My kids are older than many of yours, but I want to share my experience with geocaching because sometimes new moms need a mission to get them out of the house and this could be it.
Here’s what it is:
Trinkets or “caches” have been hidden all around the world and clues are found on a Geocaching website and/or app. You set up an account (pay a small subscription fee to get the worth-the-money extras) and then look for caches near you. (Your phone knows where you are.)
Caches are typically small containers; many are altoids tins or film cannisters, but they can be as big as a piece of tupperware.
Clues tell you the main destination such as “Cedar Rose Park”, and then more hints to help you get closer, like “near a water source”. The GPS on your phone helps you hone in in the exact place, showing how close you are in real-time, in terms of feet. It’s like playing hot/cold. Finally, spying the cache is the trickiest part. It could be tucked under a loose brick or inside a stump. See these two sneaky spots where 7-year old Theo hit the jackpot?
My kids love to find geocaches, especially the large ones that have goodies inside. If you go out “caching” bring along a few trinkets of your own, like plastic animals or foreign coins.
Geocaching is one way to lure reluctant children out walking on an errand. There are caches all over the place, so it’s not hard to find one nearby. Seeking them out is popular amongst the outdoorsy crew who hike into the woods to find them, but as a city girl I’ve found plenty next to pizza joints and urban playgrounds.
Related: Guest post by a mom who enjoyed geocaching with her baby.
such a fun way to check out new places in your own city and anywhere you may travel. It especially motivates my 6 yo when he is in a funk!!
I heard about this on NPR, and it looks so fun! What do you think is the minimum age for this kind of activity? I have a three and a half year old boy who I could see loving this, but he may be too young.
Leslie, I’d give it a try. If you have a chance to try it without him first, you might do that. Once you know that the cache is there (sometimes you just can’t find them/they’ve been moved), you can do it with him and let him see the phone screen to learn what it means to get closer and farther. There may be some within your normal route. Download the app to check. At about four years old, my daughter definitely got it and understood that someone else hid the stuff and we might not find it.
I keep meaning to do this with my 4 year old:
http://www.atlasquest.com/
I think she would really love the “treasure hunt” aspect of following the clues to the letter boxes. And one of her all time loves is little notebooks, so having a special one to stamp in when we find a letter box….yeah, we totally need to do this.
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