Let’s face it, kids of any age get easily bored, and in today’s day and age, if it’s not on the iPad, then it probably won’t hold their attention span too well. In an attempt to battle the need for technology and to get their kids more active, parents are turning to the internet to find ways to help get their kids outside for some fun activities. Well, we did some research for you and came up with five fun and unique ways to create your own adventure to not only keep your children busy but to help them explore their world around them.
Before we take a look at these create your own adventures, it’s important to remember that these can be done with everyone in the family, not just the youngest of the bunch.
After all, the more, the merrier. So, don’t be afraid to get the entire family together for these sorts of activities.
5 Unique Ways to Create Your Own Adventure with Your Kids and Their Friends
It doesn’t have to be difficult to create your own adventure with your children, and in most cases, doing so can help your little one and their friends explore their world in an entirely new way. What is even better is that these adventures don’t have to involve a ton of preplanning or to spend a lot of money.
That being said, read on to explore a few fun create your own adventure activities that are sure to be a hit with your young ones and their friends.
1. Turn A Trip to Your Local Forest Preserve into An Action Adventure
Take your kid’s favorite movie and bring it to life!
A family trip to the local forest preserve can be a great way to get your kid’s thinking creatively, and with the help of a few props, their imagination truly can go wild.
Take this example from a family of Star Wars fans. While on vacation, they visited a few different locations, including a trip to the Redwood National Park in California. Being the Star Wars fans that they are, the family decided that, with the help of some notable props from the movies (aka light sabers), to shoot a mini-movie of their very own.
This is an outstanding way to turn a rather drab trip outdoors into an action adventure for the little ones who may not appreciate nature for its beauty. While Star Wars may not be everyone’s cup of tea, there is any number of movie ideas that can be replicated at your local forest preserve.
Better yet, let their imaginations run wild!
One idea can turn into their own story plot, and before you know it, the hours will fly by!
2. A Hiking Trip Turned into A Mystery Adventure
A hiking trip for adults is not only a great way to get some exercise but a way to explore the area and all its beauty.
For children, it usually isn’t all that fun.
One way to take a boring hiking trip into a create your own adventure is to turn the trip into a mystery adventure.
The goal of the adventure is to find the missing “something,” and by something, we mean animal or flower. Something that is simple enough to find out on your hike, but not something so common that it can be found as soon as you start your adventure.
For example, in an area that has a population of deer, the goal can be to find the missing deer. These animals can usually be spotted during the daytime, but they can be tricky because they spook easily.
Before starting the adventure, you’ll want to “brief” your kids on the task at hand, and then give them “clues” of things to look for in order to help guide your group on the hunt for the missing animal or plant life.
Remember, you’ll want to help the kids on this adventure because they won’t be attuned to the surroundings and you don’t want them to get discouraged because they will quickly lose interest in the adventure.
3. Weekly Shopping Trip Turned Scavenger Hunt
Let’s face it; most parents dread having to take their kids to the grocery store. Between boredom and tantrums, kids just don’t hold up too well during most shopping trips.
So instead of just dragging the kids along, make it into a scavenger hunt.
Take your shopping list and split it up amongst the kids and see how many items they can find on their own. The kid that either finds the most items off their list or for everyone that finds so many items on their own gets their pick of a special prize. The prize can be an item from a designated prize box at home, or their pick of the cereal for the week to even picking out the dessert for after dinner.
4. Turn Your Local Park into An Obstacle Course
Kids love the park, but after a while, even that can get a little stale for the young ones. So how about turning the local park into an obstacle course?
Parks are a great place to have some family fun and burn off some energy, and the beauty of most parks is the fact that the slides and monkey bars make for an ideal obstacle course!
Think the likes of the shows Wipeout or American Ninja Warrior. You can time the little ones and offer up prizes for those that either complete the whole course or for those who can complete it the fastest. Remember, you want to have fun, but don’t forget that safety comes first. So maybe avoid anything that involves jumping off of stuff or climbing things that aren’t intended to be climbed on.
Safety and fun go hand-in-hand folks!
5. Play Scientist at Your Local Park or Wildlife Preserve
Children love to play pretend and often have dreams of becoming doctors and scientists, so why not fuel their needs to be creative and their thirst for knowledge by taking them to your local park or wildlife preserve and playing scientist?
This create your own adventure requires a little bit of planning and research on your part because you’ll want to learn a little bit about the wildlife and plant life in your area. From there, you’ll want to create some kind of checklist for your kids, so they know what they are to keep their eyes peeled for. These can be simple printouts with photos of different bugs, plants, and animals that can be found in your local area.
In order to increase your chances of seeing a wider variety of plant life and wildlife, you’ll want to head out to a location with nature trails. This will give you and the kids a safe path to follow while also taking you deeper into the wild where you’ll more than likely find something cool off your checklist.
Using the Imagination Isn’t for Just the Kids
Create your own adventures such as the ones mentioned above isn’t always just about entertain the kids, oh no.
Sure, while these adventures are intended to spark the imagination and creativity of the little ones, they can be just as much fun for the teens and adults in the family as well. After all, who doesn’t want to let loose and act like a child for a little while?
These activities can also be great learning tools for everyone in the family. Take the Scientist idea mentioned above. Not only are you giving your little ones a chance to explore the world around them, but you are also learning more about your environment because you have to do the research beforehand.
These are the adventures and experiences that help to bring the family closer together, and in the day and age of technology, where individuals are often glued to a device, this can be something that is really missing from the family dynamic.
So instead of bonding over the television, get creative and plan a few unique adventures that the entire family can enjoy!
