Easy Treasure Hunt For Kids Who Can’t Read Clues

Inside: How do you make a good treasure hunt for kids who can’t read clues? Use a photo treasure hunt! Use our indoor and outdoor treasure hunts specifically made for toddlers and preschoolers who can’t read clues.

Today we have a fun treasure hunt activity for kids.

Here is the rest of the schedule in case you want to check out the other activities:

• Day 1: Fall Scavenger Hunt- Colors (Gross motor skill for outdoor play)
• Day 2: Spooky Costume Party- Alphabets (Craft for a rainy day) 
• Day 3: Playdough- Apple Life Cycle (STEM Sensory play for indoor play)
• Day 4: Treasure Hunt- Position Words (Spatial skills for outdoor/indoor play)
• Day 5: Color to Find- Numbers (Art for independent/quiet time)

Now, back to how to make a treasure hunt for a toddler, preschooler, or kindergarten child who can’t read clues?

This week I created a picture treasure hunt for kids.

But I also added learning into it. I combined position words I wanted him to learn and because I knew we would play this more than once, this was a perfect game to revise this concept.

Materials Required:

• Scissors
• Clue cards (download ours using the yellow button above)
• Treasure (ideas given below)
• An indoor or outdoor location that has the spots shown in the printables.
• A separate intro to the position words given in the clue cards so they recognize and understand the words during the game

How Do You Make A Treasure Hunt For Kids?

1. Simply download the printable by clicking the yellow above at the beginning of this page and filling the signup form.

2. Print the game you want to play now on a card stock.

3. Then cut out the cards.

You will also need a treasure that you have to hide at the last spot. You don’t need to make it very difficult. Just something simple that is special for your child.

Here are a few material and non material treasure ideas:

• Special coupons
• Their favorite food
• a card
• A special service or favor from mommy
• Their favorite activity (that you usually don’t allow, e.g. slime for us)
• Favorite movie/Earning extra screen time
• (A toy that was long due) just saying, you will know better. =).
• etc…

4. Place all cards, except the first one, in their proper places according to the clue spots on the cards.

How Do You Play Treasure Hunt With Little Kids?

First, explain the game to your player(s) and set any rules to simplify or make it difficult depending on your child.

Your child will get the first card from you and they have to recognize the position word and go to the spot in the picture and look for the position mentioned on the clue card (e.g. left, right, under…).

On that next spot, they will find the next clue card with an image of the next spot + the position.

They have to follow each card until they reach their treasure.

It will help if the child has already been made familiar with the following position words:

• On
• Under
• In front of
• Behind
• Left
• Right

This way, the game serves as a learning revision too!

How To Reuse This Treasure Hunt Game For A Bigger Game

I had the perfect idea for reusing these picture clues.

If you are using our printable clue cards, which you can download below, you know that there are two treasure hunt games for kids.

• An outdoor treasure hunt
• An indoor treasure hunt

You can simply combine the 2 set of clue cards to make it into one longer treasure hunt.

Just paste number stickers on the cards where numbers are already printed. Then you can set the entire game in the order you like.

It would be so much fun seeing kids run in and out the house looking for the next card.

If you play this game, let me know how it goes.