Hide and Seek
Hide and seek is a classic children's search game which requires two or more players. Home base is selected depending on the location of the game. If in a park, home base might be a tree or slide. If at home, home base might be the couch or a chair. One child is labeled as "It" and counts with her eyes closed while the other children run to find a hiding spot. At preschool ages, the child who is It should count up to 10. She then yells out "Ready or not, here I come!" and turns to start searching for the other players. Anyone who is found must return to home base before It does or they are out of the game. If they beat It back to home base, it's their turn to be It.
Hidden Picture Games
Free hidden picture games are available online to print or play on the computer. The pictures are often coloring pages combined with searching pages. Preschoolers look for pictures that match the listed pictures at the bottom of the page on the website or paper.
Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts for preschoolers can vary in location and type. It might take place in a park and have preschoolers look for specific items or it might take place in a home. On the preschool level, children can look for items they easily recognize, like a stuffed animal or a favorite book, which parents have hidden or they should look for a type of item, such as a specific color or shape. If outside, such as in a park, the children can look for items found in nature such as pine cones, flowers or rocks.
The Great Egg Hunt
There are free online games designed for searching. Among the games is an Easter egg hunting game called The Great Egg Hunt. Children look at the picture and try to find the eggs hidden in the illustration. Upon selecting the egg, the game announces the color. The game is ideal for learning colors and how to recognize them.