Activities for Older Kiddos - The Treasure Hunt

1. You often play this at home and get hurt. (Tether Ball)
2. If you go on a picnic, you usually sit on one of these. (Picnic Table)
3. Take a walk on the path towards Taco Johns. Go on a grassy path. Find a cool, soothing place to sit and listen to the creek. (Rock by the Creek)
4.  What is green and clean and runs all over? (My Tahoe!!! They had just washed it)
5. Hangman! Clue - You like to go here! Yeah! You Won! (Culvers for ice cream.)

At the beginning of the summer, I planned to go on a field trip/planned activity every week during the summer. My kids are 11 and 13...it's a little different now than it used to be! While they still enjoy playing at a park, it doesn't have quite the excitement that it used to.

My daughter came up with this idea. A Treasure Hunt! She wanted me to hide a bunch of food all over the park, then we'd eat the food on our picnic. I couldn't quite figure out how to do that with so many people that use the park as well as the dogs that pee all over the park :-)

Instead of hiding food, I wrote up clues on an index note card. This was a HUGE hit! I dropped them off at one park and had them walk to the other park that is nearby giving me time to hide the clues.

This week we're heading to the "city", 50,000 people, but it's a big city for us now that we live in a town of 10,000 people. We're going to Dinosaur Park as well as going on a jewelry tour. I have to go to the mall (which they are excited about - not sure why they have NO money!) and then I will be going to a food co-op and Sam's Club.  It'll be a nice day to hang out together. We don't have to be home by any certain time so hopefully it'll be a relaxing day as well.

It doesn't take a lot of money to excite my kids, just a little bit of planning. I could have packed some strawberries and blueberries instead of going out for ice cream. Our frugal fun cost $4.00 plus we got 3 tokens for free ice cream cones (they were having an open house).

Check out Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom for more frugal tips! We are THAT Family has wonderful tips too!