I collect coins that are in my pockets at the end of each day, and eventually count and roll them. When our children were fairly young, I’d keep the pennies in a big brass antique-looking container that looked like a large squat goblet with an over-sized bowl.
Rather than occasionally count and roll the pennies, Beloved and I found a fun and educational way to deal with all of them. We asked our three young children if they’d like to go on a Treasure Hunt, and they all responded with an enthusiastic “YES!!”
So we told them we’d hidden a treasure along with a whole bunch of clues to help them to try to find it. We said we’d give the first clue to them after they agreed to some simple rules:
“Some clues are for Little Sister, some are for Younger Brother, and some were for Older Brother. Whoever the question is for must be given a few minutes to answer the question without help or hints, and if after that time the others can begin giving hints until the clue is found.” They all agreed.
The clues were spread throughout our house and front and back yards, and they varied in level of difficulty for each child, and in some cases we tried to include clues to which only one of the children would know the answer.Clues might be along these lines:
Where you found the old bird’s nest last month.
Where you keep the leather thing you catch balls with.
Between pages 22 and 23 of Dad’s favorite book (or the book that Mom is reading.)
Underneath something that gives us light in the living room.
Wrapped around the thing we mash potatoes with.
In the pocket of your favorite shirt.
Wrapped around the handle of something we dig SMALL holes with.
It’s red and you get pulled in it.
Etc.
We then provided a single clue which would lead them to another clue and so on through about 20 clues, and only the last one would lead them to the Treasure of the brass container full of pennies.
It was fun for us to come up with the clues and then watch our children work together to answer all the clues.
The kids loved the game and enjoyed dividing up their booty when at last they found their treasure.
Russ Towne's A Grateful Man 
What a great idea! We are so doing that with our kids! 🙂
Thank you, MoJo. It truly is a lot of fun!
Russ
What a fantastic idea! The kids must have had so much fun.
Thank you for your kind comment!
Russ
Fun! Kids so love treasure hunting!
Thank you for your kind comment!
We all had a lot of fun with the Treasure Hunt.
Russ
Wow – you should write a book! Call it – How to create memories….
Thank you, Diana! I actually have a song I co-wrote with Denis Loiseau called Making Memories. I plan to post it in the near future.
Russ
I look forward to it!
Thank you for sharing this excellent idea. I am so glad I did treasure hunts with riddles, but your idea of having certain ones for certain children with a rule to let them figure it out without helping at first is brilliant! And I agree with Diana, of ‘Wow – you should write a book!’ I feel that a book from you on parenting would be a benefit to many!! And she nailed it in the name, and of a song you’ve already created! How cool is that!? Thanks again Russ, for another treasure!
Thank you for your wonderful comments, Gina. Along with Elyse that makes three of you who have now suggested that we write a parenting suggestions book. Guess I’ll have to talk to Beloved about the idea!
Russ
Russ, you and your wife should really consider writing a parenting tips book. You have so many good ideas that were applied creatively.
Thank you for your suggestion and kind compliment. Perhaps we will do that one day!
Russ