I secretly really love making treasure maps. I know its not a valuable or logical skill to have, but there's something about the whole process that is just so fun to me. As an added bonus, I have never met a kid that didn't get absolutely giddy at receiving a treasure map. So I think the joy balances out. I'm certain your kids will love this playportunity so much that they will want to make their very own treasure map too! Without further ado, A Treasure Hunt.
Make Your Map
You will need: white paper, Sharpies, tea, water (to brew the tea), and something to contain your mess. Use the Sharpies to draw a map on the paper. I used icons to represent the different rooms in the house. Draw an X to mark the treasure spot, I also drew a dotted line with a specific route for them to take. Crumple up the paper as much as you'd like, dunk it in the brewed tea for a couple of minutes, then spread it out on your mess containment area, and let dry.
Treasure Hunt
Once your map is dry, its time to go on your treasure hunt. I choose to draw a dotted line on the map with their route, so I hid tools along the route for the kids to use when they found their treasure. Before we went on our treasure hunt, we discussed what the map could be depicting, what each symbol meant, as well as what the dotted line could mean. During this process we figured out where the trail started, and how to hold the map to orient it correctly. If you hide tools, make sure to let them know they need to be on the lookout. You'll want to partake in the path following journey, giggles will ensue, and it will be absolutely worth it.
Dig Up the Treasure!
The treasure can be anything you want it to be, and can be as clean or messy as you're willing to endure. For this particular adventure I hid some pretend jewels and gold in a bucket of rainbow beads and other knickknacks, and let the kids dig for jewels. We have used this playportunity to find the chores the kids were assigned for that week, we've dug up dirt, discovered a sensory bin ready to play, hidden items in playdoh to be discovered. Really, you're only limited by your imagination (and your desire to clean up afterwards).