Neighborhood Fun
The friendly layouts of the neighborhoods of Kempsville, Greenbrier, and surrounding areas make neighborhood activities very accommodating. With sidewalk bordered streets, lined with fire hydrants, street lights, and, of course, houses with addresses, a walk down the street can become a virtual, visual scavenger hunt….especially for young children.
Family members, overwhelmed with school, extracurricular activities, work and house-hold responsibilities, are often crunched for time and feel exhausted. Yet, yearn for other activities.
Finding fun literally outside of one's front door can be very rewarding and stress free since these activities do not involve any 'start times,' registration fees, or traffic to navigate.
The following activities are extremely fun for children to participate, and just as fun for parents, and older siblings, to orchestrate. Activities such as these get children really excited about going outdoors, whether for a walk, or a bike ride, and gives them a sense of accomplishment.
- Letter Scavenger Hunt (ages 2-7)
- How Many of These do You See? (ages 2-7)
- Neighborhood Inventory - A variation of 'How May of These do You See?' (ages 3-7)
- Neighborhood Map activity (ages 4-8)
- Find the Address (ages 5-8)
- Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt
The instructions to the above activities will be rotated periodically.
Take advantage of what Kempsbrier has to offer to the residences of Kempsville, Greenbrier, and the surrounding areas. Let your, or a nearby neighborhood, provide your family with the hard to beat Three F’s: Fun, Fulfilling, and Free entertaining activities.
Letter Scavenger Hunt (ages 2 - 7)
This activity is great for children who are learning, or already know, their letters.Materials: None.
Instructions: As you stroll through the neighborhood and approach various signs (street signs, traffic signs, “For Sale” signs, etc.), ask your child yes or no questions pertaining to the signs. For example, as you approach a “Yard Sale”, sign ask a toddler if he sees any “A’s” in the sign, or any “Z’s”. For older children, instead of asking yes or no questions, ask how many “A’s” or how many “Z’s” they see in the sign.
Arithmetic variation: After asking older children to identify specific letters, ask them to count the number of letters of each word in a sign; then to add or subtract. For example, when approaching the street sign for Arlington Arch, ask a child, who is learning math, how many letters are in the first word (9) and how many are in the second word (4). Then ask, “How much is 9-4? (5)”
Simplicity is Key
Keep in mind, less is often more when it comes to activities with children. Pick activities that require little or no materials, or those that can be done with materials around the house. By doing activities that require little or no materials, children benefit from being more creative and imaginative. This enables them to “think outside the box” and develop games on their own. Busy parents benefit by saving time and money because there is nothing to set up and very little, if any, preparation. These types of activities allow parents to make better use of their time and therefore help them to be more relaxed.