At OMO, we believe that every stain represents an important experience - mud stains are the stamp of adventure, grass stains are the sign of exploration and fruit stains are the aftermath of discovery. Encourage your kids to get messy with our fun activities for happy, healthy, confident kids. We'll be there to sort out the dirty clothes afterwards.
Transport Treasure Hunt
A shape-hunting game that will keep your child entertained while helping them to learn new shapes.
What you’ll need:
What to do:
Decide which shapes you want your child to practice with and draw them or print them out as a reference. Cut cardboard into these shapes in different sizes. Make each shape a different colour and cut out at least two sizes of each shape. You can cover the shapes with contact paper or sticky tape to make them last longer if you like.
Make your slime according to the instructions on the OMO Messy Play Zone. Put it into a tub that is big and deep enough for your child to get their hand into. Put the transport toys and the shapes into the slime.
Show your child the drawing of the different shapes they must find. Let them dig in the slime and find each of the shapes. Encourage them to keep going until they’ve found all of the shapes. As they find each shape, ask them to name the shape and to tell you how many sides it has. When they have found all the shapes, ask your child how many of each shape they have found. Have them arrange the shapes in order from smallest to largest.
Alternative Materials:
Change it up:
Make it easy: Young children can recognize basic shapes. Use just a couple of simple shapes – maybe one that your child knows well and one that they are just starting to learn about. Make a small and a large shape.
Make it a challenge: Use more complex shapes and include Diamond shapes (this is a treasure hunt, after all). Make several sizes of shape.
Play with friends: Two or more children can each have their own assigned shape. If they find a different shape, they must put it back and keep searching until they find their own shapes.
Indoor play: This activity can be done indoors in a washable area as it is contained in the tub.
Developmental areas:
Fine motor skills
Concepts – shapes
Concepts – numbers
Concepts - size
Problem solving
Values:
Resilience; self-confidence; communication.