Last year was the first time that I tried a math egg hunt and it was SO great that I have planned even more for this year! I just updated my own Egg Hunt product but this post will be beneficial for setting some ground rules so your classroom egg hunt is successful!
I got my eggs very cheap at Target but they can be found just about anywhere this time of year. I numbered the eggs 1-16 with a Sharpie as that is how many I wanted to personally hide. Each of my egg hunt products have numbers on each question through 16, so each question matches an egg. I fold the question inside & place the eggs around the room. I strategically place my students in pairs & they have a recording sheet to share.
Here are my rules. *Only ONE partner at a time goes to find an egg. They are to take turns. I give them a moment to decide who will get the first egg. *Then we talk about how we will not run around the room. *We also talk about not hiding these in impossible places, such as someone’s backpack. lol *I also remind them that time is of the essence– when they are finished solving the egg, they are to raise their hand for me to come check their work before they can move on. When they are checked off (I mark that question with a smiley face so we all know it is good to go) they know to quickly place the egg back & grab another.
The winning teams are chosen for a Minute to Win it Challenge. SOOOO this really motivates them to not play around hiding the egg because the more questions they get answer the better. Guys- I teach first grade and they do SO WELL with this. I am convinced if this group of 6-7 year olds can do it, so can yours!!
Now, once time is up (I set a timer for about 20 min.) the teams with the most solved eggs participate in a Minute to Win it. Sometimes I also pick a ‘hardest working team’ to also participate even if they didn’t have the most answered. This is a very popular choice among the kids too- it really gives an even playing field. Our two favorites are jelly beans and Oreos. For the jelly bean challenge, students take a straw and suck up jellybeans from the desk into a cup. (I model this.) The student with the most in the cup after one minute wins a medal– and their partner! DO NOT WORRY- the jelly bean cannot go up the straw!! They are too big to fit trust me. I have done this for years even when I taught 3rd! The Oreo challenge is to place an Oreo on your forehead and get it into your mouth with no hands. I pull up a video for this & show them how it works. There are many other Minute to Win it ideas you can try as well.
I have seen SO many ways to use Easter eggs in the classroom lately. If you have used them in your classroom, comment below. I would love to hear about it!
