A Country Themed Scavenger Hunt

We are having a lovely fall so far, and I wanted to get out and enjoy the wonderful weather. So, I took the three little kids on a country themed scavenger hunt this afternoon.

I started by quickly jotting down ten things to find. Then I divided the list into two – one for each independent child. This was to be a photo scavenger hunt, so there wouldn’t be any collecting of things.

Our list included:
3 flowers, 1 ditch,1 pink rock
1 cattle guard, 2 sticks, 1 leaf
1 animal, 1 wooden fence, 1 horse
and 2 cows

I got the baby in the stroller, which is her favorite place to be, then handed out the lists. I explained that this was a photo scavenger hunt and we weren’t going to be picking or collecting anything. We read through each list a couple of times. Then we started out on our walk.

Our walk was just down our country lane, but there was plenty to discover along the way. First, we found the ditch, three flowers, and leaf. My Kindergartener and preschooler both stepped into the ditch in their attempt to step over the ditch. “That’s okay, Mommy,” my Kindergartener said, “we will dry.” Oh, the wisdom of youth.

Next, we found the sticks, wooden fence, pink rock, and cattle guard. And of course my two explorers had to figure out how to get over the cattle guard. They even made a game of it. The rules were simple, if your foot fell between the bars of the cattle guard, then you had to go back and try again. After a few times over, Mommy called the kids to continue on their scavenger hunt.

The next items on our list were the animals. We found our neighbor’s dog, Jake. He came and posed for a few photos with us.

Then, we found the horse. Actually we found two horses. I told my children to gather some of the wild grass growing near the fence and then to stand by me while I called the horses over. The horses came over and we spent awhile feeding and petting the horses. Not to worry, though, Mom always okayed the handfuls of grass before they were presented to the horses.

The baby loved the horses. She giggled and laughed at the sight of the horses. Then she signed that she wanted to touch the horses. I got her out and helped her pet the horses.  She even had a chance to feed the horses, thanks to her big brother. We spent most of our time on the scavenger hunt with the horses.

After the horses, the last item on our list was the two cows.  I was sure we wouldn’t need to go very far to find some cows. Our home is surrounded by working pasture land. Saturday, a whole herd of cattle was driven up our road (just outside our front windows) into the pasture lands. Amazingly, the cattle had moved farther afield than I had thought. We ended up needing to go down a smaller lane and into the pasture land to find the cattle. After stepping in one cow pie, (my Kindergartener thought it was green mud), we found the two cows we needed.

Then it was time to walk through the ditch to clean up the green mud, and come back home for a change of clothes, and an ice cream cone.  The kids had so much fun on this country themed scavenger hunt that my Kindergartener asked me to add more items to the list.

What activities are you enjoying outside this fall? I’d love to hear your stories.