The name Easter comes from the Goddess of spring, Eostar. The eggs and rabbits, commonly associated with Easter, are symbols of fertility and date back to a time before Christianity.
Christians observe Easter as the day Christ was resurrected giving the hope of salvation to Christians everywhere.
3+
Egg Dyeing
-Eggs
-Food Dye
-Cake Pan
-Tablespoon or Tongs or Coat Hanger
There are two ways of coloring eggs.
1 step dyeing
If you are dyeing large batches of eggs and you want them to be solid color then I would recommend adding the color of your choice in food dye to water you are going to use to hard boil the eggs. I like the colors to be bold so I add a bit more food coloring then is needed and I let the eggs sit in the water until they are cool to the touch.
Then I take them out and let them dry, normally in a cake pan.
Once they are dry I let my 3 year-old decorate the eggs with stickers and markers. I found this to be a less messy alternative and is one that I highly recommend for younger kids.
If your kids want to hand decorate eggs then all you need is a piece of short wire that has a loop on the end big enough to hold an egg steady yet small enough that the egg does not slip through. An inexpensive metal coat hanger will work. If you do not wish to destroy a coat hanger you can use a tablespoon or a set of tongs.
First boil the eggs for about 10 minutes in a pot of water.
While the eggs are boiling set up small cups of water. The cups need to be big enough to completely submerge one egg with a little room to spare.
Next add a few drops of food coloring to the cups of water. You can mix the basic colors to achieve any number of colors. The sky is the limit on making your own shades of colors.
Allow the eggs to dry.
Pick an egg and put it into one of your cups with dyed water. Allow to sit for 30 second to 1 minute before removing. The longer you leave the egg in, the bolder the colors will be.
Remove and place in the cake pan and allow to dry. Once dry stickers can be added and kids can draw on the egg with markers.
You can have your kids decorate a small egg holder to put the egg on while they dry. I have made a printable image that can be colored, cut out and glued together to make egg stands. I have also included a couple of rabbit ears for the eggs. Just click on the rabbit egg to the right and you will be taken to the template.
4+
Rubber egg
-Hard boiled Egg
-Vinegar
Optional
-Food dye
This is a fun craft that I remember doing in school. You take a hard boiled egg and let it sit in vinegar for 48 hours. This will make the egg shell rubbery and the egg will bounce when dropped from a reasonable distance. This has no real purpose except being a fun and interesting project.
Note: The shell will become hard again after it has been left out in the air for a while.
