Use a scavenger hunt as a way to reinforce color recognition. Hide a variety of items around a room that are of a specific color; blue, for example. Provide players with bags and on your mark, send them off to search for, and collect, as many blue items as they can find. At the end of an allotted period of time, blow a whistle, ring a bell or call that time is up in some way. Invite players to gather in a meeting area and count the total number of objects each player collected (if an object is not blue, it does not count). The player who collected the most items wins the game.
Build phonemic awareness with this non-competitive scavenger hunt idea. Hide items around the playing area that begin with different letter sounds. Divide the group into pairs or small teams and provide each pair or team with a letter. Instruct the players to search for, and collect, the items that begin with the letter they have been assigned. For example, a group assigned the "M" may find magnets, magazines and marbles. At the end of a time period, indicate that the hunt is over. Invite players to share the items they have found, helping to foster recognition of the sounds different letters make in all players.
Put players' knowledge of history to the test with this scavenger hunt idea. Place pictures around the playing area that illustrate important historical people or events. Write a list of the people or events, divide players into teams and provide each team with a list and a pencil. Teams must search for the items on the list and upon finding them, write down the location where the items are located. For example, if a picture of Thomas Jefferson is hanging along the side of a filing cabinet, players should write, "filing cabinet" on their lists. The first team to correctly complete the list wins the game.
This non-competitive scavenger hunt illustrates how often math is used in daily life. Write up a list of questions for players; for example, "Name a place where you used or saw addition being used," "State a reason why knowing percentages are important" and "When would knowledge of fractions come in handy?" Distribute the lists to players and instruct them to take the lists with them as the venture to the store, the library or while doing activities in the home and prompt them to fill in the lists. The next day, have them share the answers they have generated with one another.