Sponsored Post: Financial compensation was not received for this post. A sample product was gifted from Gymboree. Opinions expressed here are our own.
Wanna’ host a fun playdate with your kids this winter? How about at your nearest State Park?
That’s what we did! We went to Lake James State Park for a nice scavenger hunt on their great nature trails.
Here’s where the scavenger hunt takes place!
We were inspired for this memorable afternoon by Gymboree’s Playdate Guide on Pinterest, where you’ll find even more playdate ideas.
Oh yeah, and they gave us a gift card to get a few clothes from their winter line (which look great by the way).
A nature park is a great place to find really interesting and cool things, so a scavenger hunt felt like a natural playdate idea. For the day, I made a nature park scavenger hunt printable to keep us on schedule.
You can download it too if you’d like to give it a try!
I made sure to add a few snowflakes to keep our printable festive.
With our scavenger hunt sheets ready, we are ready to begin. On to the first item…
Warning: I may have overdone it on the pictures. There were just so many good ones, I had to include them in our post. You’ve been warned :)
Get Your Map
To ensure all goes smoothly, we’re gonna’ need a map!
Check that off the list!
Find the Lake
Let’s continue the hunt with an easy one. Can anyone find the lake?
Here it is!
Lake. Got it!
Snack Time!
Let’s check off a few items from our scavenger hunt checklist: Picnic table – Check! and Snack Time – Check!
“Just need a snack to keep me going.”
Do you like it? “I give it a, ‘Thumbs Up’ dad!”
Where’s the Trail?
Oh, here’s one!
“That was an easy one to find. Check it off the list!”
Side Note: If you’re enjoying this fun post, I think you’ll really love our Storytime with Eric Carle post too!
Grab Your Acorns
That’s 1, 2, 3, 4 acorns. Good job buddy!
Find Some Pine Cones
“3 pine cones. Check!”
Get Your Leaves
“That leaf looks pretty brown to me.”
“Oh, here’s a BIG one!”
“Brown leaves, got ’em!”
Time to Mitten Up and Explore!
The boys wanted to do a few things that weren’t on the list, so we took a nice break from our scavenger hunt. With some climbing, sight-seeing and brotherly love!
The boys hands were getting cold, time to mitten up!
“Now that’s nice and toasty.”
These polar bear mittens were too cute.
Where’s Aiden?
“Here I am!”
“Aiden, I think we should do some climbing. I’ve got this cool tree to show you.”
“It’s perfect for climbing…”
“See, no problem. Now you try!”
“OK, I can do this. One step at a time…”
“Maybe not, but look at this view. It’s awesome!”
“Good try bro. You did your best!”
Back to the Scavenger Hunt
OK, all done with exploration. Now back to the hunt!
Grab Some Twigs
“Whoa, check out my stick!”
“Almost done. Now we just need a few rocks!”
Find Your Rocks
“Found a rock! Now look into my eyes and fall under my spell.”
Scavenger Hunt Complete!
With all the rocks collected, we’re now all done with our scavenger hunt.
Got the rocks and now our scavenger hunt is complete!
That was fun (and exhausting)! The boys did a great job following instructions, lets take a look at everything…
Check Out Our Haul
Wow! Look at all the fun stuff we found on our scavenger hunt! Pine cones, acorns and twigs. OH MY!
What Do We Do With It?
Our original idea was to make a few different Christmas tree ornaments with the nature supplies we rounded up, but the boys had a different idea.
The boys wanted to get another look at the lake before we left.
I wonder what the kids want to do with all the stuff they found. Let’s see…
I don’t like that look in your eyes Aiden. As long as you don’t…
Pour everything…out. Well, what do you have to say for yourself?
“Wanna’ snuggle?” OK, lil’ bear, you win! But hopefully Noah doesn’t get any ideas…
Well, I guess that’s that! Anything you wanna’ say or do before we go?
“Rick James.”
LOL, this was such a fun way to spend a day with our boys. They learned to use a map, got to explore and followed directions. What a great playdate!
If you’re looking for more creative playdate ideas, be sure to check out…
