Treasure Hunt for a Five-Year Old

Ben's birthday was last week and today we invited five of his buddies over for an ice cream social. Frankly, I was a bit worried about how to fill the time since it takes a kiddo 30 seconds to eat a slice of pizza and polish off a juice box. Coming up with January (indoor) party ideas was making me anxious.

Eventually I decided that a treasure hunt was the best way to entertain the hordes. I spread the goodies out over all three floors; the most challenging part was coming up with the clues (and hoping that the kids could figure them out). We also decided to add in an ice cream sundae component to the party since our kitchen is still being rebuilt and I didn't have an oven to bake a cake. Ice cream is easy.


When the kids arrived they were ushered over to the table where they decorated white goodie bags with their name and some pirate stickers.

And then I unrolled a scroll and read the following:


Oh No! Terrible News!

The evil pirate Captain Hook as STOLEN all the candy toppings for our ice cream sundaes. It is up to you guys to rescue the treasure. Can you help us?!

Ok Mateys, here are the instructions for the treasure hunt:
-There are CLUES (I held up the first envelope) with riddles, that you must solve that will tell you the location of the NEXT CLUE. 
-Along the way, you might find pieces of pirate treasure. There is ONE piece for every kid. 
-Once you find a clue, bring it to me and I'll read it out loud. 
-At the very end you'll find the buried treasure and only then can we have our ice cream sundaes. 

And then I gave them a practice riddle:

If I had 3 legs I wouldn't be stable
I'm where you eat breakfast
I am a __________(table)

There were a lot of puzzled faces. Then Ben shouted out "BOBCAT!!!" Wtf? Oh dear, I thought, this is going to be a disaster. But I read it again, more slowly, and they guessed the right answer. That seemed to give them confidence and we moved onto the real deal.

Here was the first clue:

Clue #1:
Lots of water and soapy bubbles,
To scrub off the grub,
take a look in the_____(tub!)

In the bathtub was a package with cool pens (pirate treasure) and another clue. The kids brought both down and I picked a kid to distribute one piece of treasure to each child. Then I read the second clue out loud:

Clue #2:
Captain Hook is such a crook,
he's hidden the next clue in a ______(book)

If they're not getting the clue, you can always read the whole thing (including the last word) and they'll still have fun hunting down the next clue.

Clue #3:
Mateys, You're doing well. Pay attention, because here we go:
On your feet when tromping through ooze,
the next clue is hidden in some ____(shoes)

For the next clue we blew up a whole bunch of balloons and spread them out on the floor of our closet. Underneath were sprinkled gold chocolate coins.

Clue #4:
In amongst all the balloons, you might find some gold doubloons! 

From the top of your head on down to your toes,
the next clue is hidden where you find your: ________(Clothes)

Clue #5:
It now time to head to your bower,
the next clue is hidden in a _________(shower)

Here’s a hint because this one’s tricky,

it where you get clean when you’re awfully sticky

Clue #6:
Arg Mateys!
This is the last clue, you're almost there! 

Find the goodies and bring them back here!

Ok pirates, time for all to pitch-in,
the last clue is hidden in the _______(kitchen)

If your kid can read than you can tape this to the package:
“Bra-awk! Congratulations salty pirates! 

You are a clever brood! 

And now it's time to have some food!


I should note that I came up with most, but not all of these clues. My Dears, the internet is a gold mine. Mix and match to suit your pleasure.

Here are a few more that I came up with but didn't actually use:


Now we have a big dilemma, 

where do we find our little emma? 

I thought it'd be cute to have Toddler Emma have the next clue in a backpack on her back but eventually decided that she might be overwhelmed by the sudden crush of big kids around her. 

What is that odorous perfume?
Must be something in the baby's room!

A few treasure hunt tips

• Make sure every kid gets to open (and then distribute) treasures to the other kids. They love having jobs at this age. 

• The treasure doesn't have to be fancy. Our pirate treasure consisted of gold chocolate coins, cute little pens, glow sticks, and a toy car. Small stuff. Stickers, temporary tattoos, and packs of crayons would also work well. Frankly, you could probably nix the small stuff and just have the big pirate treasure at the end. 

• Kids at this age can follow directions. I'd wait until goodies were stowed in bags before bringing the children back together for the next clue. The more attentive ones would shush the others so everyone could hear the clue being read. 

• Don't be afraid to give hints. The joy is them running around the house in a big pack trying to find the next clue. Honestly though, somebody always got the clue. Five year-olds are bright. 

• We spread our clues out strategically: one clue upstairs, then one in the basement, then another back upstairs. Gets 'em tired and hungry. 

The final treasure was a bag of candy toppings for the ice cream sundaes. We regrouped in the dining room and everybody was assigned a job: setting the table, pouring the candy into bowls, handing out juice boxes, and making sure there were enough chairs. Kids love having a job to perform. 

Then Chris arrived with pizza so we whisked the candy away before the kids could start gobbling that and instead put down pizza pie. 

A word of advice when having an ice cream sundae party for kids:

Put the ice cream bowl in front of them, then clearly instruct that they can have ONE spoonful of topping(s). If you're my kid, you'll take one spoonful of every. single. topping. But then take the candy bowls off the table. Otherwise they'll just keep grabbing goodies and it'll be a huge mess.

And then you can (hopefully) send everyone home before the sugar crash occurs.   :)

Rough party itinerary

20 minutes - arrival and bag decoration
20 minutes - treasure hunt
15 minutes - lunch
15 minutes - ice cream sundaes
20 minutes - general play and departures


Another fun idea that my sister-in-law mentioned: Fishing. The kind where the kid has a pole, throws the end over the edge of the deck, and someone puts a small treat on the hook. Next year, perhaps.

News and Reviews

Well, here’s another one for the photo album. Why is it so impossible to get a decent picture of these two together? I’ve got nothing worth keeping.

That Benjamin, such a helpful guy. Here, Emma, look THIS way!


A few of these links are a bit old; I’ve had them since early December but haven’t gotten my act together. Hope you’re having a fantastic weekend, peeps!



3D printing will disrupt the world in ways we can barely imagine 

More recess, fewer fidgets

How free play creates emotionally stable children in an unstable world

The Stranger regrets these errors

White women, black hair styles

Seattle natural hazard explorer. Nightmare inducing.

Confessions of a rabbi’s wife

I’m going to send the drunk driver who killed my parents a christmas card

If you’re from Alaska..

Chocolate scandal

Self-esteem of the kindergarten set

This was our December: 150 sickened by norovirus. Also: When norovirus came to dinner. 

Unfollow: Westboro Baptist loses a prized daughter

Sad news: Doug Tompkins dies

See? Drones can be used for good! (yes, I still want one)

And yet another keeper...

This picture reminds me of the article: 26 reasons kids are pretty much just tiny drunk adults. Makes me laugh every time.

xo,

Sonja

House: Kitchen Update

Well my dears, we were roaring along on our kitchen remodel until the window contractor screwed up and brought the entire project to a screeching halt. Evidently I was too busy congratulating myself on the smooth progress of the project thus far to realize how much one window was going to throw a major wrench in the works.

So we’re at a standstill. Our cabinets are almost completely installed, but because we had to stop and wait for the window, our contractor moved onto other projects and doesn't have any availability for a few additional weeks.

And we can’t finish any electrical or plumbing until the cabinets are finished. So we’re in a holding pattern which has put me into a bit of a funk.

I suppose one of the saving graces of remodels is that you plunge into a project somewhat naively, not quite realizing just how long that project is going take to fully complete. For me, it’s kind of like giving birth: situational amnesia.

Oh well, we will get there eventually. In the meantime, I will be content if I never have to look another plate of mac&cheese in the face again. Quick microwavable food is getting pretty old 'round these parts. :)

Benisms vol 645

The other day Ben came home from preschool and informed me that “God is a good guy that chases boogey monsters. He has green skin and ears that look like they should ooze liquid but don’t”.

So basically God looks like Shrek.

I can dig that. We’re a pretty non-religious household so I’m not sure where he’s hearing the god talk; perhaps from a buddy at school. Whoever he is, the dude as an excellent imagination, yes? Ben’s religious education is clearly in good hands.

Emma

Our littlest bambino turned two this week. Wee Emma is growing up. She is a happy, plucky little girl and we are lucky parents indeed.

It’s a strange feeling watching your last child leave the baby era. When she was small, I was quite bittersweet about the whole process, as it meant that never again would we have a newborn in our family. This was helped, no doubt, by her calm nature. Emma made babyhood easy.


But recently I’m finding that I’m not grasping onto the sorrow as much, instead finding joy in her emerging personality and applauding her emotional, physical, and linguistic victories. Emma has embraced her place in our family and we are slowly becoming accustomed to having a second little firecracker in our midst. Suddenly, we no longer have a toddler + baby but instead are a family of four with two goofy, wonderful kids. The very chemistry of our family structure has changed and thus far it’s been lovely.

This morning she were toddling up the stairs equipped with various goodies, including a half eaten apple. “Emma”, I said, “remember food doesn’t come upstairs into the bedrooms”. She looked intently at the apple and then promptly tossed it back down the stairs. Problem solved. Two year-old logic at its finest. Life is never boring with this girl.

I weaned Emma a few weeks ago and the process was surprisingly drama-free. We’ve found other ways to spend time together and I’m secretly pleased to have my body wholly mine once again. Nursing the second time around was not a terribly enjoyable process yet we persevered because it was our special bonding time, free of the distraction of an older brother and bustle of family life. But I feel that motherhood has taken both a physical and occasional emotional toll and thus I’m relishing being in full and complete possession of my body. It’s a welcome change, despite the fleeting sadness of weaning a last child.

Emma is blossoming. Around strangers she is often shy and reserved yet at home among her people she is a chatty, exuberant toddler. And so very full of laughter. This week she’s been walking around the house saying: “Happy Baby! Emma happy, happy baby!” She lights up whenever Ben is around and she makes a mad dash on her short stubby legs for Chris when he comes home at night, squealing “Dadje, dadje!!” She is my little sidekick and my world is a more joyful place because of her presence.

Emma is, above all, exceedingly observant. She will hang back and watch the proceedings before decisively entering into the fray. She watches Ben especially closely and follows his lead in all things that are mischievously naughty.  These two are turning into quite the duo and as their parents we couldn’t be more delighted. And slightly apprehensive. Collectively, they are a force of nature. Watch out, guys, Team J is rolling through.

Emma wouldn’t be my child without a stubborn nature firmly established in her bedrock. Strong-willed doesn’t even begin to describe this toddler-sized chunk of granite. Once set upon a course of action, she is unlikely to be swayed. For example, she immediately decided that she wasn’t keen on being dragged out into the rain for this birthday photo shoot and just about every picture is testament to those emotions. Not even a bubbly brother making his silliest faces could work a bit of magic. 

But once we were back inside, both children embarked on a joint fort-building project and Emma once again reverted back to her happy little self. Like most toddlers, she is at the whim of sudden and strong emotions that are as changeable as the weather. We’re thrilled that her resting equilibrium is generally one of calm happiness with sparks of fire. 

As I write this, Emma is vigorously protesting her nap by heaving all her toys out of the crib. Sitting below in my office, I can tell she’s especially vexed as the crashes are louder than usual and interspersed by howls of frustration.   There are times when a child-free existence looks mighty appealing. But I was reminded recently that I need to sit back, chuckle, and count my blessings, foremost among them this little girl with an infectious laugh and a killer arm.

Oh Darling, we love you so much. You are our bright little spark plug and we are so very lucky to have you.

Much love,

Mama