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A small pile of wooden clothespins on a tabletop
Numbered or colored clothespins make quick hidden checkpoints
Setup diagram showing checkpoints scattered within a boundary
Setup: checkpoints placed around the space

Clothespin-O — Activity

Find hidden objects and describe their locations

Time30-45 minutes
SpaceAny space (gym, schoolyard, or local park)
MaterialsClothespins (numbered, lettered, or with colored streamers), Small whiteboards and markers (optional, for map variations)
VocabularyBoundary, Clue, Treasure

"Let's play orienteering games with clothespins!"

Participants search for small objects hidden throughout the space. This activity develops observation, spatial memory, and spatial communication. There are many different ways to play, from a simple treasure hunt to partner games where one person hides and gives clues, to versions where students draw maps of where they found things. The activity is designed so that students help each other after finding their own treasure.

How to Run It

Setup​

  1. If playing the teacher-hides version, hide clothespins throughout the space before students arrive. Remember where each one is hidden
  2. If playing the partner version, give each pair a clothespin
  3. If playing the map version, draw a simple map of the space on a whiteboard ahead of time

Steps​

1. Boundaries. Explore the boundary together. Quiz students on what is inside and outside the boundary.

2. Explain the game. "There are small objects hidden throughout this space. Your job is to search carefully, find a treasure, and bring it back to me. When you bring it back, you must tell me exactly where you found it."

3. Search. Students search within the boundary. When they find a clothespin, they bring it back and describe where they found it.

4. Help others. Once you have found one treasure, find a friend to help. Everyone gets a chance.

5. Hints. If some treasures are not found, provide hints to narrow the search area.

6. Variations. Once all treasures are collected, move to partner or map variations.

Adaptations​

Ways to adapt the activity to meet the needs of your students: slow things down, increase the challenge, or adapt for different learners

  • Teacher hides (simplest): teacher hides clothespins before the session. Students search and report where they found them
  • Traveling Pairs: one partner hides, then travels with the finder giving only "warmer/colder" or "north/south/east/west" clues
  • Limit the clues: restrict what the hider can say (e.g., one feature word and one describing word: "under bench")
  • Picture/Map Treasure Hunt: draw a map of the space. Students mark where they found their treasure on the map. For a harder version, have students hide their own treasures and draw the locations for a partner to find
  • Finders Keepers: hide a single treasure. Narrow the search area over time. Whoever finds it gets to hide it next
  • Treasure Collectors: one student hides one treasure per classmate. The class must work together so each person collects exactly one. Challenge: can they do it without talking?
  • Personal Treasure Hunt: write each student's name on a clothespin, hide them all. Students search for their own treasure. If they find someone else's, they help that person find it
  • Team Treasure Hunt: divide treasures into color-coded groups. Teams race to find all their treasures before the other team

Tips​

  • Remind students: if you move any objects (chairs, toys, tables) while searching, put them back right away
  • The "help others after finding yours" rule is important. It prevents some students from finding multiple treasures while others find none
  • For the partner version, specify that clothespins must be reachable from the ground (no climbing trees, no burying)
  • The map variation is a natural bridge to Geometric-O and later map activities