"T" is for Treasure Hunt

Today I took the kids on a treasure hunt!

We drove to a local flea market that's only open Saturday and Sunday. As we drove there, I laid out the ground rules:
1. Each kid gets $5
2. They have to find a "treasure" using their money
3. They can't get it if it's more than $5
4. They can only get one thing unless it's something that goes together
5. If they spend less than $5, they don't get change

I said at the end they could compare treasures. I said we weren't judging to see who had the best, but they each should find something they liked.

The flea market wasn't crowded because it had rained earlier in the day, which was a nice bonus.

My littlest one found his "treasure" first-a table of toys had several Star Wars action figures. He got an Emperor and what the kids say is a "pirate" from Star Wars. (I don't know the character.)

Next oldest son found a Magic 8 ball, which he loved. The words are a little unclear, so maybe it's an old one.

My daughter had the hardest time finding something. At 6 she's a budding photographer. She had seen some old cameras on a table and was looking at them, but we moved on. She looked at lots of toys without finding anything she liked. She said she wanted to go back to the cameras. I warned her some old cameras are expensive, but she insisted. Well, it turns out she got an Argus A-Four 35 mm camera for $4.

So, the "treasure" hunt was a success because they were all happy with their finds! You could do the same thing at a yard sale or flea market. And if $5 per kid is too expensive, challenge them and make it $1 or $2 per kid.