Geocaching with Children
The whole idea is to use technology to explore the world around us. Stash hunting is but an excuse to go out there and see all that beauty. Children love adventure you can open their eyes and ears to nature, beauty, history and fun.
Going some place wild? In the forest, along the river, anywhere. Take your time to notice a characteristic tree, an original rock. Show your kids all that richness. It might be a good idea to start collecting souvenirs along the way. Leaves, stones, anything. You may want to leave some of them in the cache you're looking for, maybe with a short description of where it was found and why it's important. You can take others home and have a collection. Children would love it and you can add something of your own to the game.
Take some books with you. A small atlas could be a great addition to the learning experience. Find out what that bush down the road is, how you call this rock etc. You'll be amazed how much fun it is and how much your kids can learn through fun.
How about some nature testing? If your kid is interested in science, they'd be thrilled to test water, soil or wind in all the various areas you're visiting. It might just be worth your while to pick up some testing equipment that's easy to carry and fun to use. You can have a science journal as an addition to your normal gear. Children can be meticulous when it comes to things like that. Before you know it, you'd be raising a top scientist. You can also leave your notes in the cache and suggest others do the same. Or, you can hide your own caches and make it a task for others to do. For example, tell them to leave notes about the soil on their route to your cache. You'd be collecting data and discovering places you'd never been to.
Alternatively, you can make it your goal to seek various animal tracks along the way. See what animals are common for the area you're going to visit and try to find the prove of their existence there. Make notes or photos later to be put into an album.
Another interest to use when geocaching is history. Many caches are placed near important historic sites. Make it a habit to learn as much as you can about the history of the area you're going to visit beforehand. Make some notes and try to imagine how the army resting before an important battle looked like, if those trees were there then. How about seeking this particular type of caches? Some people leave various historical notes in their caches and place them somewhere along historical routes.
Cultural ties are also important. There are caches filled with items reflecting the area, such as native instruments that children could try. Some people even leave recordings for you to listen. Learning new things through fun is an excellent exercise for your children.
All of the above can be fun for your own kids but also might be used for class activities when you're a teacher or a couch. Make it a large project for your students. Ask them to collect as much data as possible and later work on ways to present them in class. Nature, Science, History and Culture. And you may have plenty of your own ideas. Possibilities are endless.
Audio recorder is another idea to make your child more involved. A lot of children get bored easily while walking long distances. Why not take some recordings of various sounds around you once in a while? Bird chirping, water shimmering, the sound of cars on the motor way. When you're back home you can listen and try remembering as much detail about the place as possible. Such an activity is excellent especially for younger children to train their attention and memory. It's also great fun. And, again, you may leave your recording in the cache for others to hear.
I'd risk the statement that a camera is a must when you're geocaching with kids. You may of course use it traditionally, taking pictures of yourselves along the way but you may also use it to awaken your kids' sensitivity to nature. Why not take a photo of an unusual plant or rock as a souvenir? Why not use the photos later to better remember places you visited? They can be published on the website or left in the cache. You may want others to guess where on your way they were taken.
All these ideas are meant to increase kids' interest. Of course, treasure hunt is exciting in itself. However, it's wise to remember that you can travel for long hours. Especially young children lose interest quickly. It's good to give them something to do along the way as well. It's also an excellent way for teachers of all the various subjects to incorporate some original ideas and methods into their curricula.
You can have a cache competition. Make groups of students seek for various types of caches and set up a contest in the class later. For the most interesting trinkets, the most involving presentation etc. it might be wise to divide your class into small groups and assign individual tasks as well. For each group choose a photographer, a log book keeper, a leader and so on. Everybody should be responsible for their own area. That way you can be sure they'll all participate.
Geocaching is more varied than you may think. You can not only do countless other things while on the track but you can also make others do it. If you want to place your own cache somewhere, it's worth considering some additional tasks for the people who will find it. You can ask them to leave their own records for you to collect or send them to you on the Website. You can leave some data there and tell them to spread it to the next cache they'll find. As I keep saying – possibilities are endless.