Going on an Egg Hunt!

How do you make holiday traditions accessible to a child who is visually impaired? In this learning experience we go on an Easter egg hunt. Instead of hiding eggs and expecting the child to find them, we’ve adapted the song “Going on a Bear Hunt” to “Going on an Egg Hunt” and added our own motions and lyrics.

It doesn’t matter if your child is ambulatory or non-ambulatory, verbal or non-verbal. Your child will learn to understand that items and people still exist even when you can't see or hear them, anticipate what happens next during the activity, be introduced to orientation and mobility concepts, and even practice a calming breathing technique when the “egg hunt” becomes too exciting!

You can also adapt this activity by going on a hunt for one of your child’s favorite things, such as a “ball hunt” or a “teddy bear hunt.” The whole family can join in on the fun, and this creates shared joy.

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For EI-TVI

Duration

This activity will take 5 to 10 minutes depending on your child’s mood and interest.

Materials Required

• Three plastic eggs, each filled with your child’s favorite treat. Or you can use real, hard-boiled eggs in their shell.
• Real or fake grass
• Basket or container
  

Activity Steps

1. Gather materials and choose a comfortable location to have fun.

2. Introduce your child to the experience by telling them about it and showing them an object cue like one of the eggs. You can show them the egg by letting them touch it with their foot or hand. Use hand-under-hand if they are not ready to explore it independently.

3. It might be best to hold your child in your lap so that they can feel you doing the motions.

4. You might consider a countdown before starting. For example, “We are going to start at the count of three. One, two, three!” This helps the child prepare for the activity.

5. For some children, you might want to sing the song as a preview first before adding the actions and motions. This gives them time to process the auditory information first before adding the next layer of complexity -- the movement. It is sometimes hard to understand both at the same time.

6. Sing the song or say the rhyme and do the actions and movements.

7. When you’re done, say “All done!” Enjoy eating the treats in your Easter basket.

The “Going on an Egg Hunt” Song

Following are the lyrics and the accompanying actions to this popular children’s song adapted by Kimala Rein, Early Intervention Teacher of the Visually Impaired (EI-TVI) from A Shared Vision.

If you know the music, you can either sing the song together or just say the lyrics. The words in red are what your child, their siblings, the other parent, the grandparent, or any family member or friend can repeat after the leader of the activity sings or says them first.

Check out this YouTube video by A Shared Vision’s Kimala Rein where she demonstrates this experience.

First Verse

• We’re going on an EGG hunt. We’re going on an EGG hunt.
  
• Gonna find a big egg. Gonna find a big egg.
  
• I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid.
  
• We take a deep breath. (Take a loud, deep breath. Exaggerate it.)
• Oh look, grass! Swishy-wishy grass. (You can show your child some grass and swish it if you want.)
• We can’t go right of it. (Adult leans to the right with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the right.)
• Can’t go left of it. (Adult leans to the left with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the left.)
• We have to walk over it.
• Swish swish, swish swish, swish swish, swish swish (Adult shakes the grass.)

Second Verse

• We’re going on an EGG hunt. We’re going on an EGG hunt.
• Gonna find a big egg. Gonna find a big egg.
• I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid.
  
• We take a deep breath. (Take a loud, deep breath. Exaggerate it.)
• Oh, look, a river! A cold wet river. (You can show the child water if you want.)
• We can’t go right of it. (Adult leans to the right with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the right.)
• Can’t go left of it. (Adult leans to the left with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the left.)
• We gotta swim through it!
• Splish splash, splish splash. Splish splash, splish splash. (Move your body as if you are swimming.)

Third Verse

• We’re going on an EGG hunt. We’re going on an EGG hunt.
• Gonna find a big egg. Gonna find a big egg.
• I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid.
• We take a deep breath. (Take a loud, deep breath. Exaggerate it.)
• Oh look, mud! Icky-gicky mud. (You can show your child mud if you want.)
• We can’t go right of it. (Adult leans to the right with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the right.)
• Can’t go left of it. (Adult leans to the left with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the left.)
• We gotta crawl through it.
• Ploop, ploop, ploop, ploop. Ploop, ploop, ploop, ploop. (Make a silly “plooping” sound with your mouth.)

Fourth Verse

• We’re going on an EGG hunt. We’re going on an EGG hunt.
  
• Gonna find a big egg. Gonna find a big egg.
  
• I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid.
  
• We take a deep breath. (Take a loud, deep breath. Exaggerate it.)
• Oh, look, a forest! A tall, tall forest. (Option, show your child a stick or small branch.)
• We can’t go right of it. (Adult leans to the right with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the right.)
• Can’t go left of it. (Adult leans to the left with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the left.)
• We gotta walk through it.
• Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp. Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp. (Move your legs and feet in a stomping motion.)

Fifth Verse

• We’re going on an EGG hunt. We’re going on an EGG hunt.
• Gonna find a big egg. Gonna find a big egg.
• I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid.
• We take a deep breath. (Take a loud, deep breath. Exaggerate it.)
• Oh, look, a snowstorm! A cold, cold snowstorm. (Option: Show your child some snow.)
  
• We can’t go right of it. (Adult leans to the right with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the right.)
  
• Can’t go left of it. (Adult leans to the left with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the left.)
  
• We gotta ski through it.
  
• Brrr, brrr, Brrr, brrr. (Adult crosses arms and shakes their body as if they are freezing.)
  

Sixth Verse

• We’re going on an EGG hunt. We’re going on an EGG hunt.
• Gonna find a big egg. Gonna find a big egg.
• I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid.
• We take a deep breath. (Take a loud, deep breath. Exaggerate it.)
• Oh, look, a cave! A tiny little cave.
  
• We can’t go right of it. (Adult leans to the right with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the right.)
  
• Can’t go left of it. (Adult leans to the left with the child on their lap so that the child feels the movement to the left.)
  
• We gotta sneak into it.
  
• Tip toe, tip toe. Tip toe, tip toe. (Adult makes gentle toe taps.)
  
• Oh, what’s that? (Adult shows the child the basket of eggs.)
  
• One basket with a handle.
  
• Two handfuls of grass.
  
• Three colorful eggs.
  
• Quick, let’s take the basket back home! (Copy the same motions or actions from the previous part.)
  
• Tip toe through the cave. (Tip toe motion.)
  
• Ski back through the snow. (Brrr brrr motion.)
  
• Stomp through the forest. (Stomp stomp motion.)
  
• Ploop through the mud. (Ploop ploop ploop sound.)
  
• Swim through the water. (Swim swim motion.)
  
• Swish through the grass. (Swish swish motion)
  
• And home with my basket full of eggs.
   
  

Tips

• You don’t have to do the entire song each time. Just sing and do the parts that your child enjoys. Listen to and observe your child to gather clues about when they are done or crave more.
• Repetition is key. Your child will need to do it again and again. Like a favorite story, the child needs and wants to hear it over and over. This gives them the opportunity to interact and participate to their fullest ability.
• If you are using the experience for holiday fun, introduce it two to three weeks prior to the holiday.
• Encourage other family members and friends to join in. This is fun for a group and the child will learn not only from the primary caregiver but others as they all participate.
• You can adapt the activity and use other meaningful objects like hunting for their shoe, blanket, or bottle.
• You can adapt the activity during other holidays. Go on a pumpkin hunt, heart hunt, or jingle-bell hunt.

Extension Activities

• Read the books We’re Going on an Egg Hunt by Laura Hughes and Martha Mumford or We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen.
• Make a story box or an experience book using eggs, grass, water in a container, mud or clay, stick or branch, and snow. Pick up the objects as you say the rhyme or tell the story. Let your child use the objects to make choices about which part of the song they want to sing. You can also use the object to see if your child knows the order of the song. What part of the song was your favorite to act out?
• Practice a route at home or in the community and then reverse it. This song is a great example of how you might reverse a route to practice orientation and mobility. When your child travels through their home or in their community, they learn to identify clues or landmarks on a route and then reverse the route to return to their original destination. For example, to get to the child’s bedroom they might go through the kitchen, up the stairs, and by their brother’s room. To get back to their original location, they will need to reverse the route by going by their brother’s room, down the stairs, and through the kitchen.