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Home » Reading Ideas » Reading Fun » Nighttime Alphabet Treasure Hunt for Kids

Nighttime Alphabet Treasure Hunt for Kids

October 8, 2014 •

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It’s time to explore nighttime in our Playful Preschool Series.  It’s getting darker earlier in the evening on these Fall days so it’s a perfect time to explore the night with young preschoolers.  So, lets head out for a nighttime alphabet treasure hunt!

An fun nighttime scavenger hunt for kids from growingbookbyook.com

Full Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links.  Your support of Growing Book by Book is greatly appreciated.

Treasure Hunt For Kids

Why We Chose This Activity

It’s not often that we travel outside in the evening.  Recently we were coming home from Grandma’s house in the evening and my boys were mesmerized by all the lights and reflective signs.  It was big aha for me.  I need to let my boys explore their world at night!

Preschoolers are also discovering the world of letters so we combined the two explorations into one fun activity!

Preparing for the Treasure Hunt

Each participant will need a flashlight, treasure hunt map, clipboard and metallic crayons.

I used florescent paper (I used a piece of poster board and cut it into 4 pieces.) and metallic crayons to create the “treasure map”.  Attach the map to a clipboard and have another metallic crayon ready for the hunt.  You can tie the crayon to the clipboard to avoid lost crayons in the dark!

You will also need to have some alphabet cookies and milk ready to go when you return from the hunt.  We really like the alphabet cookies from Trader Joes.  Earth’s Best and Newman’s Own also have alphabet cookies.  Or you could make your own with this recipe for alphabet cookies from Do It Yourself Divas.  These alphabet cookie cutters can be used to make your own cookies and for lots of future uses!

Going on the Treasure Hunt

A fun family activity to help preschoolers learn the alphabet from growingbookbybook.com

Head outside when it gets dark.  Tell everyone that they are going on an alphabet treasure hunt.  Using their flashlights they will search and find all the letters of the alphabet.  As a letter is found, it’s circled on their map.

If you are a classroom teacher, you could head to a dark gym or another room with shades.  Hide letters throughout the room for the kids to find with their flashlights.

When all of the letters have been found it means that the treasure has been unlocked.  Head home for a after-the-hunt snack of alphabet cookies and milk. While eating you can also enjoy a wonderful bedtime story!

Keep reading.  We have so many more great ideas for explore the nighttime theme from the Playful Preschool team!

For MORE Playful Preschool Nighttime Activities:

 
Nighttime Alphabet Treasure Hunt at Growing Book by Book
Glow in the Dark Letters Sensory Bin at Mom Inspired Life
Shoe Box Constellations at Rainy Day Mum

Nighttime Sky Sensory Bin at Life Over C’s

Find the Big Dipper at Tiny Tots Adventures
Nocturnal Animals KWL Chart at Still Playing School
Night Time Musical and Dance at Learning 2 Walk
Create a Cricket Habitat and Do a Fun Science Experiment at Capri + 3
The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh for ‪#‎PlayfulPreschool‬ at The Preschool Toolbox Blog
Studying Bats with a Hide and Sonar-Seek Activity at Raising Lifelong Learners
Night Time Sky with Playful Preschool at Powerful Mothering
Book-Inspired Preschool Owl Craft at Fun-A-Day!

Night Owl Painting and Books at The Educators’ Spin On It

 
Join us tonight for a live Google + Hangout at 9:00 PM EST. We will discuss Night Activities for Preschoolers. NO worries if the time doesn’t work for you, it will be recorded and available to watch afterwards.


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Filed Under: Reading Fun Tagged With: alphabet games, outside activities, playful preschool

About Jodie Rodriguez

Jodie Rodriguez is a mom of two young boys and an early childhood/elementary educator with over 20 years of experience. Jodie's passion is helping parents, teachers, librarians and anyone else interested in nurturing and reaching ALL of our youngest growing readers.

Comments

  1. Leila - Mud Mud Marvellous Mud says

    October 20, 2014 at 2:20 pm

    Lovely idea. Little Man would love this! Thanks for sharing at the Outdoor Play Party 🙂

  2. TheBoyandMe says

    October 17, 2014 at 5:36 pm

    What an absolutely wonderful idea! As we’ve got Winter fast approaching, I can’t wait to do this with The Boy.

    Nipping over from the Outdoor Play Party

  3. Cerys from Rainy Day Mum says

    October 13, 2014 at 2:38 pm

    Fantastic idea – I know both mine would love this. We could do sight words for the older one.

  4. Nicolette Roux says

    October 11, 2014 at 7:03 pm

    This looks like such fun!

  5. Mary Catherine says

    October 11, 2014 at 12:24 am

    I LOVE this idea!! My son’s an early riser, so he also goes to bed rather early. I KNOW he would get so much out of exploring outside at night more. Thanks for the kick in the pants to do just that. 🙂

    • Jodie Rodriguez says

      October 13, 2014 at 4:23 pm

      Have fun with it Mary Catherine. My boys wake up when it is still dark too. An early morning hunt is a great idea!

  6. The Preschool Toolbox says

    October 9, 2014 at 10:21 pm

    What a great night alphabet discovery hunt! I had not seen the metallic crayons before…where have I been?:) Nice post, Jodie!

  7. Nicola says

    October 9, 2014 at 2:39 pm

    This would make a great adventure activity for my boys! We d have to wrap up warm though as it s getting chilly now over here in the evenings! #supermommyclub

  8. Kim says

    October 8, 2014 at 7:50 am

    I love the florescent paper! What a unique element to add to a learning activity!

    • Jodie Rodriguez says

      October 8, 2014 at 10:58 pm

      Kim, it really helped with seeing the letters on our hunt.

  9. Theresa (Capri + 3) says

    October 8, 2014 at 7:32 am

    I love your idea of doing an alphabet scavenger hunt in the dark. It really adds an element of excitement to the search for letters. We will have to try this. Thanks for the inspiration.

    • Jodie Rodriguez says

      October 8, 2014 at 10:59 pm

      Have fun. It’s a great family activity.

  10. JDaniel4's Mom says

    October 8, 2014 at 7:24 am

    Oh! I so want to do this activity with my son.

  11. Danielle says

    October 8, 2014 at 7:11 am

    I LOVE this! It’s on our to-do list for this week!

  12. Devany says

    October 8, 2014 at 7:11 am

    This looks like SO MUCH FUN! My kids (and me) will love it! Thanks for the great idea!

    • Jodie Rodriguez says

      October 8, 2014 at 10:59 pm

      I hope you enjoy the hunt!

  13. Amanda says

    October 8, 2014 at 6:12 am

    This is AWESOME. My kids would think this is awesome. We may even have to build a fort in the living room and try it in the middle of the day!

    • Jodie Rodriguez says

      October 8, 2014 at 11:00 pm

      I think that would be perfect!

Trackbacks

  1. 25+ Flashlight Games and Activities for Kids - Buggy and Buddy says:
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    […] Nighttime Alphabet Scavenger Hunt from Growing Book by Book […]

  2. Alphabet Activities: Glowing Nighttime Sensory Bin says:
    February 15, 2018 at 9:07 pm

    […] Nighttime Alphabet Treasure Hunt at Growing Book by Book Glow in the Dark Letters Sensory Bin at Mom Inspired Life Shoe Box Constellations at Rainy Day Mum Night Sky Sensory Bin at Life Over C’s Find the Big Dipper at Tiny Tots Adventures Nocturnal Animals KWL Chart at Still Playing School Night Time Musical and Dance at Learning 2 Walk Create a Cricket Habitat and Do a Fun Science Experiment at Capri + 3 The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh for #PlayfulPreschool at The Preschool Toolbox Blog Studying Bats with a Hide and Sonar-Seek Activity at Raising Lifelong Learners Night Time Sky with Playful Preschool at Powerful Mothering Book-Inspired Preschool Owl Craft at Fun-A-Day! […]

  3. DIY Constellation Maps says:
    January 2, 2018 at 6:55 am

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  4. Night Sky Sensory Bin for Building Language Skills says:
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  5. Post Office Play for Preschoolers says:
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  6. 20+ Ways for Preschoolers to Play in the Dark - Left Brain Craft Brain says:
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