New to Jonesboro/Advice for caching with kids?

[TeamCrow]

Hello everyone! I'm relatively new to caching. I was first introduced about a year ago and was instantly hooked, but haven't really had as much time as I would like to go geocaching. My husband and I have only found about 80 caches, mostly in the Jonesboro area. Now that the weather is starting to get nice, we've started hiking again and I have started getting addicted to geocaching again!

I'm taking my nephews (ages 4 and 7) camping over spring break to Cossatot River. I've never taken kids geocaching, and would like to make it fun and educational for them. I know that they both have pretty short attention spans though, and I'm not really sure how to keep them interested.

Does anyone have any advice on taking kids geocaching? Also, any tips on Cossatot River area geocaches? I'd like to take them hiking and pick a trail with several geocaches on it if there is one in the area. I've never been to that area, so I'm kind of lost as to where would be the best places to take them.

Thanks for any advice! I'm relatively inexperienced with keeping kids entertained so this is going to be an adventure for me! =)

[DaTexanBoy]

First off a big hello. I have two daughters (6 and 3), that I take all the time. I havent been in it very long myself. I would specifically sit down and look for caches that were a regular size and go look for just those caches. Normally those are going to be a little easier to find and a quick gratification for the kids. What I normally did, is once I spotted it, I would tell them I found it and kind of guide them to the general area of where I see the cache. My 3 year old has been with me so much now that I can actually take her to find micros and she enjoys those now as well.

I definitely had to stock up on swag to take with me, because they always wanted to get something out of the larger caches. I think since I started with the bigger caches and then progressed to the smaller ones, it helped keep their interest in it. Now every time I get home from work my 3 yr old wants to go find a big "box" and a small (micro) "box". Biggest thing is probably patience and to find caches that would be kind of a quick find for them. Hope this helped. Best of luck.

[SJClimber]

You know there are not a lot of caches on the river. There are two at the falls and a couple on Hwy 278 as you turn north to the falls (at the State Park site), and many in the National Forest up river north of Hwy 246. Then there are a bunch, many of which are child friendly in Glenwood, AR east of the river. Beautiful time of the year to be on or near the river, but be careful, especially with the children.

[TeamCrow]

Thanks for the tips! I hope my nephews enjoy it as much as I do! And we'll make sure to be safe! We aren't actually going to be on the river; we're just going to do some hiking as stuff.

[GeoJeepers]

I agree with everything DaTexanBoy said. Our kids are all grown up now, but when they were small, it was all about the goodies inside. The same Happy Meal toys that they would look at once and drop before became GOLD when hidden in an ammo can in the woods. We always had to sit down and look at every item in the cache and decide which one to choose...it was funny and precious at the same time. Bigger caches are typically easier to find, and once they find one and realize it actually has treasure in it, they'll be ready for the next one!