Table of Contents Treasure Hunt

What You Need:

• Several books which include Table of Contents pages
• Sticky notes
• Pen
• “Treasure” (a fun reward, such a coupon for an ice cream cone, popcorn and a movie, or a trip to the park)

What You Do:

1. Have your child gather up some books that have a Table of Contents page in them.
2. Write clues on sticky notes for your child to use on his "treasure hunt." Each clue he finds will send him to the location of the next clue, with the help of the Table of Contents. 
3. Each clue should be easily located using a Table of Contents page, and completely hidden inside the book, so the sticky note isn’t too easy to find!  An example of a clue could be: "What is your favorite pet? You'll find the next clue in the chapter about dogs." If you want to make things a little more challenging and send your child on a search through many different books, you can include clues like this: "Trees are an important part of our eco-system. In the book about trees, you'll find the next clue in the chapter that talks about how trees breathe."
4. Put the sticky notes in the pages of the books in a sequence, so that they all connect and make sense. Make sure that with the last clue, you lead your child to his treasure!
5. After you have all the clues ready, go back to the beginning, and briefly follow the treasure hunt yourself and read the clues to be sure that all of them are in the right place in the books. 
6. Finally, let your child begin his treasure hunt. Assist him as needed in reading the clues and the Table of Contents pages. When he finds the final clue, share the treasure with him! This is a great way to get your child excited about reading!