treasure hunt

Our blog has been on the slow side lately because two weeks ago we moved into our new house.  We've been doing a lot of unpacking and rediscovering the toys I had put in boxes weeks ago (I didn't put them all in boxes weeks ago but for the ones I did it's been like Christmas in July for M).  We haven't done too many "out of the box" activities because we've been so busy.

This afternoon M and I went outside to play and kind of inadvertently began a treasure hunt in the backyard.  M loves all things small and since we've been spending more time outdoors this summer he's discovered rocks.  He finds one or two and carries them around in his hands.  He did this today and I decided to grab his bucket and take him on a treasure hunt.  After about the third "treasure" we found he seemed to get the hang of it.  He was surprisingly very picky about the things he put in his bucket.  Here's how it went....

- I would spot something.

- I would say, "look M, a treasure!" and point it out.

- M would pick it up, inspect it carefully, and either put it in his bucket or throw it back on the ground in disgust (i.e. this is definitely not a treasure).

Some things that made the treasure bucket: at least 4 rocks, a three-leaf clover, a twig, a few flowers, an acorn, a weed

Some things that did not make the cut: a dandelion, a piece of mulch, a handful of grass M pulled up

As I said, after the first few things I found he really got into it and liked filling up the bucket.  Of course, we had to stop our walk a few times to dump out the bucket, inspect everything again, and put each thing back in.  

One of the things I liked watching M do was balance while walking and holding the bucket.  Tricky...

Overall, a good little unexpected activity.  I'm sure it's something we'll do again many times but it was fun to see him enjoy it at this stage.