Take a photo scavenger hunt with your kids

It was a beautiful spring day and my daughter Ally, age 5, and I were headed for the park. But before we left, I had an idea for a great new way to explore and enjoy the park together.

Ally and I sat down and drew pictures of different things we might see at the park. For instance, we drew pictures of a duck, a flag, a boat, a bug, a flower, a pine cone, etc. But instead of trying to collect things as you would in a typical scavenger hunt, we brought along our digital camera to take a picture of each item.

When we got to the park, Ally was so excited to search for each of the things on the list. I’ve never seen her so excited to spot a dandelion or an ant. And as we found each item, she snapped a picture of it with the camera.

The activity had Ally running all around and gave us a new way of looking at the same old park we visit all the time.

And later that day, Ally was so excited to not only tell her dad about the scavenger hunt, but show him the pictures she had taken.