Easter Extravaganza!

Whether you have followed us from the beginning of our sight word adventure or are just joining us, we are thrilled to be a part of your child’s reading milestone! Our techniques can be used all year long with or without easter eggs and I empower you to get creative.

Our beginning choice of sight words were based on how clues would read in our Easter egg hunt this year. Clues like “Go to the b_____ (barbies)”, “Look in the m____  ___ (mail box)”, and “Look at the p_____ (piano)” led from one easter egg to another and ended with a fun basket of goodies from the Easter bunny. We began by introducing a new sight each word each day (Go/go, To/to, The/the, Look/look, At/at, and In/in) until we had 6 great sight words to review and practice. We wrote and illustrated homemade books, created a new and fun version of Candyland, played concentration and word hunt games, hosted tea parties, and wrote words on mirrors/hid words around our house to find throughout the day. Some days went well and other days begged for us to slow down and practice previous day’s words a little more. 16 days later, my daughter was reading her Easter egg hunt clues without hesitation or asking for any help. I am one proud mommy on this beautiful Easter day as I know you are too when you experience similar moments with your child!

This idea began with an Easter family tradition my dad started for my sister and I, and with my mom’s help, we’ve modified the Easter egg hunt clues for a younger child who can’t read yet.

Note: This particular hunt we did with my four year old daughter can be easily modified for a one, two, or three year old as well that I will blog about in separate posts coming up.

And now…here is the Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza you’ve been waiting for!

FRONT OF EASTER EGG HUNT CLUES (Using the sight words/high frequency words go, to, the, look, at, in)

BACK OF EASTER EGG HUNT CLUES (Flap folds down to hide each answer)

EASTER EGG HUNT CLUES ARE FOLDED UP INSIDE EACH NUMBERED EGG (Answer key will come in handy!)

HAVE FUN AND FIND CREATIVE HIDING SPOTS FOR YOUR EASTER EGG HUNT!

CANDY-LESS EASTER BASKET! (jump rope, My Little Ponies, Play-Doh toy, book, Annie’s bunny shaped fruit snacks, box of rainbow goldfish, adorable & reusable tin bucket…all from Target)

IF AN EASTER EGG HUNT CLUE READS “Go to the m___ ___” THEN HEAD TO THE MAIL BOX!

THE FIREPLACE IS ALWAYS A FUN HIDING SPOT FOR EASTER EGGS! (I’m guessing it needs to be cleaned since her exact words were, “It’s dusty in here!”)

IT CAN BE TOUGH FINDING A HIDING SPOT THAT IS BOTH BIG ENOUGH FOR THE EASTER BASKET AND UNLIKELY TO BE FOUND TOO EARLY IN THE EASTER EGG HUNT. (Try the car!)

Note: Are you curious how I cut and folded the paper for each clue? If so, scroll down to the bottom of this post!

Congratulations on a job well done if you planned a similar Sight Word Easter Egg Hunt with your child! Or of course, feel free to bookmark this page if you’re planning to do this in the future. Since we have an entire year until next Easter, our method for learning sight words/high frequency words can be used any day of the year. We even had fun hunting for clues that led to a backyard tea party (or any fun activity of your choice)! If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out all the fun things we did to review sight words in our previous posts. (Candyland, Tea Party, Concentration“Look” Review, Outside Word Searches, Homemade Books, Inside Word Searches)

The most important thing I’ve learned that I would like to pass on to you is this:

Children do not learn new words by being exposed to them only once. Repetition is key to learning sight words.The more one-on-one time a child has learning and practicing sight words/high frequency words with an adult, the greater his chances to integrating them into his long-term memory. So don’t give up and keep on practicing those words!

Thanks for reading! – lifeasallison

p.s. Last year, I left bunny paw prints on the carpet leading from the outside hallway to our apartment, through our front door, down the hall and up to our daughter’s bedroom. He also left a carrot behind! Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to it this year. I used baking soda and a damp sponge (cut into 2 different sized circles) to make each footprint. Chalk would work too.

 

Now here’s the scoop on how to cut and fold paper for Easter egg hunt clues just like ours!

1. Take an 8-1/2 x 11 piece of paper (I used card stock but it’s not necessary)

2. Fold top 2 corners down to the bottom 2 corners (in half)

3. Fold left 2 corners over to the right 2 corners (in half again)

4. Unfold paper to show fold marks

5. Cut along fold marks (makes 4 separate cards)

6. Take 1 of the cards from step 5

7. Fold top 2 corners down to the bottom 2 corners (in half)

8. Fold right 2 corners over to the left 2 corners (in half)

9. Unfold paper from step 8 (do not unfold step 7)

10. Cut along fold mark (makes 2 separate cards that are each already folded in half)

11. Take each card from step 10 and fold top 2 corners down to the bottom 2 corners (in half again)

12. Unfold paper from step 11 to show new fold mark

13. Tuck the back side of the paper under at the fold (see picture for different angles of this step). Tape down that piece you tucked under. You have created a flap that will be used to hide the answer (spelled and illustrated) to each clue.

14. View from front of each clue

15. View from back of each clue. Each answer is illustrated on the inside flap and spelled out underneath it

16. View from back once the flap is folded down to hide the answer (one is left open for reference). I used a tiny piece of tape to hold down the flap so that my daughter didn’t peak at it too early.  My daughter opened the flap to check each answer after she had already found the next clue. It’s up to you how you want to use it!

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