Egglo Entertainment ~ The Egg-cellent Adventure and Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs {Schoolhouse Review}

Are you looking for something different and more meaningful to do with your children for Easter beyond coordinating outfits, chocolate bunnies, and Easter baskets filled with goodies? We are a Bible believing family who worships our Lord each Sunday, but especially His resurrection on Easter Sunday. But we also enjoy a fun Easter egg hunt after church. Egglo Entertainment has come up with a way to have that egg hunt while maintaining the true meaning of Easter. We reviewed The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure and Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs this past month and I am excited to share these products with you!

The Light shines in the dark and the darkness has not overcome it. ~ John 1:15

Egglo Entertainment is the creation of Darcie Cobos. It all started with her desire to help show her own children the true treasure of Easter. She shared her vision with children at her local church and watched it grow into an incredible outreach ministry. The message behind the glow in the dark egg hunt is that Jesus is the light in the darkness and that even a small light penetrates the darkness.


We received the paperback book The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure as well as an audio version of the book, one-dozen Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs, a package of twelve scripture scrolls, and "The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure Program Guide" (the website refers to it as "curriculum".)


How We Use the Product

I decided this would be much more fun to review with friends, instead of us just doing it at home. As I teach 4th-6th graders at our local church, I spoke with our pastor about hosting an Egglo event at our church on the afternoon and early evening of the first day of Lent. She eagerly agreed and helped me to print out the invitations to send to the kids (included in the Activity Guide). We also hung posters around the church to advertise the event (included in the Activity Guide).

We scheduled our party for the first day of Lent from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m. We had 16 children in attendance, from grades kindergarten to 6th grade. Two of those children were my own, ages 8 and 10. I had two adult helpers: our pastor and a good friend and mother of one of the children.

My two children and I decided to use the Program Guide extensively and planned our activities from it. We had actually planned on doing more of the activities, but because of time constraints we were limited to just a couple.

The kids arrived between 4:00 and 4:30 p.m. and I had coloring pages for them to do while we waited for all to arrive (included in the Activity Guide).

We first gathered in the basement of our church to start reading The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure. The book is lengthy, so I decided to split it up into three reading segments so as not have restless kids.

We read the first third of the story. I felt like the kids were following along, but with such a large group it was difficult for them to see the pictures. I had to pause to carry the book around so the kids could see them. My pastor suggested later that we could have scanned the illustrations in the book and showed them on a projection screen while I read the story. There is also an audio version of the book available if you decided that you did not want to actually be the one to read the book. The reader of the book on the audio was very good and had more storytelling ability than I had. Since we had young ones, though, I was able to stop while I was reading and explain a few things by reading it myself.

Once the first third of the book was completed, we went back upstairs for a fun snack. The Activity Guide provided a "light" snack to replicate the torch light that the characters follow in the story. The snack was easy to make and entertaining. The kids had a really fun time and enjoyed their snack. While they were eating we talked about how following the light will always keep us safe and on the right path and how not following the light will lead us to darkness.

We headed back downstairs for part two of the book. After we completed that part of the book we gathered together at some nearby tables for an activity. The other snack activity in the Activity Guide was a cave and tomb replicating Jesus' tomb where He was buried. A few years ago my kids and I had done a Calvary Hill craft at home which was very similar, just not using food. I purchased similar supplies to make mini versions of the Calvary Hill. This was a super messy activity, but one the kids really, really enjoyed! I had to do some prep work (like making the crosses), but it was worth it. The kids can now spray their hills with water several times a day and watch the grass grow up around the crosses. Our pastor had me make an extra one so that she can display it for our congregation members to observe. On Easter the kids can "roll away the stone" and find that Jesus has risen! (Psssttt … parents … When your kids aren't looking, put a small piece of white cloth inside the tomb. On Easter morning they will have a surprise that will give you something to talk about with them.)

We then read the conclusion of the book. And it was time for the egg hunt! As it wasn't quite dark enough outside, and was freezing cold, we held our egg hunt in the dark upstairs Sunday school wing of our church. I had stuffed and hid 6 plastic eggs per child as well as the 12 Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs filled with the scripture scrolls. Each of the kids received a flashlight to use in the hunt.


And here is where time and lack of planning got the best of me. I needed more helpers to guide the hunt as it was intended. Because, as you can well imagine, as soon as I said, "Go!", they were off! The glowing eggs had lost their glow so they had to find them with their flashlights just like the other eggs. I had intended for us to sit together after the hunt and open the Egglo eggs and read the scriptures together and discuss the purpose of a glow in the dark egg hunt. But the parents were waiting for the kids as soon as we were done, so we didn't get to do it. That part was a bummer. But the kids had a great time and, I do believe, learned a lot about the light of Jesus in a dark world.


Suggestions

I would have liked to have extended the time of our event so that I could have incorporated some of the other activities, like scripture building and games to discuss the ideas. More time would have also allowed me to wrap up the event in a more meaningful way. If you want to utilize the entire program, I would suggest a 3 hour event.

I followed the instructions on the Egglo website for how to best charge the eggs. I sat them in the sunlight for about an hour. They were glowing brightly when I hid them. But, by the time we got to the hunt they had lost their glow. You will definitely want to have some helpers that can bring the eggs in from the sun once it goes down, put them under come lights (preferably pretty close to the light source), and then hide them right before the egg hunt begins while you are doing other activities with the kids. It is just a logistical issue.

Pros/Cons

This is an excellent way to share Jesus' love, light, life and resurrection with your children or other children. It is a neat alternative to an ordinary Easter egg hunt and attaches Christian meaning to a secular activity.

Like I said before, if you are unable to charge the eggs right up until the time of your hunt, they will likely lose their glow and the purpose behind them will lose their effect. The website states that the eggs will lose their glow between 45 minutes to 1 hour past full charge. If you are on your own it is impossible to get the eggs hid once it gets dark, without being seen, and while doing the other activities. You need a partner!

The story seemed a little long to me. But most of the kids seemed to enjoy it. I only had a couple of restless ones (my daughter being one of them). She said she didn't really like the story, but loved all the activities and sharing it with her friends. It was a nice afternoon of friendship and learning about the never-ending love of Jesus.



My Opinion

This would be a great unit study to do with young children during the Easter season. It is also a quality product to use with a group of children at church, homeschooling co-op, or other group. For me, I would think that a group setting would be more fun. But it can certainly be utilized for a small family, as well. The Activity Guide and Egglo website have tons of ideas for activities.

I was approached by several of the parents at church the following Sunday telling me how much fun their kids had at the event. The compliments came from parents of kids from kindergarten all the way up to 6th grade. I think that it is rare to find an activity that can occupy and entertain children of such a broad age range. But the Egglo Entertainment products certainly did.


Product Details

This product can be used with any age, but is recommended primarily for ages 4-13. The children in our group were ages 6-12. All of the products mentioned in this review can be purchased at the Egglo Entertainment website. They are having a sale on some of the items, so now is the time to capitalize on the purchase of these products.

• The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure, paperback book, Regular price $12.99, Sale price $9.99.
• The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure, audio book, Regular price $2.99.
• The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure, dvd book, Regular price $24.99, Sale price $13.99.
• Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs, one-dozen, Regular price $11.99, Sale price $9.99.
• Egglo Treasures Scripture Scrolls, one-dozen, Regular price $4.99.
• The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure Program Guide, Regular price $14.99

The members of the Crew utilized these products in a variety of ways. Be sure to read the other reviews of Egglo Entertainment at the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.