Sound Scavenger Hunt

What You Need:

• Pen
• Paper
• Clipboard
• A tape recorder or cell phone with recording capability

What You Do:

1. Start by making a list of five to ten types of sounds for your child to find. Some examples: soft sound, loud sound, pretty sound, scary sound, nature, person, animal sound, happy sound, sound from the kitchen, music sound, water sound and machine sound.
2. Once your list is done, show your child how to use the recorder. Let her practice recording a few times and become familiar with the buttons she'll need to use.
3. If your child needs help reading the list or working the player, you can go with her on the scavenger hunt and pick another adult or sibling to join in later. If she doesn't need help, put the paper with the list of sounds on the clipboard and give your child the pen. Then send her on her sound scavenger hunt! Explain that after she's made the tape, you or another adult will listen to the sounds she's collected and try to guess what they are!
4. Set boundaries for the scavenger hunt so your child stays in the house or yard.
5. When your child has recorded all the different types of sounds, have her play them for you and try to guess what the sounds are, i.e. "scary," "happy," "nature," etc. (If you helped her with the scavenger hunt, play the sounds for another adult instead.)
6. When you're done, save the recording. In a few weeks, bring out the tape and play it for your child. Can she guess what each sound is? See if she can remember all the sounds that she collected!

This fun exercise for your child's development hones her observation and memory, plus it's fun to see how your child classifies the world around her!