Escape rooms are a great, hands-on activity for kids of all ages. However, many escape room games are too complicated for young kids. I wanted to create something that even young children would enjoy and be successful at. This Free Printable Escape Room for Young Kids is a great, and easy, introduction to DIY escape rooms. Best of all, the free printable escape room pdf is free to download today.

I used this escape room game in my kindergarten classroom for my students to get a chance to try out an escape room. They loved it! The puzzles are simplified for young children and focus on numbers below twenty.

Depending on the age of the players you will likely need to help and guide children as they play the game, but they will still get the feel and experience of an escape room.

Although this escape room is created for young children, it is not intended to be done independently. The instructions and puzzles will need to be read by an adult and children will likely need some help as they work their way through the game. It’s a great way to practice numbers and puzzles in a fun, engaging way.

This free printable escape room for young children works well as a table top game, similar to a board game, and can be played by one child, or a small group.

Creating Your Own Escape Room

The puzzles all include a challenge for children to solve. Some of the clues are harder and will require players to look at the puzzles in different ways. The puzzles are however, simplified and include easy numbers and counting, while still giving kids the feel of an escape room.

Expect children to get stuck on some of the puzzles. That’s part of the challenge. If they can solve the whole game without getting stuck, you can then try a more challenging game. Resist helping players solve the puzzles as soon as they get stuck. Help and guide them, if you choose to, but give some time for them to try different strategies before telling the answers.

The game is fairly easy to set up because each of the clues are printable escape room puzzles. You’ll just need to print, cut and organize the puzzles. For another free printable escape room, visit here, for one that is ideal to try at home.

If you are looking for more escape room ideas and hands-on puzzles, you can create another escape room, or add more puzzles to this free printable escape room for young kids by visiting my collection of over 40 DIY escape room ideas and the second set of 49 Escape Room Puzzle Ideas.

Free Printable Escape Room for Young Kids Materials

Some escape rooms require a lot of materials. Often the materials are special and unique to the escape room you are playing or created. This Free Escape Room for Young Kids does not require a lot of supplies and all of the puzzles can be printed for free. You will need:

• Free Printable Puzzles Printed (More information at bottom of page)
• 16 Envelopes
• Tape
• Lock Box (More ideas on DIY Lock Boxes can be found here.)
• Number Lock
• Laminator (Optional)
• Prize / Treat (Optional)

Below I have described how you will set up your escape room game and then there is an example of how the game would be played as well as the solutions to the puzzles.

Free Printable Escape Room for Young Kids Set Up

To start, print all of the pages needed for the escape room. Prepare each of the puzzles and place them in an envelope. A picture of which puzzle goes into each envelope is shown and later described below.

Place the puzzles into the envelope and seal it. In the envelopes that don’t include a clue, place one of the “Sorry, try again” cards. These are envelopes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, and 13.

On the final clue card, in envelope #16, write the code for your lock on the lock box and place the completion certificate(s) in the box.

Next create a 4×4 grid on a table top using tape and place an envelope in each box.

Out on the table you will also have the locked box and welcome letter visible.

When all of the puzzles are ready, children can join you at the table to being their game.

Free Printable Escape Room for Young Kids Welcome Letter

The welcome letter is placed in the open on the table.

Read the welcome letter aloud to the players. Players may notice the number 11 around the border as well as the two number 1s in the word Hello.

Players then know to check and open the envelope with number 11 on the front.

Escape Room PDF for Young Kids Shape Puzzle

The shape puzzle is placed inside envelope #11.

In envelope #11 players find an assortment of shapes. There are squares, rectangles and even a circle. Each shape also has a number on it. The large rectangle gives the instruction to, “Count the sides and pick the one that doesn’t belong”.

Players begin counting and sorting the shapes and find that all of the shapes, except the circle have 4 sides. The circle is the one that doesn’t belong. The next envelope to open is #8.

Free Printable Escape Room for Young Kids Picture Cards

The picture cards are placed in envelope #8.

Envelope #8 is opened to find a collection of picture strips. Each with three pictures and a number. There is also a list of five sentences of clues. Read the clues aloud to players.

“The final card does not have a flower” eliminates cards 5 and 12

“The final card does not have a leaf or tree on it” eliminates 1 and 10

“Final Card does not have a frog” eliminates 3 and 6

“The final card does not have a person” eliminates 17

“The final card does not have anything to eat” eliminates 16 and 9

With each clue a few of the picture strip cards will be eliminated. You will be left with one card, that shows the number 14. This is the next envelope for players to open.

Word Search Puzzle

The word search is placed in envelope #14. This puzzle is a bit harder and may need a bit more guidance, but kids are so excited once they see the number solution that it’s a great puzzle!

Upon opening the envelope players find a word search. The instructions suggest to find each of the words and then color in black all of the left over letters. So you start searching.

As each of the words are found, you start to see a pattern of the words that are not highlighted. Once the leftover letters are colored in black you notice the number three made from the letters.

Free Printable Escape Room for Young Kids Number Match

The number match pieces are placed in envelope #3

When you open the envelope you notice a bunch of colorful shapes with dots on them. The instructions read: Match and line up the dots that show the same number.

Once the same dots are lined up the number 15 is formed from the shapes. You know that the next envelope you need to open is 15.

Free Printable Escape Room for Young Kids Maze

The maze is found in envelope #15

In the next envelope you find a maze. The maze appears quite simple, but you need to find your way through and count the number of keys you go through on your way.

As you find your way to the finish, you pass through seven pictures of keys. Seven is the next envelope that needs to be opened.

Free Printable Escape Room for Young Kids Puzzle

The puzzle is found in envelope #7.

The next clue is a puzzle. Some of the pieces are tricky to find where they attach so remind players that the numbers should all be the same way, not upside down or sideways. Once all of the pieces are in the correct spot, players notice that all of the arrows point to the number sixteen.

Escape Room Game Final Code

The final code is placed in envelope #16. Make sure to print your number lock code on the front.

As you open the final envelope you find a card with a final code on it. Try this code on the locked box, and it’s a success!

It opens the box and you find a escape room completion certificate and a little treat! Congratulations.

If you chose to keep track of the time it took players to complete the free printable escape room for young kids, then you can record it on the certificate. You can either print a full size certificate or a page with two certificates on a page.

If this free printable escape room for young kids has inspired you to try another escape room game, follow some steps on how to Make Your Own Escape Room.

Free Printable Escape Room for Young Kids Puzzles

All of the free printable escape room pdf pages featured in this post are available for download today. Subscribe to Hands-On Teaching Ideas and gain access to the Free Resource Library. The library is filled with resources that you can download today and there are always new resources being added.

More Hands-On Teaching Ideas

For more Hands-On Teaching Ideas for the classroom or home, check out the collection below. Try another escape room game or a free school scavenger hunt. There’s also a huge collection of math worksheets to continue learning about numbers and math.