Finding summer things to do with kids in Atlanta doesn’t have to be costly. Atlanta With Kid has several summer fun ideas on our 120 Ways to Summer Fun in Atlanta Guide and we are happy to add one more cheap thing to do with kids in Atlanta this summer to your check list.
Today, Jessica Dickson, shares with us her experience on Geocaching. Jessica is a full- time mommy (of two unbelievable children) and wife as well as a part- time event planner/ family educator at a local community center.
Set Out for Family Challenge
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon as we set out for another Dickson Family Challenge. This time we decided that we would all head out on an adventure on foot with dog in tow. My daughter was on her bike, son held the dog leash, and hubby downloaded the app to his phone. We were going geocaching a fun, interactive, educational experience anywhere you go. On the app we searched for caches (a hidden treasure) near our home and started walking southeast.
Geocaching with Kids
Geocaching is an outdoor scavenger hunt using coordinates and GPS from the app to search out small containers. Once found the containers hold sheets of papers that people sign and date marking their discovery. Some caches contain treasure- small gifts left for the person or people who find the container. When there is treasure left it is custom to leave treasure for the next people. This was most exciting for the smaller people in my search party.
Heading southwest we took turns reading the compass and determining direction, leading the group, following, problem solving, and making inferences from clues on that other people leave on the app. We were also able to sort our searches by difficulty and terrain. It seems plausible that people could also “cache and dash” (drive and find) the simple caches that we found however for us it was about the family time, physical activity and experience. That day we searched out three caches in a couple hours and even ended up with a friendship bracelet (which my son wore proudly for a long time) and some change (which my daughter added to her piggy bank).
Great Experience for the Whole Family
Overall this was a very inexpensive family activity (the geocaching.com app costs about $10). After the pursuit was over for the day my kids both wanted to find more. Our family keeps talking about geocaching anywhere we go this summer- the beach, camping, etc.
How often does a family find an activity that is a fun and educational, exciting and physical? Even the youngest members of the family can take a turn being “in charge”. In the end geocaching was one of the best Family Challenges that the Dickson Family has completed yet
Have you done geocaching with your family?
