Rainy days at our house always start with happy play but by early afternoon my kids have used up their patience with each other and mine isn’t far behind. This puzzle hunt took 2 minutes to set up and they played 3 times. More importantly the bad attitudes we were all developing were stopped in their tracks. It’s the perfect easy rainy day activity for kids. It’s also a great way to use puzzles. We used wooden puzzles but if you have older kids it would be fun to try a jigsaw puzzle instead. Another thing I love about puzzle hunts is you know if you forgot to find a piece because the puzzle won’t be complete.
- Gather your materials. You will need some puzzles . <— pretty easy right?
- Pop all the pieces our and start hiding them.
I send my kids up to the playroom while I hid them. Hide some in tricky places and some in plain sight if you have younger kids. 
- Time to search.
They started out trying to beat each other and I reminded them that they are working as a team to beat me.
If they find all the pieces then they win , if not I win. That did the trick and they were a team from then on. 
- They took breaks every now and then to count how many we had already found and how many were still missing.
- Complete! If anything makes a parent burst with happiness it’s an unprompted hug between siblings that isn’t part of an apology.
Other ways to play include having your kids hide the pieces and you find them , take it outside ( you may want to pop the pieces in a Ziploc or 5 ) , and include words on each to create a secret message .
On long summer days especially if you are stuck inside for whatever reason simple play like this goes so far in improving moods, recharging a bad day and getting kids to work together. For more rainy day ideas ( and sunny day ones too )Â check out our Pinterest boards !
Kali says
Cool idea!!
Tiffany says
We just did this since we are having a chill day at home (mom’s not feeling great). Thanks for the idea! They only lasted one round but I see us doing this many more times in the future. It gives another twist to doing puzzles and is great for my 2.5 year old son who likes to be on the move!
Jessica says
What an awesome idea! This is a great way to get some more life out of puzzles that might be getting too easy for our growing children! I also love the teamwork aspect!
Sarah C says
We did this the other day and it was a hit. Without intending to, we also integrated a lot of other skills – counting how many spaces were left, subtraction as another piece was found, giving hints about some things being “under” or “in”, etc. My almost 4 yr old is pretty dexterous so most of these puzzles are too young for him in terms of a dexterity challenge but they are great subject matters (animals, numbers, etc) so it was a fun way to refresh them for us. And the 15 mos old LOVED dumping the bucket of puzzle pieces out, taking them out of the puzzle itself, etc. So we learned a lot about patience too. Thanks, as always, for having great activities that I never would have thought of!
Katie @ The Surly Housewife says
My daughters love treasure hunts so they will love this! Thanks for the idea 🙂