Earlier summer, we went geocaching for the first time with some friends. It was a lot of fun and Ethan enjoyed 'treasure hunting' with two of his friends from school.
Luckily for us, we had an experienced geocaching guide, Lorelai, (and her mom, Margaret) on our inaugural trip! Mr. Juggling Act and I found that downloading the geocaching.com app to our smartphones was a great alternative to a handheld GPS. (While the app is a bit pricy, it's not as much as one of those babies, and chances are you're not going to forget your phone when you leave the house!) Margaret had researched a few caches the night before and brought along the coordinates and clues, along with some small 'treasures' to leave once we found the cache. We also brought along bug spray, sunscreen, and water.
So there we are traipsing all around the woods, (ok, so it was a small wooded park area with a well-defined path, but I'm kind of a city girl now, you know?) and we can't find this cache for the life of us. The first hunt was a bust and we never found the cache, but it was a good lesson in patience and perseverance. The kids were all good sports about it (though Mr. Juggling Act was having a hard time letting go and moving on - my husband is a bit stubborn determined at times).
(Click through the album above to see photos from our adventure!)
For the kids, even the littlest ones, it was more about just being outside with all the the many sensory and learning opportunity that nature provides. We looked at different kinds of leaves and plants, excitedly identified bugs, collective cool rocks, learned to whistle with an acorn top, and even got a close up encounter with a little frog (thanks to my friend, Sam, because, let's face it, I'm not picking up a frog).
When found the second cache, the kids were elated. This one was super handy, with an 'X marks the spot' made of sticks. The kids all got to take and replace a treasure, then it was off to the park for a picnic - what could be better?
I have never heard of this!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing it must have been an amazing experience!
ReplyDeleteXO,
Zhanna
www.lifandbows.com
I love to see children out exploring! That was a great trip to take them on to show them a love of the outdoors and teach them to do something new. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteWe love geocaching! It gets us out of the house and to a spot that we would have never been to before! Fun :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like yall had a fun time! :)
ReplyDeleteWe started geocaching this summer as well. What's so great is that you can do it anywhere in the world! There are geocaches everywhere. I love that it seems like a little secret that not everyone knows about. :)
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