• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • About
  • Shop
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

teach mama logo

teach mama

helps families connect & build bridges between home & school, by amy mascott

  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

geocaching: what it is & why we’re hooked

home / family life / family fun / outdoor activities / geocaching: what it is & why we’re hooked
15.6K shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print

Right now, weโ€™re 2 for 6.

That’s right–2/6. 2:6?

geocaching: what it is and why we're hooked

And today we totally thought we had one, but we didnโ€™t.

Weโ€™ll masters by wintertime, after a fall of not worrying about poison ivy or scratched legs or sunburn.

Weโ€™ll move from โ€˜navigating to geocacheโ€™ to using the map or compass (on the phone, of course), and maybe the kids will even have their own Geomate.jr.

Weโ€™ll know every attribute symbol by heart.

Decrypting hints will become second-nature.ย  ROT13, anyone?

Weโ€™ll look for–and log–trackables or travel bugs and never alert the muggles.

Every logbook will have our initials, and weโ€™ll know exactly how to read d/t (levels of difficulty and terrain, hello) like the back of our hand.

Iโ€™m talking โ€˜geocachingโ€™ here if you havenโ€™t already guessed, and after becoming geocachers this July, weโ€™re hooked.ย  Seriously hooked.

Well, most of us are.

Hereโ€™s the skinny. . .

Geocaching–What it is & Why We’re Hooked:ย 

So ‘geocaching’. What on earth is it, anyway?

Geocaching is a free real-world outdoor treasure hunt. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using a smartphone or GPS and can then share their experiences online (straight from the Geocaching site, yo!).

what is geocaching?

Boys’ Life Series: Let’s Go Geocaching by John Mckinney got us interested in geocaching. . .

what is geocaching

but the search is what got us hooked!

What does ‘geocaching’ mean?

‘Geo’ refers to ‘geography’ and a ‘cache’ is a container (strange, I know, but pronounced ‘cash’), so ‘geocaching’ is simply the act of hiding–or seeking–a little container using geographical coordinates.ย  Or you can look at it as ‘geo’ meaning ‘earth’ and interpret ‘geocaching’ as finding a small container somewhere outdoors.ย  Either way works.

Before we got started, we did a little reading.

We found Boys’ Life Series: Let’s Go Geocaching by John Mckinney at the library.ย  We read it cover to cover and renewed it three times. No joke. ย I found it extremely easy to understand and at a perfect level of difficulty for Maddy and Owen to read independently.

geocaching prep

We poked around on the geocaching site.

geocaching prep

We decoded a hint or two.ย  We were ready!

So what did we do next? How’d we go from reading about geocaching to becoming geocachers?

  • We visited the website: geocaching.com. And we played around, watching the video, reading about the caches close to us, and registering on the site. It’s all free unless you want to upgrade to a premium membership, which (shhhhh!) we did after our first find.
  • ย Then we downloaded the app: geocaching for smartphones.ย  (But you do not necessarily need a smartphone to geocache!! You do need to have a GPS device or a GPS-enabled phone to navigate to the cache, though.)
  • We found the cache closest to where we wanted to begin, we read the logs, decoded the hint, and we clicked ‘navigate to cache’.
  • ย Finally, we jumped in the car and headed out for our first cache!

what is geocaching

Maddy navigates to our first geocache. . .

what is geocaching

. . . and we tried and tried. . .

what is geocaching

. . . and tried some more. . .

geocaching pool - spoiler

And we FOUND IT!!

what is geocaching

This one was a micro, so no treasures–just a teeny, tiny log that we signed.

And then we danced around.

It. Was. Awesome.

We were instantly hooked.

Geocaching is like a treasure hunt outdoors. It’s a secret club that makes us look at our surroundings a little differently.

For some reason, it makes this great, big world seem a little . . .ย  smaller.ย  Like the whole world’s really a big playground.

geocaching park

Near one of our most favorite parks. . .

geocaching park

. . . we geocached up to 7 meters away from the cache but just couldn’t find it!

Every time we get in the car now, Owen asks, Can I see your phone? I want to find a closeby geocache.

So he pokes around, reads a few logs, and gets us on track to find one–when we’re running errands, when we’re at the park, when we’re on our way home, when we just need a fun diversion.

Geocaches. Are. Everywhere.

And like I said, we’re 2 for 6. We’ve found two. We tried for six.

Our record’s not great.ย  But we’re still hooked, and that should tell you something.

geocaching butterfly

Owen unrolls our second find–

geocaching butterfly

which was hidden near our bank, grocery, gas station–right in the center of town!

We’re lucky with micros (super, small, teeny-tiny geocaches) but not so lucky with the bigger ones.ย ย  But since most of the bigger ones are in the woods–or a little deeper out of sight, we’re going for those this fall.

I’m sure I’m missing some big geocaching pieces here, but for the recreational geocacher–especially for the family with young children–we’re enjoying it.ย 

And this mama believes geocaching is the ultimate sneaky-fun learning:

  • we’re looking at distances as we navigate to caches and giving the kids a sense of how far x-amount of feet or meters is from us;
  • we’re figuring out our position in relation to the cache;
  • we’re using direction–north, south, east, west–as we decide which way to walk;
  • we’re employing our critical thinking skills as we decode the hint and interpret what it means;
  • we’re reading past logs and synthesizing responses;
  • we’re getting out in nature, exploring our parks, routes, walks, and world in a way we haven’t experienced;
  • we’re looking at our surroundings with closer eyes and careful steps;
  • we’re practicing the difficult skills of patience, endurance, and handling disappointment;
  • we’re learning–each time!–and are excited to become better at our geocaching skills.

And that’s it–we’ve been geocachin’ fools for a good two months now, so we’ll just catchya in the logbooks, okay? And any advice, ideas, suggestions, or resources YOU have, I’d love to see!ย  We’re newbies–and we want to learn!

Some geocaching resources for the newbies:

    • Geocaching site (check out the Geocaching in 2 minutes video!)
    • Geocaching 101
    • request a Geocaching Premium membership for your family for the holidays–or give one to a friend!

fyi: Affiliate links are included in this unsponsored post, written by totally new geocacher (me) and influenced only by my three little geocachers and my geocaching dog.

You May Also Like...

  • Navigating Education in a Time of Uncertainty: A Virtual Summit for Educators
    Navigating Education in a Time of Uncertainty: A Virtual Summit for Educators
  • Virtual Summit for Educators: Navigating the Online Classroom & Beyond
    Virtual Summit for Educators: Navigating the Online Classroom & Beyond
  • how to prepare your child for kindergarten -- summertime prep
    how to prepare your child for kindergarten -- summertime prep

About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

Previous Post:help! when kids hate reading: 3 tips for parents
Next Post:how to raise kids who love mathhow to raise kids who love math

Sidebar

amy mascott profile blog

join the coolest club around:

  • About
  • Contact
  • disclaimer
  • terms of use
  • privacy policy
  • Site-Map

Instagram


our books

setting the stage for rock-star readers
raise a reader

Find Us On Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Helpful Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us On Instagram

View
Open
UMD Womenโ€™s Basketball ROCKS!! โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ–ค๐Ÿ€

We absolutely love watching you play, @terpswbb !

We love watching you perform, @marylandcheer !

And @mightysoundofmd we love your music and your hilarious signs! ๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿ˜ณ

See you in Greenville! 

#terpsbasketball #terpswbb #umd #familyfun #marylandcheer #umdfamily
View
Open
Tomorrow is St. Patrickโ€™s Day!

Are you ready? 

https://shop.teachmama.com/

#saintpatricksfun #stpaddysforkids #familyfun #classroomactivities #teachmamashop
View
Open
This is how we use the St. Patrickโ€™s Day Brain Teaser Scavenger Hunt! ๐Ÿ€

Super easyโ€”and makes kids work a little for their golden chocolates! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Grab them here: https://shop.teachmama.com/product/st-patricks-day-scavenger-hunt-4-pack/

<< Tag a pal who needs to know about this and would LOVE to use it with kids or students! >>

#stpatricksdayfun #saintpaddysday #stpaddysforkids #stpatsfun #linkinbio
View
Open
and then there were six
๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฆ๐ŸฆŠ๐Ÿฆ„๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฐ

thank you @thewoobles for giving my mind, heart, and hands something fun to do during a really challenging few months. 

#crochet #thewoobles #brainbreak #teachersanitysaver #shescrafty
View
Open
With great sadness, I'm writing to share that my brother-in-law, Jeff Mascott passed away from pancreatic cancer earlier this week--at home, surrounded by family and friends. 

The family is very grateful for the community's immeasurable help, encouragement, and prayers over the past several months since Jeff's diagnosis. 

Jeff's obituary will run this weekend in the Post: 
https://www.collinsfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Jeff-Mascott?obId=27420280&fbclid=IwAR2YTRooCyaLTikfjLeqF4gM-GaB1amZI2OmVl1VtKLUOjWj3Wo4URD8lC8#/obituaryInfo
View
Open
Flowers and a basket of @traderjoes faves are salve for a tired and weepy soul. ๐ŸŒท

Thankful for great, longtime friends ๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›

#itshardtobeahuman #thankfulheart #wlhs4evah #teacherbffs
View
Open
Almost 30 years of friendship!! I love these smart, beautiful, strong and creative women who walked with me through my early days of teaching. 

๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š

Thank you, Wilde Lake High School, for bringing us together way back when. 

๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›

Missed you, jigofjoy ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š

#weareteachers #andoneprincipal #wildelake #wlhs4evah #teacherbffs #wildelakehs #teachersofinstagram #celebratewewill
View
Open
Today marks the 4th time in 3 weeks that I have had to hang new Kindness Reminders Tear-off Sheets! 

Makes my heart ๐Ÿฅฐ!! 

Some kids come by every day and give one to a new person. Others take a bunch for the week. One 2nd grade girl comes by evey morning to tell me who she gave hers to the day before. 

Every little bit helps, friend. And every interaction matters!

#kindnessrocks #adoormadeforme #teachersofinstagram #makeadifference
View
Open
Best crew for one of the best @terpswbb games weโ€™ve seen all season! 

And of course super job by @marylandcheer and @mightysoundofmd too! 

#terpswbb #terpsbasketball #familyfun #marylandcheer

Copyright © 2023 · teach mama media, llc · All Rights Reserved

  • 269
15.6K shares