1 year old

Going on a Pirate Treasure Hunt

09:00

I just love when a theme can bring so many learning activities together and the kids have no idea that they're getting anything from it and think that they're just having fun playing.  That's what our pirate treasure hunt was like today, full of fun and giggles and learning on so many levels.  Arrrrr!


I started out by telling Ethan that we were going on a pirate treasure hunt, and he was immediately excited!  He went straight to his dress up clothes and got his pirate hat and eye patch so that he looked the part of the perfect pirate.


Next we decided where to make our pirate ship base, and as we were lucky enough to have a sunny day we were able to make our little climbing frame into our ship.  We decorated it with pirate flags that we made and pirate toys that we found in the toy box.


Finally I let Ethan get a hold of the treasure map that I had made for him.  I explained to him that the red X marked the spot of the treasure, and the purple dotted line was the path that he had to follow.  The rest of the pictures on the map symbolised things in our garden, like the flowers, the grass, the door and the water tray (or the sea as we were calling it).  Then we followed along the path with our fingers and talked through the route that he would have to take to find the treasure.


I had hidden our pirate treasure chest that we made the other day in the garden, and Ethan set out to find it.  It didn't take him long to talk his way through the map and follow the route to the treasure!


In the treasure chest I had collected up some jewels, coins and medals from the toy box for Ethan to discover.  He was very pleased with his pirate booty and sat and counted it all out for ages like a truly proud pirate!


Finally it was Ethan's turn to draw a treasure map for me to find the buried treasure!  He looked at my map as a reference and we talked about all of the elements of a treasure map that he could draw.  He started by drawing a very large X to mark the spot of the buried treasure, then drawing a route around the map to get to it.  He added his own special feature of a short cut that went across the path to get there quicker!  Then he drew the sea and the pirate ship and sent me outside to find the treasure chest that he had hidden.  He was just as excited for me to find it as he was to find it himself, which I love.  It was a truly successful pirate treasure hunting day full of fun, problem solving, creativity, curiosity, map reading, mark making and so much more.  Arrrr!


This post is a part of a pirate themed blog hop.  Bloggers from around the world have been doing pirate activities and are sharing them all today ahead of Talk Like a Pirate Day next week.  You have to see some of these incredible pirate ideas, they'll keep you busy for weeks!



Make Your Own Pirate Treasure - The Gingerbread House
DIY Pirate Vest & Patch - Play Dough & Popsicles
Toilet paper roll pirates - Just Another Mom
Set Sail with this DIY Pirate Boat - The Resourceful Mama
It’s a Pirate’s Life for Me - Study at Home Mama
Pirate Colouring Pages - In The Playroom
Pirate Books for Kids of All Ages - Superheroes and Teacups
Treasure Chest Craft - Messy Little Monster
Pirate Sensory Bin - Life with Moore Babies
Pirate Preschool Printable - Living Life and Learning
Pirate Perler Bead Patterns - Brain Power Boy
DIY Pirate Gold - P is for Preschooler
Going on a Pirate Treasure Hunt - Play & Learn Everyday
Pirate Boats from a Cardboard Box and Movie Night - CraftCreateCalm
Treasure Alphabet Match - The Kindergarten Connection
Make Your Own Pirate Map - My Little Poppies
Treasure Map Grid Activity - My Little Poppies
Create a FLOATING Pirate Ship! - Milk and Cuddles
Pirate Puppet Craft -Sugar Aunts
Hidden Treasure Cupcakes - Emmy’s Mummy
Non Scary Pirate Books and Movies - Edventures with Kids
Gold Nuggets - Kelly’s Classroom
Fizzing Pirate Treasure Adventure - Preschool Powol Packets

And take a look at our Pirate Pinterest board for even more inspiration:


Follow Play & Learn Everyday's board Pirate Fun for Kids on Pinterest.

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1 comments

  1. Arrr me hearties! We love going on a treasure hunt and being Pirates! Thank you for joining in with Pirates! Blog Hop on Peakle Pie :)

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