These were the clues and hidden throughout the room: in a toy eagle's talons, in one of our Green Eggs And Ham books (because we seem to have collected multiple copies), Quake game, in the sensory bin, in the toy phones, in the crayons, in Zeus' toys, under the big table, in the play trains, and in a cubby. The 10-12 years old figured the clues out easily (only a few wrong guesses), the younger kids couldn't figure them out at all, but happily went along with the bigger kids, and the middle kids (ages 6-9) were the ones who were challenged the most.
Once someone figured out where the clue was, they'd shout it out and the mass of kids would rush over to the spot. I loved watching the youngest clap and shout "yay!!" whenever the kids found another clue....
Once they found the blue key, the older kids handed it over to the little kids and let them color match, plus they had to match the correct shape and size of the key to the lock. Then, behind the door they were greeted with one final challenge: a spy maze of sticky tape!
The kids did great following directions: through the maze, out the door, up to the porch, and in through the front door. We rarely use that door, so they were thrilled to walk through it--it was like a treat to them!

Even the youngest got a turn at the maze! Of course, he had the bigs directing him!
This was a great and fairly easy activity to put together that was done with ages 1-12. The older kids enjoyed figuring out the clues (the oldest ones said they were too easy, but still enjoyed the activity and asked how many times we could do it) and the younger kids liked matching the colors, key, and lock shapes. I challenged the kids to make their own for next week that challenges the older kids, but also incorporates the younger kids. I'm anxious to see how they do with this challenge, considering the theme they came up with is Murder At The Daycare.....never a dull moment around here!