your sensory motor scavenger hunt. I’d like to do the others that you talked about in your post but when I click on the link it only gives me your clinical document? I have an autistic son and think these scavenger hunts would be great for him and our family.

  13. Allison says

    I love this! I just purchased the scavenger hunt pack. So valuable! Is there any chance of the formatting of the pack for sale being updated to the freebie hunt’s beautiful design? Thank you

  15. Holly says

    Just did this today with my three kids at a park. We had so much fun! Thanks for the fantastic idea and printable. We usually do “squirrel, feather, flying insect, etc.” scavenger hunts, and this was a delightful change. “Can be balanced on your head” was the funniest.

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