This printable beach scavenger hunt is one of many fun beach activities for children. It’s perfect for keeping kids entertained on the beach as well as being a great way to start teaching them about the nature we find on our beaches. Never wonder what to do with bored kids on the beach again.
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Ideas for using this beach scavenger hunt for kids
My kids love visiting the beach. We do all sorts of beach activities like buildings sandcastles (find loads of Sandcastle ideas here) and rock pooling. They love paddling in the sea too. Sometimes though they still say they’re bored or complain they have nothing to do. The last time we went to the beach, I printed out this beach nature scavenger hunt and kept it in my bag until they asked what they could do next.
This beach scavenger hunt for kids lists different things that they can find on the beach. My kids love collecting shells and by asking them to find 3 different types of shells, it gets them to really look at the shells on the beach. How many different shapes and types can you find?
Have you ever found sea glass? It’s so beautiful to collect.
They also love hunting for something they love. This usually ends up being an interesting shaped rock or another shell. I wonder what your child will choose?
Finding something that moves might seem a little daunting at first but this could be a great opportunity to get them rock pooling (or tide pooling). Armed with a simple net, they have loads of fun seeing what they can find in a rock pool.
Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to find something that doesn’t belong on the beach nowadays. Rubbish seems to be always there. This is a useful place to start teaching them about why litter shouldn’t be left on the beach. Perhaps you could do a litter pick?
Find more Things To Do On Vacation here.
Why use a beach scavenger hunt?
This beach scavenger hunt is not only a great way to occupy kids on a beach trip but there are numerous learning opportunities too for kids of all ages.
A beach scavenger hunt is one of many great outdoor games for children to play on the beach.
For young children, scavenger hunts are a perfect mark-making activity. They don’t necessarily need to be able to draw a tick in the box, any mark will do. Without realising it they’re getting ready for writing by practising pen control in a fun way. For slightly older children they can practice reading the things they need to find.
For all children, this scavenger hunt is fantastic for getting them to notice the natural world around them on the beach and starting to learn about them.
You could use it to start introducing topics around climate change. We love the beach and the oceans, not forgetting the creatures who call them home. That’s why we need to play our part in protecting them (more details on how to extend this learning below).
Find a nature walk scavenger hunt free printable for every season here.
Extending their beach learning
You might like to take a book with you that helps them identify the creatures they see. We love this gorgeous National Trust book – * Go wild at the beach. It teaches kids all about the coast and the creatures who live there as well as being filled with loads of activity ideas. Our copy lives in our campervan ready for our next beach trip.
These seashell identification worksheet are also fantastic for your next beach trip.
If you want to continue their learning about climate change in a fun way, why not read some books together that introduce climate change in an age-appropriate way. Find some fantastic ones in my post on Earth day children’s books.
Find more seasonal activities for kids here.
Ad- Kid’s summer activity pack
If you want to learn more about nature this summer with kids, you may like my summer activity pack which has 3 weeks of activities including a week on being a water warrior which is all about saving the oceans. You’ll get 58 pages of fun activities for kids including wildflower spotter sheets, beautifully illustrated bee anatomy poster and so much more. Find out more here.
How to use this beach scavenger hunt
Download your free printable beach scavenger hunt below by signing up to my free weekly email newsletter (you can unsubscibe at any time but hopefully you’ll love my weekly inspiration for getting kids outside and learning about the natural world around us).
Simply print the scavenger hunt out and you’re ready to go. You could laminate it if you want to use it more than once or use it as it is.
A * clipboard is really useful for making ticking off their finds easy. They’re cheap to purchase and we use ours all the time for different scavenger hunts or even just drawing/colouring outdoors. We keep 2 in our campervan so we are always ready and they are also good for drawing and colouring support on road trips.
You could ask your child to collect the items on the list (perhaps not the something that moves one though if they find a living creature) and bring them back to you or simply just tick them off on their hunt sheet as they find them.
Beach activities to do at home
- How about some fun STEM activities at home, try these beach science activities for preschoolers – some of these can even be done at the beach ad many are suitable for slightly older kids too.
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