Mar
29
2013

Egg Shell Art

Easy Craft For Easter or Anytime

Egg Shell Art

I came up with the idea for egg shell art because one of the eggs we boiled for Easter eggs cracked during the cooking phase. Throw it out?! No way. I gave that egg a second life (well, third—I ate the boiled egg for lunch) as Egg Shell Art. This is a great craft for pre-schoolers.

You will need:

  • broken egg shells
  • glue
  • markers
  • construction paper

You can certainly still dye broken shells from Easter eggs (we did and it turned out fine). Just read my How to Colour Easter Eggs Using Food Colouring and follow those steps with the broken shells.

Egg Shell Art

  1. Draw flower stems
  2. Glue flower shapes (tulips are triangles, circle and petals can be a daisy)
  3. Sprinkle egg shells
  4. Hold paper up and tap off extra egg shells
  5. Allow to dry on a flat surface

Done!

Easy, creative, sensory, and fine motor skills all in one activity! This craft would look great decorating your Easter door!

Related: 5 Candy-Free Easter Ideas

Mar
22
2013

Earth Hour Activities

On Sat Mar. 23 Make Earth Hour a family affair

Earth Hour Activities

Earth Hour is this Saturday March 23rd. At 8:30 p.m. families can save energy for one hour, making a contribution to the global movement of living a more environmentally friendly and sustainable life. Turn off the lights and turn on your family—so to speak. I have a few tips and activities to help you enjoy Earth Hour with your family.

Own the Hour. I know they say 8:30 p.m. is Earth Hour but that just doesn't work for my family — the lights are always off at 8:30 — it's bedtime! So, I say, own the hour. Why not make Earth Hour when YOU want it. Yes, it does go against the "collective" part of Earth Hour but turning the lights out at 5:30 will be more meaningful to us as a family because we will all be awake.

Some Earth Hour Tips (we live in a tech driven/instant need world...forecast your Earth Hour)

  • Will the baby need a warm bottle during Earth Hour? (how will you warm it?)
  • Will the kids need a drive to Karate class? (how will you get there?)
  • Are you supposed to be in on a Twitter chat? (um...even twitter gets turned off during Earth Hour)
  • Will the kids need dinner? (Make something ahead!)

Activities without screens, batteries or USBs. Sounds very Little-House-On-The-Prarie right? But there are, indeed, a few things (no, not sex...the kids are in the room remember!) which you can do without screens:

Earth Hour Activities For Kids

Earth Hour Activities For The Family

Celebrate Screen Free

Here are a few of the activities within those great links...

  • draw
  • play a board game
  • read a book
  • play road hockey
  • walk to the playground
  • tell stories
  • build a fort
  • put on a puppet show

There are lots of ways to play screen-free. For me, it's not so much about the collective global movement but showing my kids we CAN turn off the lights and still have a good time. There is more to life than screens.

Mar
19
2013

How to Colour Easter Eggs Using Food Colouring

Great Easter Craft For Kids

How to Colour Easter Eggs Using Food Colouring

Using food colouring to dye Easter eggs is a time-old tradition in our house. It's easy, fun, and I already have all of the ingredients in my kitchen. Easter eggs make for a great spring table decoration. Plus, kids are so darn proud of their coloured eggs—"I did THIS ONE." Your kids will LOVE this activity...

You will need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs (you could prick an egg with a pin and blow the yolk out, but I've found hard-boiled eggs are just easier for kids to handle as egg shells on their own are pretty delicate.)
  • Food Colouring
  • White Vinegar
  • Boiled Water
  • Containers (re-use clean jam jars!)
  • Slotted spoon
  • Egg container

Measure 1/2 cup of boiled water into each container. Add 1/2 tsp of white vinegar. Then, add drops of food colouring (For lighter coloured eggs use 5 drops. For bolder coloured eggs use 15 drops).

Using a slotted spoon, gently submerge eggs in food colouring mixture. Let them sit in mixture 2-10 minutes (depending on the colour you wish to get).

Place coloured eggs in egg container to dry.

It's that simple.

MORE EGGTASTIC EASTER EGG IDEAS...

  • Try double-dipping the eggs to make a colour blend.
  • Use white or yellow wax crayons to colour on eggs before dipping