Treasure Hunt

Treasure! Now that's rocks with bling!

studying our gems and gold

What IS treasure? I used the 'I Spy Treasure Hunt' book by  Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick to introduce the idea of treasure. They love the game of finding the objects in the pictures - I used the Antiques Shop page and introduced the idea of maps (and, inevitably, pirates!), and clues, by using the old map and comparing it with the photograph of the same place many years later.  You have to be careful with the whole pirates thing because of course they were really violent thieves, not just Robin Hood in a boat. Still, we pretended we would be searching for hidden treasure to return to the owners!

Gold and jewels are of course rocks with value and belong in a treasure chest! I have one from my son's experience at 4 or 5, going on a sail with his best friend and landing at a beach where his friend's Mom and Dad had hidden a chest complete with map and - a Black Spot! They had read Treasure Island (the Real one!!) by R.L Stevenson so it was such a thrill! The black spot made it's rounds among his friends for years and years (I still expect it to turn up).
  I loaded the chest with toy gold coins and jewels and hid it in the classroom. Were they thrilled when it was found!!

Oohs and Aaahs when the chest is opened!

Making a 'Treasure Island' in the classroom was another route to finding treasure. Using a rug as the basic island, the children placed trees, volcanoes and rocks all around and then had to find individual treasure items hidden there - under the volcano, or under a rock, before hunting for the whole chest.

lifting a rock to find a gold coin!

As you can see, we added animals as well to make the island more authentic. Watch out for that wild boar!  And the Barbary Apes and poisonous snakes making our quest ever more dangerous!!!

The jewels and coins were much admired and compared and, of course, coveted but luckily there was plenty to go around.