Considerate Classroom: Early Childhood Special Education Edition: End-of-the-Year Treasure Hunt for Pre-K Students

Recently, I had the honor of co-hosting my son’s end-of-the-year preschool party. We created a pirate party complete with a treasure hunt for the class.

Following a fun pirate snack (a blue cup of Jell-o with an orange slice as a boat in the center), we told the class it was time to go out to play. When the children got to the playground, they discovered a personalized treasure map for each of them.

The maps led them to a park down the street. On the way to the park, there was a small pit stop, a large treasure chest with a note that read, “Stop before discovering your treasure, you must look like a true pirate!”

Inside the chest was a personalized pirate hat for each student (a friend of mine got the hats at my favorite store, the Dollar Tree.)

Each student then discovered a mini-personalized treasure chest at the park. I purchased the chests at JoAnne’s Fabric for $1.00 each. I varnished them and wrote their names on the outside with a sharpie. Inside the chest, I glued a picture of each of them on top and wrote “You are the treasure!”. Inside the boys boxes were chocolate coins and pirate eye patches that came with the pirate hats. Inside the girls boxes were chocolate coins and beaded necklaces.

At the bottom of the chest there was a class picture, with the words “I will treasure our time together. -For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also –Luke 12:34 Tender Heart Christian Preschool May 2013."

After the children discovered their treasure, we walked back to preschool for an end-of-the-year ceremony where the all the children’s parents came and watched the students get their preschool certificates. Following the ceremony we added a little surprise for Mrs. Compeau, the preschool teacher, each family wrote on a small piece of paper why they treasured her as their teacher.