Walk to School Treasure Hunt

So. Ruby starts big school next month.  It's a mixture of excitement and nerves in our house.  What worries me most, are those inevitable mornings when I hear the cry "Mummy, I don't want to go to school today".  I'm sure it will happen. We sometimes have it on nursery days, and that's only twice a week!

I've come up with this idea as a distraction, and hopefully it will make the walk to school fun and exciting, and we'll avoid those awful scenes where I have to drag her screaming up the road...

This treasure hunt can be adapted to your child's age, ability and environment. Thankfully our school is very close so we only have a short walk, but I've made a selection of cards so we can have variety each day.

You can make your own, or print off mine here.  I've included a section where she can mark of the day of the week and the weather, and this will help her reading and recognition of letters and words.

Then, choose a selection of items - flora; fauna; street furniture; vehicle types etc.  Use either your own sketches, photos or clip art.  Try and include some 'static' items that you know will always be spotted on your route (ie traffic lights; a particular coloured door etc) and some 'transient' ones like a cat; a feather; a blue car etc.

Once you have printed your sheets out, laminate them so they are wipeable and will last longer.  If you don't have a laminator, most print and copy shops will be able to do this for you.

Punch holes at the bottom of each sheet and thread a ribbon through.

Then your child can wear it around their neck, hands free on the walk to school.  A regular felt tip will work well and will wipe off so you can re-use the cards.

Ruby chose her treasure hunt list from the selection this morning and had a great time spotting all the items.  There was no whinging or whining about going to nursery at all!  I need to find some kind of holder to keep these near the front door by the coats, and it will simply be a case of choosing one each morning.

How are your back to school preparations going?

Linking up with the Back To School blog hop and this linky party and Monday's Parenting Pin it Party.