Search for Signs of Spring
Best for All Ages 7-9
By Nancy Thompson, First Grade Teacher
This multi-sensory treasure hunt can be broken into multiple walks and days around your property or neighborhood. Concentrating on one sense at a time is recommended!
Each activity begins with parent, caregiver, or older sibling help AND has a part meant for your child to do independently, remembering their experience on the walk.
Day 1: Sight
With a parent, caregiver, or older sibling:
How many of these things can you find in your neighborhood?
Take your list of things to hunt for and a pencil with you on your walk. (Maybe you can find a clipboard, or use a piece of cardboard and paperclip.) When you find one of them, put a check in the box.
Independent Activity:
When you get home, make a mini book of all the signs of spring that you found, titled “Signs of Spring in My Neighborhood.”
To make a mini book, take a few sheets of paper and fold them in half. Then staple them together in the crease of the fold you made. You can decide just how mini you want your book to be!
Day 2: Sound
With a parent, caregiver, or older sibling:
For this walk, listen for the many different sounds you hear in your neighborhood. Put a check in each box as you hear the sounds.
You may want to try taking a walk at different times of the day… are there different sounds you hear at different times?
Independent activity:
When you get home, make a mini book of all the things you heard titled “Sounds of Spring in My Neighborhood.”
You may even do this activity sitting on your porch or in your backyard during different times of the day. How many different sounds can your hear? Keep track on a piece of paper by writing a number and then making a drawing of what made the sound.
For example:
Drawing of a bird you hear singing
Drawing of a dog you hear barking
Drawing of your parent you hear having a meeting
Extension activity:
If you were to use the sounds of letters to write what the sound is, how would you spell each sound? (Just looking for spelling phonetically here — correct spelling is not the goal.)
For example: The sound a bird makes may sound like “chee chee” or “tip tip,” or the sound of a barking dog may sound like “ruf ruf.”
Day 3: Touch
This is the internal response to a contact with the outside world.
With a parent, caregiver, or older sibling:
On this walk in the neighborhood, we are searching for all kinds of different sensations of touch. This could be with your hands, feet, and even what a petal feels like on your cheek. (Walk barefoot for some of the time, if it is safe to do so!)
Under each touch sensation, list all of the different things you felt.
For example, these things felt soft: Grass on my feet and hands; cat; flower petal.
Independent activity:
When you get home, make a mini book of some of the things you experienced, making chapters labeled with each kind of touch sensation. The title of this book might be “Sense of Touch,” with chapters for “soft,” “smooth,” “rough,” etc.
Day 4: Smell
Contact with the outside world via odors carried through the air.
With a parent, caregiver, or older sibling:
On this walk, find as many different smells as you can.
Independent Activity:
Make a mini book and draw pictures of everything that smelled good to you. You can also add another section for things that you did not like the smell of, or that smelled weird to you. Make up your own title for this book!
Day 5: Life Sense
The internal feeling of well-being and of being alive.
On this walk, there are two objectives:
First:
Notice when your child was most engaged, most lively, and outgoing. Was it when they were active? When they saw an animal? When they were smelling a flower? When they were feeling the breeze?
Second:
Ask your child these questions after you have returned from your walk, maybe during a snack or lunch or dinner. (They may not have an answer for each question — that’s okay!)
What part of the walk did you enjoy the most?
When did you feel strong?
What part of the walk made you wonder?
What part of the walk made you feel in awe?
What part of the walk was awesome?
Did a part of the walk make you feel quiet or peaceful?
Independent activity:
Draw a picture of the most awesome part of your walk.
Extension:
Write a sentence (or more!) to go with your picture. Your sentence can go across the bottom of the page or along the top of your page.