Tapestry of Faith: Love Connects Us: A Program on Living in Unitarian Universalist Covenant for Grades 4-5

Alternate Activity 2: Yarn Scavenger Hunt

Activity time: 15 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Yarn in at least five colors

Preparation for Activity

  • Arrange to use a large space that offers many places to hide yarn-ideally, an unfamiliar meeting place or an outdoor location.
  • Calculate the maximum number of two- or three-person teams you will have. For each team, cut a six-inch length of yarn in every color.
  • Bundle the matching strands-i.e., make one bundle of all the blue strands of yarn, another bundle of all the red strands, etc. Tie each bundle loosely with another piece of yarn the same color.
  • Hide the bundles.

Description of Activity

Form teams of two or three.

Tell the group they will work in teams to look for bundles of yarn you have hidden. Tell them each bundle is a different color; tell them how many bundles there are. Show them the parameters within which they should search.

Tell them each time they find a bundle of yarn, they should take just one strand of that color yarn for their team, replace the bundle where they found it. As they go, they should tie their strands of yarn together to make one, long chain.

When every team has completed their chain, invite participants to reflect with questions such as:

  • Was it helpful to have others seeking the yarn with you?
  • Were any of the yarn bundles harder to find than others?
  • Did you need to be creative in some of the places where you were seeking? Why or why not?
  • How did it feel when you had found all the yarn and completed your chain?
  • In real life, how do you seek answers to questions you have? Is it different for different kinds of questions?

Including All Participants

If any participant has limited mobility, consider having them hide with a yarn bundle. If able, the participant might tie a strand of the yarn to the chain of each team that finds them.