Getting Real With Wanda Morrissey
This was an idea that I had in my head for awhile. I was saving it for a rainy day and I finally got my chance. I put together a treasure hunt for my 3 year old. His current favourite show is Jake and the Neverland Pirates and because of it he’s into all things pirate. I thought a treasure hunt is something he’d really enjoy. I wasn’t wrong.
I drew a rough layout of our apartment with the starting point in the kitchen and the end point in his bedroom – the map. On the map I drew a path to be followed as well as numbered stations for him to stop at along the way. At each station he had to look for a challenge card and complete that challenge before he moved on. I kept the challenges simple for him; things like count to 10 and find something shaped like a circle. I rolled up the map and tied it with a piece of ribbon.
After his nap, I snuck the treasure into his bedroom – a paper treasure chest filled with gold doubloons (foiled covered chocolate coins). I called him to the kitchen gave him the map and off we went on our treasure hunt. He loved every second of it. He proudly carried the map, trying to figure out where the next challenge was hidden (I’m not much of an artist). He shouted with excitement when he found a challenge and hurried through it so he could find the next. I think finding a treasure chest sitting in the middle of his bed was the biggest thrill of his life. We had to hide the treasure again so Captain Hook wouldn’t find it.
This is going on my redo list. But next time I’m going to need a better map and new challenges.
