Playground Hide and Seek

Your Child Will Learn

Using positional words to describe the location of an object

Here’s What to Do

1. Bring a small toy to the playground.
2. Ask your child to hide the toy somewhere on the playground. Cover your eyes while they hide it.
3. Ask your child to give you hints to help you find the toy. Tell them they can only give hints that say where the toy is compared to other things at the playground (above/below, in front/behind, between, next to, inside/outside).
4. Repeat!

Put PEER Into Action

PAUSE

• Before you begin, pause to make sure your child isn’t distracted by something else on the playground.

ENGAGE

• “Tell me how to find the truck using other things on the playground. You could say something like: The truck is behind the climbing wall.’ What’s your first hint?”
• “Is the doll above or below the play structure?”

ENCOURAGE

• “What’s something the block is near? Can you tell me how the block is near that?”
• “Here are some types of hints you could give: Can you tell me something the ball is above or below, something it’s in front of or behind, two things it’s between, something it’s next to, or something it’s inside or outside of?”

REFLECT

• Was I able to find things easily with your directions? How do you think you could make it easier or harder next time?

Not Quite Ready

Hide the toy yourself, and use positional hints to help your child find it.

Ready for More

Ask your child to use “left” and “right” to help you find the toy.

As Your Child Masters This Skill

They will use positional words with greater accuracy.

Time to Complete

15 minutes

Materials Needed

A small toy