Not-So-Typical Easter Egg Hunt Ideas

This week I am sharing two ways the McDaniel family has done Easter egg hunts.  I was getting tired of the typical hunt for candy and little goodies so two years ago I filled eggs with loose change and placed them around the yard.   Then, I left a note with a brand new piggy bank for my then three year-old to put the loose change from the eggs in.  He loved it!

Last year, I purchased a small Easter puzzle at Wal-Mart.  I put the inside parts of the puzzle together and wrote this message on them.  

I then took the outside edges of the puzzle and placed them in Easter eggs to hide around the yard.  On Easter, my son went out and searched for the puzzle pieces to complete the puzzle.  The outside edge of the puzzle had three clues to where he could find the Easter bunny.

After he read all the clues, he discovered that the Easter bunny was in his bedroom.  He ran to his bedroom where there was a note that said he just missed the Easter bunny but instead found two personalized Easter baskets filled with goodies for him and his baby brother.  

I found the personalized Easter baskets at Walgreens last year.  They had "Egg Hunt" embroidered on them.  I added the boys’ names and the word treasures with fabric paint.  So the baskets read Emmitt and Payton’s Egg Hunt Treasures.  I plan to use the baskets as a new tradition each year.   

Another tradition is to add these little bunny footprints along the trail to finding the boys’ Easter baskets.  

My student teacher, Miss Stephanie, gave me the idea and I love it.  Thanks, Steph!  

All you do is wet your fingers and place two knuckles in powdered sugar and then place them on the carpet to make a “bunny footprint trail”.  I realize this week’s blog entry is not written for classroom use but a lot of us are parents, too. I wanted to share it because my family has had so much fun with it! 

Teacher Tip: You could easily modify the puzzle piece egg hunt in the classroom to help the kids find a special Easter snack or surprise.  

When I have egg hunts in the classroom, I typically structure them so students at lower skill levels are looking for eggs with their photo on them and my more advanced students are looking for eggs with their first or last name on them depending on their level and ability.  This helps the children all get the same amount of eggs.  In the past, I have also color-coded the eggs so each friend in my morning class has to look for a specific color as they are younger and need the visual support to know which eggs are for them and then my older group will look for an egg of each color that has their name on it.  We use a social story and visual checklist for students that need it so they can successfully and independently search for their eggs.