Like Super Sleuths searching for hidden clues, little detectives must notice oddities in their surroundings as they try to track down hidden clues. Make sure kids have their Sleuther-Duper Gear on hand!

• Figure out where you'll have your "case" area -- backyards work great, but a large indoor area (especially throughout 2-3 rooms) works just fine too.
• Decide where/what you can do in the case area that will look odd to observant children: a picture hanging upside down, a lamp brought outdoors (unplugged, of course) or a hose brought indoors, a kitchen utensil on top of the television, a roll of toilet paper under a chair, an unopened can of pet food on the couch, etc. Depending on the age group, you can make the oddities more or less obvious. Don't do these things yet -- just make a list of what you'll do at the party.
• Create a set of cards (6-8) with simple clues on each. This could be one word ("can opener") or a picture (a drawing of a lamp). Place each card in an envelope.

• Before the hunt, have the sleuths go into a room outside the case area and close the door (have an adult present with them).
• While they are "in hiding," quickly create your "odd stations" around the case area.
• Call children out of the room and tell them that the object of this "case" is to see how observant they are. They need to find clues by looking around the yard/room and seeing things that are oddly out of place. Tell them what rooms/boundaries are involved in the case.
• When they see something odd, they need to run to that area and hunt for an envelope with a new clue (have the clue envelope hidden in close proximity to the "odd thing"). The picture or written clue will direct them to the next object for which to look.
• At the end of the hunt, have a note that says, "Congratulations, Super Sleuths! For your dedicated hunting, you've earned a ___________!" Choose a small prize to award to all sleuths, such as a sheet of stickers or a fruit bar.

Darby, Tigger, and Pooh don't need fancy equipment to be excellent sleuthers -- they make their own! Help your guests make their own gear to use for mystery solving and grand-adventure seeking.

• Before the party -- Collect all sorts of small, safe household items: bottle caps, small boxes, plastic yogurt containers, pipe cleaners, toilet-paper and paper-towel rolls, tin foil, wooden or plastic beads, craft sticks, colorful cellophane, lids from jars, paper, rubber bands, paper clips, etc.
• White glue, stickers, several rolls of masking and scotch tape, stickers, several pairs of child-safe scissors.

• Have an adult stationed at the "gear table" to help with gluing and cutting.
• Encourage kids to make nifty, useful gear with the materials assembled at the craft table. Suggest making:
  • Magnifying glasses -- cut the center out of a plastic container lid so all that's left is a ring about one inch around. Use inside ring to trace a circle onto cellophane. When cutting, make the circle a bit larger than your trace (to give enough room to attach it to the lid with tape). Attach a craft stick by which to hold it.
  • Walkie-talkies -- use small boxes. Pipe cleaners can be the wires, bottle caps, or small beads can be the on-off buttons.
  • Spy glass -- use a paper towel roll and place colorful cellophane at one end, secured with a rubber band. Decorate with beads and stickers!

A natural-born leader, Darby is clear-headed and makes decisions easily. In this game, children ask "Darby" for permission to do a wide variety of jumps and steps as they advance toward the finish line.

• A large room or backyard
• Tape or long sticks to mark start and finish lines

• Create a start and a finish line about 25 feet apart.
• Choose one child to be Darby (this role can rotate).
• Darby stands at the finish line facing the other players, who line up in a row on the starting line.
• Each player in turn must ask Darby for permission to move ahead. The first might ask, "Darby, may I take three giant steps?" Darby can answer in any way she sees fit. She might, for example, answer, "No, but you can take three baby steps," or, "No, but you can take two giant hops."
• If Darby responds with a "no" answer and some alternate instructions, the child must still ask permission to move by asking again "Darby, may I?" Darby can say "yes, you may," or "no, you may not."
• If the child forgets to ask permission to move ahead or moves in the wrong way, she or he must go back to the starting line.
• Darby can also grant the original request by saying "Yes, you may." In this case, no permission to move forward is needed and the child may advance.
• The game continues in this manner, with each child asking permission to move, until one player crosses the finish line.

Tigger loves to rhyme and come up with silly "Tiggerisms." Playing with words is what he does! Preschoolers love the concept of rhyming too, and this is an easy game to test their smarts.

• Have children sit in a circle.
• Teach them how to clap in a rhythm -- any pace will do.
• Have an adult choose a word and announce it to the room. Begin the clapping (and keep it up!).
• As you go around the circle, each child must say a word that rhymes with that round's rhyming word. Start with very easy words -- "hat" or "car" both have many rhyming words that should come readily to children's minds.
• After a few rounds, pick up the pace of the clapping and the pace at which each child must come up with a rhyming word!

Alternative: Eliminate players if they fail to come up with a word in a reasonable time. Award a small prize to the champion rhymer!

• Download 1 bingo card per child. Cut apart characters and glue them randomly on bingo card making sure each card has a different layout. You can even glue them onto card stock or poster board for durability. Print bingo cards here!
• Download a set of calling cards and cut them apart as well. Print calling cards here!

• Have children sit in a circle or at a table and give each one a handful of poker chips or some other item to use as a marker on their cards (even colorful scraps of paper will do!).
• Place a complete set of the bingo pictures into a hat or bowl.
• Have an adult draw one picture at a time and explain what it is in case children can't see it very well.
• First person to completely cover their bingo cards wins! Have some small prizes to give out.