Growing up, my mom ALWAYS had something fun for us on Valentine’s Day. We would wake up and find candy, toys, and/or the latest cassette tape (yes, cassette tape… not CD or Spotify gift card) on our breakfast plate. The lasting memories I have from these cute little gifts convinced me to do something fun for my little ones! See, Mom? I’m paying it forward!
I decided on making a simple, cute scavenger hunt that is easy enough for a 2-year-old, but fun enough for a 30-year-old (however, you might have to change the gifts!)
WHAT YOU NEED:
-Scrapbook paper, card stock, or construction paper
-Scissors
-Pencil
-Marker
-Tape
-Heart template
-10 little gifts
-optional: ribbon
-optional: hole punch
HOW TO MAKE IT:
1) Trace your heart template onto your pretty paper and cut it out. (Here is a heart template from Parents.com. They will ask you to sign in or sign up to download it. If you don’t want to do that, just search “heart template”, and you should be able to find ones that will work just fine.)
2) Write the numbers 1-10 on your hearts.
*Optional: poke holes around your heart and thread ribbon through to add a decorative accent and an option for hanging!
3) Hide each one of your small gifts. After hiding a gift, write a clue on the back of a heart so your hunter can find the gift. The clue’s difficulty should vary based on the ability of the hunter.
4) When all clues are written, hang your hearts all over a common area (Scotch Tape or hanging on knobs or corners works fine). You can make them as noticeable (or not) as you want.
HOW TO PLAY: It’s time to hunt! Give as much or as little help as you need to get your little one to find each heart in succession and to follow the clues to each gift. Here are some pictures from Cora’s hunt!
LEARNING BENEFITS:
–Numbers! Call out a number and have your child find the heart with the corresponding number.
–Colors! Call out a color (if your child knows those better than numbers), and have your child find the heart with that color on it.
–Reading! If your child can read, have them read the clue on the back of the heart.
–Problem solving! Can your child find the gift based on the clue? They just solved a problem!
–Restraint! Can your child put each toy aside so they can focus on the task of finding the next gift? 😉
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