Who doesn’t love a scavenger hunt? This activity gets children moving while also inviting them to use symbolism through drawings and/or early writing (e.g., scribbling) to convey a kind message to someone.
What are the types of things that brighten up someone’s day? It could be a compliment, a gift, a little note of love. Talk to children about what this might be, and how we could draw a picture of it, ask an adult to write it down, or express it symbolically with stickers or other art materials. We will put them in eggs and hide them around the yard, and then discover what it feels like to get a nice note!
Set up Time: 5 minutes
Directions
1. Gather together plastic eggs, small strips of paper, and open-ended art materials, particularly materials that might have a positive connotation. For example, we used crayons, star stickers, and heart stickers.
2. Invite children to write kind messages or pictures on the strips.
3. Place the strips of paper in the eggs and hide them around the yard (the adult can hide them, or children can hide their own)
4. Invite children to find the eggs, open them, and “read” the nice note!
Be sure to make enough eggs to make it fun!
Tip: Stickers are a great way for small children to participate while older children engage in more complex note writing (with symbols, figurative drawing, and scribble writing).
Materials
- Paper
- Crayons
- Stickers
- Plastic eggs
Learning Through Play
Physical: Gross Motor – Scavenger hunts are a great way to get children moving! They have to bend up and down, and will often run with excitement as they look for their eggs!
Language: Conversation – How else can we demonstrate kindness through our words? What are nice things to say to people? How can we encourage our friends, or help them verbally? Many children may already naturally use kind language with their peers, family, and community (including the nice animals in our community!), but there’s no end to the nice things that we can say to others!
School Readiness: Writing – How can children convey a message of love or kindness when they don’t know how to read or write? Through their drawings, scribbles, and use of stickers, children can still draw something that they think is beautiful or kind. So, see where this activity takes you and take note of the ways that older and younger children communicate differently.
See this activity in the Rayz Kidz app, along with the other fun Movement activities. Rayz Kidz is your trusted source for play-based activities featuring over 100 themes and 500+ hands-on activities and clear descriptions of the beautiful learning that is happening through play.
