St. Patrick’s Day Treasure Hunt
This St. Patrick’s Day Treasure Hunt is sure to be a hit with everyone, with siblings or on playdates!
I can’t say enough about how much children love making crafts for St. Patrick’s Day. All of the sparkly, glittery fun is appealing to all ages.
Here is a craft that is both cheap and interactive, that’s sure to be a great hit with any age group. I love the process of this! It keeps children busy in so many ways by providing outdoor fun, arts and crafts time, and then a fun game at the end…the perfect balance and sure to keep even the busiest child’s attention span! Leprechauns hide the rocks all over the garden (or house if it’s a wet day) and whoever finds the special “glitter rock” is the winner!
What you will need:
- Rocks (all shapes and sizes, big and small, pebbles are great for this!)
- Gold Paint
- Paint Brush
- Gold glitter for the special rock
- Sticky alphabet letters (optional)
- Glue
Step One: Rock Collecting
Get outdoors! Bring the children outside for a nature walk. There are so many places in Ireland to go out and collect rocks—beaches, farm lanes, or around the back garden! Allow the children to choose their own rocks of all shapes and sizes!
Step Two: Wash the Rocks
Best to get all of the dirt off so you can prep them for painting! This works as great sensory play for toddlers, while giving them a sense of responsibility as well.
Step Three: Ready, Set, Paint!
Gather all of your painting materials and have the children paint them with the gold paint. Remember to reserve one of the rocks as the “special gold rock”, use your paintbrush to spread the glue all over the rock, then place your glitter onto a paper plate or newspaper and roll around in the glitter. Let all your rocks dry.
Step Four: (Optional)
After your rocks have dried, feel free to use your sticky alphabet letters to put St. Patrick’s Day themed messages on them, such as Luck, or whatever you wish!
Step Five: Get Ready for your Treasure Hunt!
Have the children go into another room so that you can hide all of the rocks in the back garden. I use scarves as blindfolds, it just adds yet another element of fun for the children! Hide them in trees under bushes, anywhere cheeky leprechauns would be hiding them!
Step Six: Let the Fun Begin!
Whoever finds the lucky “glitter rock” wins! Children love scavenging, it piques their curiosity as well as gives them a sense of achievement.
Nanny Tip: You can change the game up yourself to keep children occupied for even longer, let the children take turns hiding them. For older children, you can even add special messages on the rocks to lead them to the next clue! Now get Scavenging!
Have fun with this activity and we recommend adult supervision at all times.
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