Activity
Host a Magazine Scavenger Hunt!
It’s easy to turn old magazines into a fast-and-furious finding game that’s both fun and educational. Together, you and your kids come up with a list of things to find in the magazines. Then… let the games begin! Each team of kids races through a magazine, tearing out pictures that are on the list. Whoever has the most when time runs out, wins! Ready for the fun? Set? Go!
What You Need:
- Two old magazines
- Marker
- Stopwatch
What You Do:
- First, take a quick scan through each magazine, so you have an idea of what pictures are included. You don’t have to memorize anything, just get an idea of what categories of images are in each magazine.
- Write out the alphabet on a piece of paper, spread out so that each letter can be filled in with a word.
- Next, gather the group together. Ask your kids for suggestions of things to find. Keep the entries as generic as possible: bike, dog, tree, cookie, etc. Write the suggestions on the large sheet of paper, and post this answer key somewhere everyone can see it.
- Divide the kids into two teams, and give each team a magazine. Explain that each team will need to find as many items from the list as possible. When they find something on the list, they can tear out the page and keep it in a pile.
- Set your stopwatch for 10 minutes. Say “ready, set, go!”—and the teams are off and racing. Watch the fun and chaos ensue!
- When time is up, call “Stop!” Then, gather the teams together and go through each team’s pile. Decide as a group if their entries are correct. Count up the correct entries; the team with the most entries wins!
- You may even want to start saving up old magazines for more games. You can use the same alphabet list for more than one game; just give each team another old magazine for the next round!
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