Printable Treasure Map Kids Activity

It wasn’t too long ago that I saw a friend on Instagram share how she had spray painted some rocks gold and had her kids hunt for them. She said they loved it. I knew my kids would too, and decided I wanted to put together a little Pirate Map Scavenger Hunt for them (thanks for the idea, Cherish!!) 😉 I spent some time designing a Pirate Map and coming up with general clues I thought everyone would be able to use. I also picked up some gold spray paint along with some rocks from the backyard and gave them a quick little makeover.

I knew there were a few different ways to do this but thought it would be fun for them to collect the “gold” as they went to the different spots around the house. It ended with a little treasure box with each of the kids’ favorite candy in it and a few more gold pieces. The whole activity was a huge success. The kids ran from each clue spot so excitedly that the hubby and I couldn’t help but smile as they did it. Although it didn’t last long the kids decided they each wanted their own map and got to color it afterwards. I think we’ll have to do it each summer… just long enough time where they would actually have to figure out the clues again. 😉

If you’re looking for a simple but fun activity for your kids to do and enjoy this summer, then I highly recommend this one. It’s super easy and really fun!

Here’s what you’ll need if you want to do it…

SUPPLIES:

– Rocks

– Gold Spray Paint

– Scrapbook paper (if you want to print the map onto “old looking” paper)

– Treats for the End

DIRECTIONS:

 1. Begin by spray painting your rocks gold and letting them dry. I ended up doing 2 coats.

TWO MAP OPTIONS:

MAP ALONE:

MAP WITH FIRST CLUE ON IT:

I had some brown, old-looking type scrapbook paper that I cut to 8.5×11″ big that I printed it on. I thought it would look more real. 😉 After I printed it I kind of crumpled it up a bit to make it look old – kids loved it!!

I also printed some onto regular white paper for them to color.

This is how it turned out:

Like I said, kids loved it!!

Here are the CLUES I made to go with it:

– Go to the place where mom and dad lay down, there some gold pieces can be found.

– Go out back and find the largest tree, how many pieces will you find? ONE, TWO, THREE!

– There’s a place you go to play with toys, it’s also the place to find gold to enjoy.

– Go to the place you sit down to eat, there two pieces of gold will you meet.

– The place you put your dirty clothes at, is also the place where gold fell flat.

– Go to the place you look for things to eat, there you may find one or two gold treats.

– Where’s the place that you wash your body and hair? Perhaps you will find more gold pieces there.

– Go to the front door of your house right away, to find more gold in this hunt. Hooray!

– This the last place you need to go, it’s the place we head to when picking out a show.

If you would like these clues as a PDF, go HERE.

You can obviously edit the clues however you want, but these worked for us so that my 6, 4 and 3 year olds figured it out. I printed the PDF onto Cardstock and cut them into strips and put them in their correct spots. The kids were ecstatic to find their favorite treats at the end in their little treasure box.

More than anything it was super fun to watch the kids work together to figure out their clues and collect their “gold pieces.” Now, when anyone comes over they always show them their “real-life gold nuggets!!” Makes me smile. 🙂

Can’t wait to do this again with the kids!

For more great Kids Activities to enjoy with the kids this summer, be sure to check out:

Homemade Gak Recipe

DIY Lava Lamps

DIY Dino Fossils

For all Kids Crafts on the blog go HERE.

For all FREE prints go HERE.

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ENJOY!