Tapestry of Faith: Faithful Journeys: A Program about Pilgrimages of Faith in Action for Grades 2-3

Activity 5: Truth and Meaning Treasure Hunt

Activity time: 19 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Blank paper and writing and drawing implements

Preparation for Activity

  • Print out and cut the leader resource, one word per slip. You may wish to use bright-colored paper to help children find the slips of paper.
  • Hide all seven slips of paper in your meeting space.
  • If you will invite children to search for items (second part of the search) beyond your meeting space, first identify the rooms or areas they can visit without disrupting others.

Description of Activity

Tell the group:

To explore our fourth Principle - a free and responsible search for truth and meaning - we will have a special kind of treasure hunt with two different parts. The first part of the treasure hunt is for seven slips of paper hidden in this room. Each slip of paper has a word on it that represents one of our UU Principles - ideas we believe are important and true. When you find a slip of paper, come back and sit down. When all seven have been found, we can have the second part of the treasure hunt.

If the group has fewer than seven children, you can let some children find more than one slip of paper.

After children have gathered with the slips of paper they found, ask each one to read aloud the word that they found. Now say:

The next part of our treasure hunt is a bit more complicated. Each person (or pair/team) is going to search for some item they think can show the word they have on their slip of paper.

Offer some examples to help children conceive how an object can represent an abstract idea such as respect, fairness, or connection. For instance, tape, glue, or a paper clip might symbolize connection; a book might symbolize curiosity; a Braille hymnbook might symbolize fairness.

Tell the children where they may (and may not) search and, if they are leaving the meeting space, when they must return. As they search, engage in conversation to draw out children's creativity. If children have difficulty finding an item, offer them the option of drawing something that shows their word. Children who return quickly with an item can also be given the option of drawing a representation of their word while they wait for the others to return.

Gather the group and ask them to share what they chose and why. If you have time, ask them to also share an example of an action they could do to demonstrate their word. Leave time for the children to return the items to the locations where they found them.

Including All Participants

If the group includes children who are visually impaired or have limited mobility, pair children to ensure that each team has a member who can search by sight. Make sure children work together, so all are fully included.

Some children may need an adult to walk with them to make sure that they stay quiet and on task and do not disrupt other children or adults.