Scavenger hunt for pumpkins....and information!

My students seem to get very bored by walking into a location and listening to a person discuss their services. I learned this the second week of school and decided to re-vamp my lessons. This lesson takes a lot of pre-planning, but is worth every ounce of effort!

Objective: Teach students a component of residential life planning by having them engage local utility companies for clues and information about the business.


I had the students engage in decorating a set of pumpkins, which they LOVED! They spent an entire morning deciding what to draw on them and then actually doing the art work. That afternoon, I took the pumpkins to a local restaurant and asked them to hold the pumpkins for us and put them on the tables the following day, for the students, when we came in.
The next morning the students came in to find the pumpkins missing and a note from "the bandit" with a clue as to where the pumpkins might be. The students loaded our program vehicle and we went on a scavenger hunt.
Each business was given a clue and asked to tell the students what services they provide when preparing to move into a residence. At each stop, students would inquire about the pumpkins, receive information about the services, and then get another clue.
Doing any more than 4 or 5 stops would lose their interest, so we had a limited number of stops before the final clue sent them to the restaurant.


I was so excited and happy that my students were eager to learn and gain more information about housing expenses while also having fun.