Easter Fun

It's Easter and my kids have just completed a treasure hunt. Not for the eggs the Easter Bunny brings - they will come later in the day and just be scattered across the floor while the kids are playing outside. The treasure hunt was for the chocolate treat their Dad and I bought them.

Rather than just give them their eggs/bunnies, we will hand the kids a clue written on a piece of paper. Something like "Look inside the washing machine". There they will find the next clue ... and so on. It makes it so much fun for everyone, the kids love following the clues and we love watching them run around the house wondering if the next clue will give the location of the "prize".

We discovered the treasure hunt when our teenager was in Preschool. He was having some trouble learning his words and we wanted to help. We did the usual trick of labeling objects around the house, little stickers everywhere with "door", "shelf", "bed", etc, written on them. At some point though, we came up with the idea of a treasure hunt - something that would really get his interest and inspire him to WANT to read the words on the paper. I went and bought him a very cheap little toy and we buried it in a box in the sandpit. Then I wrote out the clues (at his age then, I drew pictures beside the words to help him). He loved it, following each clue until he dug up his prize from the sand. It was a lot of fun for him and, as a reading activity, it worked a treat.

Since then, treasure hunts have been a semi-regular feature in the Crazy Cave. We have used it for birthday presents and other special occasions, as well as just for a fun activity every now and then.

For today's hunt, I changed things up a little. Usually the three kids walk around as a group, finding the clues and reading them together until they get to the prize. The older two are great at helping their little brother with the clues (and of course he is now the one who benefits most from this exercise as a reading activity).

This time I had them working in a group for the first half dozen clues, then they found one that said they should each look under their own pillow. From there, they had separate clues to follow, which turned out to be even more fun - they were all moving in different directions and at different speeds. It was great to just watch and enjoy their enthusiasm - which is always the best part for parents.

When the Easter Bunny comes, he'll scatter a few dozen small eggs on the floor which the kids will then race around collecting when they come in and see them there. It's still the main event, but maybe on a smaller scale than in most homes. Partly because we only have one "believer" in the house - although his big brother and sister are great at playing along and getting into the spirit of the day for him - and also because it's the way we've always done it.

Mythical creatures don't get a lot of credit in our house, they are more of a token symbol (I'm the same about Santa, actually ... he only fills the stockings. Maybe it's selfish, but I like the kids to know the big expensive gifts come from us!).

I wish you all a very happy Easter, whether you celebrate it from a religious perspective or just as a devoted chocoholic like me :-)