Review: Clued In Kids

10/29/2014

When I talked with my homeschool associates about Multiplication Dragons and the Winter hunt, they wondered what I was talking about.. at least until I got their children helping me with them. :) Oh.. What fun! These treasure hunts from Clued In Kids are a hit in this household (as well as in the households of his friends). :)

Walking you through the product.
Clued in Kids treasure hunts (the products that we reviewed) came as PDF downloads.   They were easy to print off and make ready for the treasure.   It is SUCH an easy product to work with.

First off a bit of background    Created by Helen Bertelli, who has developed various treasure hunts for years... starting with her own children and the neighbourhood youngsters as well.    Scavenger hunts promote (in Helen's words)

* Treasure hunts are an incredible, memorable way to teach;
* They appeal to my deep conviction that to stay healthy, children must have the opportunity to move, not just sit at a desk or in front of a screen.
* They are a reminder that life is a journey to treasure; that if learning and laughter occur along the way, the destination doesn’t really matter.

Let me show off some of the highlights for us.

Printed up on 8.5 x 11 inch paper the cover paper easily folds in half for transporting else where. This holds all the clues in one convenient self made envelope. This was important to me as I have one child and doing a treasure hunt is more fun if you can share the treasure with others.   This way we could print, tear pages in half (as they came two clues to a page), fold cover in half, stuff and go.   No pages lost and so easy to just run and go.

The clues are clearly labeled as to where they are to be hidden. As well as coming with a master list to help you out if a clue proves to be elusive or too difficult to solve. Mom can help out! I found this useful with one clue where you needed to read the clue in the steam and the children were a bit flummoxed so I gave a hint to help them and voila! Clue solved! :). Many smiles resulted.

hiding clue in the dryer.

As you can see, where to hide the clue is clearly printed on the clue. As well the clues are numbered in order making it really easy to keep track of where the children are at.

Set up time shortest was eight minutes in our home, setting up for one child. Longest was 20 minutes with the help of one six year old still learning to read.

The clues are easy for the children to read and answer, though occasionally they may need to think hard.

The only ones that gave the children who reviewed these scavenger hunts were the ones that you needed to figure out the word based on other words all lined up in a row. But thinking a bit harder never hurt anyone and the amount of joy that the children had when they solved the harder ones makes it all worth while. :) T'is a good thing yes?

Multiplication Dragon: Five treasure hunts that help children either review their multiplication facts, or gives them an incentive to learn them. Aimed at children 7-9 years old, reading, math, problem-solving and team work skills. 2x-6x tables are the focus of these scavenger hunts.

Winter Treasure Hunt: A perfect way to keep 1-10 children busy on a play date, cold winter day or even during a party. :) Dress up and be silly, figure out the clues, and enjoy a reward at the end of it all.

Reactions from Children
From an almost 13 year old: "Can I help set it up? I don't want to play, but I want to watch the kids figure out where I hid things."   This said with a grin on his face (and he hid some clues in tough places)
From some girls: the girls loved the treasure hunt! They solved all the clues without getting stuck except for the clue that said pjs - she said "mom, it doesn't say anything just puhjuhs". But when I told her to examine the answer, she figured it out (as we always say pajamas. For the words that she should hold in front of the mirror to read, instead she held it up to the light and read the back of the paper as she could see right through the paper.
From six year old:"Do you have another one?   Can I help??" And giggled as he ran through the house hiding clues.
From my son (after doing the HARD for him 6x's tables): "YEAH!!!!   I figured it out!   I get free time on the x-box!!!!     I did it mom!!!"
From 8 year old: "I like doing them. It's neat to see what we have to do. and I can play it with my brother".
From 10 year old: "Some of the things are silly and I am glad that I can get my younger siblings to do the silly ones. I like the ones where I can draw".
From other moms: "look at how much fun they are having!" "This is great!" "Oh, I wish I had the time to make a treasure hunt!".

From Me: Excellent resource.   I could totally see laminating these and providing children with crayons to be able to use them. I have NO issues recommending you look into these treasure hunts byClued in Kids.

I liked running around! (the youngest). I liked finding the clues! I want to do it again! (older children).

Product Details:
Vendor: Clued In Kids
Product: Multiplication Dragons * and * Winter Treasure Hunt
Price: Dragons (five hunts) $19.99. Winter: $5.99.

At this time, you can receiveHomework Reward Treasure Hunt for free by signing up for the newsletter.

Age: A wide variety of ages... like seriously...who doesn't like a good treasure hunt?

For news about the Christmas Special Clued in Kids is having check out this blog post.

Titles available
Holiday/Seasonal:
Halloween Treasure Hunt
Thanksgiving Treasure Hunt
Winter Treasure Hunt

Nutrition-Themed (for Allergies, ADHD, etc.):
Happy Tummy Treasure Hunt
Gluten Free Treasure Hunt

Educational Related:
Homework Reward Treasure Hunt
Multiplication Dragons (this is a series of 5 treasure hunts, teaching the 2x-6x tables)

Sports:
Baseball Treasure Hunt
Soccer Treasure Hunt

Clue Pad Products (Physical):
Christmas Treasure Hunt In A Greeting Card
Playdate
Pirate
Princess
Slumber Party

To read what other reviewers had to say about these wonderful treasure hunts, go ahead, click on the banner below. :)