Abi, from Leicestershire, created a treasure hunt for her son, Isaac Let’s take a look at it…
What did you do?
Isaac is currently obsessed with maps, both on paper and digital (Google Maps) and loves pretending to drive along the roads either with his toy cars or using Street View.
We had the idea during the week to create a treasure island for Isaac, so set about designing a map and writing clues, and then on the following Saturday we would do the treasure hunt around the house.
We also made signs for different rooms around the house, based on different checkpoints on the map and hid the clues in the rooms. Each clue led to the following room. For example, one of the checkpoints on the map was Bathtub Bay, so we stuck on a ‘Bathtub Bay’ sign on the bathroom door and then hid the clue in the bath.
On the day of the hunt, we planted the map and first clue in Isaac’s bedroom and sent Isaac to tidy his room and therefore find the map. I went in to help him tidy and guide towards the map if he needed it (and keep him in there whilst my partner Dale set up the rest of the clues!)
We bought a small Lego toy for Isaac’s treasure and wrapped it up in gold paper, hid it and placed an X on top for ‘X marks the spot’
It took Isaac about 20 minutes to complete the treasure hunt and find his treasure. He says it was great fun and he really enjoyed himself (and so did we!)
Overall, the treasure hunt was a success and there were no major issues. The only thing was that we were planning to use the garden as well but as it was raining on the day we had to adapt and use a different room.
If we were to do the activity again, we would maybe try to make it last a bit longer by having mini games instead of just clues. We could also create an obstacle course in the garden for Isaac to do in order to get the clue.
Do you have any other projects planned?
We may start gardening next as Isaac loves to do that with his Nanny K and Grumps (when he can visit them anyway!) They have also given him his very own blackcurrant bush for him to look after and pick the blackcurrant when they’re ripe, then send back to Nanny K to make into jam!
A couple of other things we have done with Isaac is baking cakes and bread, and drawing, writing and sending cards to his grandparents, which he also loved doing.
Tell the Housebound With Kids community a bit about yourself…
I’m Abi, aged 25 and live in Leicestershire, UK with my partner Dale, aged 28 and our 5 year old Isaac.
How are you finding being housebound so far?
Generally, lockdown hasn’t been too bad for us. We’ve had a couple of wobbles but on the whole the time has been kind to us.
Dale and I are both key workers so we have still been working and Isaac has still been going to school throughout this time, so we have still had some sort of routine in place, albeit different to the normal.
We’re all outdoors people so found not being able to go to places for walks or picnics difficult at first, but we’ve since had picnics in the garden instead. It was also tough not being able to see our friends or family, but video chats and quizzes or games of Uno over Zoom have been a great way to stay in touch.
Do you have any tips for other parents?
Try to relax, this is a difficult time for everyone and children pick up on stress as much as adults.
Don’t be one of those parents that limits fun and games until work is done, the more you force the work onto your child, the less they’ll want to do it.
Has being part of our community helped you?
It has given me ideas for creative fun that we can do at home ourselves.
