Easter Word Search (Free Printable for Kids)

The word list

These 20 words are ready in the generator above. If you want a puzzle that fits secular spring parties, the list already leans toward bunnies, eggs and flowers.

How to use this word search around an egg hunt

Waiting is the hardest part of an Easter gathering, and children are rarely patient while the grown-ups finish brunch. A puzzle on the table gives them a task and keeps small hands away from the egg basket.

1. Set the puzzles out with crayons in pastel colors as soon as children arrive.
2. Challenge them to find the egg-related words first, such as eggs, basket, dye and hunt.
3. Ask each finished child to say which flower or animal on the list they have seen in a garden this spring.
4. When every sheet is done, announce the egg hunt, and let them carry the puzzle along as a checklist for good manners.

Classrooms can use the same puzzle as a spring-break send-off. Pair the page with a short reading about plants waking up after winter and you have a seasonal lesson in ten minutes.

Three playful variations

• Egg hunt connection. Hide small paper eggs, each with a word from the list. Children find an egg, then find the same word in the grid.
• Rhyme time. After solving, children write a rhyme for each of five words from the list, such as hop and top, or chick and stick.
• Spring garden tag. Use the flower words as the starting point for a drawing of a garden, with tulips and daffodils labeled in the proper spots.

Tips for hosts and teachers

Keep the word count modest. Egg hunts are exciting, and a 12 word version is a better fit than a long list when children are watching the door.

Choose your list on purpose. Families who celebrate Easter as a religious holiday may want to add their own words, and secular groups can leave the list as it stands.

Printing tips for spring

Soft pastel paper in yellow, pink or mint makes a cheerful puzzle, but keep it light so the letters stay sharp. Cardstock is a bit much for a one-use sheet.

If you plan to tuck the puzzle in an Easter basket, print a smaller grid, fold the page in quarters, and add a pencil stub. A 12 by 12 grid folds neatly and still fits the whole list.