Organize scavenger hunts by first making up a list of items to find. Writing a clue about each item on an index or clue card makes it more fun in that children have to figure out the clue and then find the item. Clues should be simple, such as "I am green and have four leaves" for a four-leaf clover. Place each clue card into a Ziploc bag, place all of the Ziploc bags into a basket and let each child pick a few. Armed with the Ziploc bags, each child with help from teachers and staff sets off to first figure out the clue and find the item. Adults should help the children to figure out the clues on the cards. When the child finds the item, he places it in the bag and takes it home to show his parents. This activity gives a sense of adventure and fun.
Scavenger-hunt books are made with folded and stapled construction papers in colors that suit St. Patrick's Day. After the children have discussed the holiday and read stories about the key items and their meaning, the children draw pictures of the items as pages for their scavenger-hunt book. Once the books are created, the children take them home to show their parents. Then, either over a week or a weekend, the children find the items and take pictures of them with their parents. They bring the pictures in to share with their class. This is a great holiday activity that encourages exploration and creativity. This exercises also takes work from the classroom and continues it at home with the family.
This activity involves creating a list of objects related to St. Patrick's Day. The children decorate holiday bags to carry their found objects in. Teachers and staff go out ahead of time and hide items around the playground. There should be enough items for each child to find something on the treasure-hunt list. Every child does not have to find every item on the list. Parents can also be invited on the day of the hunt to help children find and collect items. Items should be available outside on the playground and also should be planted by teachers. Typical items include a shamrock, coins, leprechaun doll, hat, pot and foam rainbow. On the day of the hunt, the children, parents and teachers go out and search the playground for objects from the list. Objects are placed into the decorated bag for the children to take home and talk about with their parents. Children are encouraged to look around their own homes and neighborhoods for similar objects to place into the bag.
This activity needs a digital camera. Children are given a list of objects related to the holiday. On the day of the scavenger hunt, children with help from teachers search for items on the list and take pictures. Once the pictures are printed, the children decorate scrapbook pages with each picture as a page.