Brain Builders: Animal Scavenger Hunt

Looking for a new way to get up and moving as well as get kids minds active and learning?  Try a scavenger hunt! 

For this scavenger hunt, I gathered some random plastic animals and hid them around the yard.  My assistants, Chloe and Carter, were eager to start the search, and even used their walkie talkies to alert one another to a discovery.  *Note: no plastic animals needed for this activity.  Printed or drawn pictures of animals work great!

It took a while to find all the animals, and we talked about the word camouflage, since some of the animals were quite hidden.  Once all the animals were found, we talked about each one and discussed what kind of habitat the animal needed.  We categorized them by where they built their homes or where they spent their time: land, water, or air.  

The animals that lived in mixed habitats were particularly interesting to discuss!

This scavenger hunt and animal habitat game is a super Brain Builder!  The scavenger hunt encourages movement, observation skills, and persistence.  The categorizing of animals habitats promotes math and science concepts.  

*Brain Builder bonus:  older children may only need a written list, but children who are still learning to read may need photos or pictures of the items.  Even very young children will like to make a match to their paper and the item–bonus literacy skills!  

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