The Easter Egg Trail

In recent weeks I've blogged about making mazes and using ropes to create labyrinths. As yesterday was the last day of term, it seemed appropriate to continue the theme of a purposeful walk following a trail.

I brought along some ropes, chalk, alphabet mirror letters, laminated numbers, painted stones and, of course, plenty of mini chocolate eggs. I explained to the class that their job was to create an Easter egg trail or hunt for children in another class. The children could work as a whole group (there were only five, as several were absent) or in pairs or alone.  I showed them the resources and then let them decide how they were going to do this.

Initially there was some exploration with the resources. The mirror letters were hidden in various places. One child considered a number line as a form of trail, but it seemed rather short.

The idea of chalking messages was popular and in many ways this was the catalyst for what turned out to be a whole group effort as it marked the start of the trail.

Naturally the ropes begged to be involved and before long, one child had worked out that if all the ropes were tied together, then we'd have a pretty decent-sized rope trail to follow.

Another child wanted to ensure the rope trail was well disguised. He covered parts of the trail with leaves. Aha! He also got me involved as he was happy doing this with his feet but doesn't like to get his hands dirty, so I did some moving of leaves as part of the effort.

Deciding where to hide the eggs was also fun and created some discussion. After all they need to be hidden in some way for an extra surprise.

The younger class came along after break and the Easter trail could not have been more perfectly suited for most of them. The different ropes which were laid in an interesting pathway really did create interest.

There was a lot of discussion and wonder about where the eggs would be found. And of course, great excitement when they were!

Now although the painted stones had not been used as part of the trail, the children made a connection between these and the chocolate eggs. This class and the afternoon class of the youngest children both referred to the stones as "treasure". In the afternoon class a lot of schematic play was involved burying objects, including the stones, and finding them again as well as hunting for the eggs which this time were hidden all over the wildlife garden and not just at the end of the rope trail.