31/08/2020
Outdoor treasure hunt stories
Support children to develop their listening and language skills by going on an outdoor treasure hunt for natural resources and encouraging them to share stories of their finds.
Learning aimsPans full of sticks and leaves
Developing children’s communication, language and literacy skills through making links between natural objects, ideas and words
Supporting children’s creativity and language skills outdoors
Supporting children to value the contributions of others through listening and sharing.
Resources
Children will need something to collect their treasures in - a small box or bag is ideal (avoid using plastic bags as these could be hazardous to the children or to the environment)
A comfortable space outdoors for children to lay out their treasures and tell their stories
The space should be big enough to allow each child to see and hear the contributions of others, this will help to keep everyone actively engaged.
Activity outline
Give each child a small box or bag to collect their treasures in
Explain that you are going on a treasure hunt to collect five different objects each (such as seeds, leaves, twigs etc.)
Revisit any relevant safety considerations for the outdoor environment you are using before setting off on your treasure hunt
Revisit children’s understanding of what objects should not be collected, such as fungi and wildflowers
Give children time and space to make their own choices of resources and be aware that they may change their choices, discard some items and add others instead as they go along
Remember that this is about the adventure of finding their own unique selection of objects and not about how quickly five objects can be found. Try to step back and allow children to make their own choices – remember that children may need thinking time.
Go to a comfortable space where everyone in the group can easily see and hear everyone else
Let children take turns to lay out their treasures and tell their own story through their treasures
Although some children may need a small prompt you should avoid questioning children too much. Some stories will be long, some will be short, or maybe a child will decide that there is no story in their treasures – all of these are fine.
Storing natural resources for children to accessSpecial considerations
Try to keep groups small. Telling stories in groups of two to three children will enable children to keep their attention well-focused and so will best support listening and sharing skills.
Consider children who may have allergies and risk assess the area you will be visiting e.g. children collecting small items.
Extension ideas
Scribe and laminate children’s stories and put these in small boxes along with the treasures used in the story. Children can then revisit these as story boxes. When they revisit their story boxes children may like to tell another story. Laminate any further stories and add them to the box too.
