Crafts
*Paper Maché Surprise Eggs - pop a few chocolate Easter Eggs into a dark balloon without the children seeing. They will know something is inside the egg, but won't know what it is. Have them paper maché the entire balloon. When dry, pop the balloon... I put a small hole to pull the balloon out and make sure the eggs are not stuck in the popped balloon then covered up the hole with a piece of paper maché. Have the children paint with pastel colours to make an Easter Egg. Once dry, they can "crack" open their egg to discover an Easter Surprise :-)
*Easter Egg Shakers - put some rice or corn kernals into a water bomb balloon. Blow up the balloon and tie. Cover with paper maché and let dry for a day or two. Cut a small hold and cut the balloon leaving the rice/corn kernals inside but removing the balloon. Patch the hole and let dry. Use paint to decorate as Easter Eggs when dry.
*Fingerpaint with chocolate pudding.
*Bunnies - glue cotton balls to a bunny shape.
*Bonnets - use paper plates and decorate with ribbon and flowers. Punch a hole in opposite sides and attach a ribbon to each hole to tie the bonnet on for wearing.
*Egg Shell Collage - Wash eggs shells thoroughly and then dye with food colouring. Let dry. Use to glue onto card paper or an egg shape cut from card.
*Candy Jars - cut the bottom off of a styrofoam ball so it will stand. Glue the flat edge on to the lid of a baby food jar - a glue gun works best for this part. Bend 2 white pipecleaners for ears. Fill in centre with a pink pipecleaner. Push pipecleaners into ball for bunny's ears. Glue on googly eyes and a pink felt nose. Push black pipecleaners near the nose for whiskers. Bend either a red or pink pipecleaner for mouth, glue cottonball to the back for the tail. Fill the jar with jelly beans, chocolate eggs or other Easter treats.
*Bunny Hats - cut a strip of white or brown bristle board paper to fit around child's head. Cut matching ear shapes and glue pink in the center. Attach to the headband.
*Make baskets:
a) Weave a large piece of construction paper and staple together for a basket - add a construction paper strip for the handle and grass.
b) Weave ribbon into a plastic berry basket and add a pipecleaner handle and grass.
c) Paint a wooden or cardboard vegetable basket, wrap the handle with crepe paper and add ribbons, bows, flowers, etc., then fill with grass.
d) Dip different coloured wool into slightly watered down white glue and place all over a balloon overlapping many times, let dry, pop the balloon and the wool becomes the basket, add a pipecleaner handle and grass to the basket.
e) Decorate 6 basket coffee filters with coloured water and eye droppers, let dry, cover the bottom of the filter with diluted white glue, layer the filters and place over a can to dry, the natural ruffles of the filter will make a pretty basket and the glued together layers will make it sturdy, punch a hole in each side and add a handle and grass.
f) Fold the corners up on a piece of construction paper, staple, decorate with stickers, add grass and a construction paper handle.
g) Paper maché the bottom half of a balloon, add strips to attach the sides for the handle of the basket, let dry, pop the balloon, wrap paper maché around the handle to make it thicker and round instead of flat, let dry, paint and decorate, add grass.
h) Cut a 2 litre pop bottle in half, place the bottle in a center of a square of fabric; pile the fabric into the basket sealing with a dab of glue. glue (or staple) ribbon around the edge of the basket and add fun foam handles - these are great because they are super easy even for young children, look great, are sturdy, and are already padded.
*Handprint Lambs - Paint hand with black paint and make a print (fingers down, thumb extended out) once dry, turn the handprint upside down - the fingers will be the legs of the lamb and the thumb the head. Glue cotton balls on the body (palm) for the lamb, add a googly eye and a ribbon if you would like. You can also make these out of black foamie by tracing the child's hand and cutting it out. The foamie lambs can be made into magnets, or 2 can be glued to a piece of painted wood to make a cute Easter napkin holder.
*Napkin rings - cut piece of foamie in an egg shape and decorate with fabric paints. Let dry. Glue to a wooden or plastic napkin ring. You can also use woodsies in the shape of eggs. You can make any Easter shape for the rings such as bunny heads, baskets, chicks, ducks, etc.
*Bunny Paper Weight - find a nice sized smooth rock that is oblong shaped. Paint white. When dry, glue on funfoam or felt ears, pompom nose with pipecleaner whiskers, googly eyes, and a pompom or cotton ball tail. Add a piece of felt to the bottom so it will not scratch your desktop.
*Fun Foam Bunny Face - cut a heart from white fun foam. Turn upside down so point is facing up. Add ears to the top from white fun foam and add pink fun foam centers to the ears. Add googly eyes, 2 white pompoms to either side for bunny cheeks. Cut a pipecleaner in thirds and center for whiskers, add a small pink pompom in the center for the nose. You will need a glue gun to attach the whiskers and nose.
*Paper Bag Bunnies - Stuff the bottom of the bag with a ball of newspaper - we used 2 sheets of paper for the bottom. Tie a ribbon around the base to make the body. Add one more newspaper ball to the bag for the head. Tie with a ribbon. Cut the top of the bag part in half to create 2 ears. Twist the ears to hold their shape. Use the construction paper and glue or markers for the bunny's face.
*Bunny Jar - Paint a glass jar (we used a Kraft Marshmallow Fluff jar) completely white using acrylic paint (or brown if making a brown bunny). When dry, add 2 pompoms near the center for cheeks. Glue a pom pom nose in the center. Glue on googly eyes. Cut a 6" pipecleaner in quarters - if using a 12" pipecleaner, cut in half and then quarter one of the halves. Add 2 dots of glue on each pom pom cheek and press the pipecleaner into the pom pom for whiskers. Cut 2 ear shapes from fun foam and glue onto the front of the jar or onto the lid. Add Easter grass to the jar if you wish. Glue a pom pom or cotton ball to the back of the jar for a tail. Add some Easter treats if you wish
*Felt Bunny Fingerpuppet - Cut a rectangle of felt large enough to fit your finger when folded over. Fold over rectangle and snip corners near fold for a bunny face shape. Glue the side edges together to create finger puppet. Cut out ear shapes from white felt. Cut out pink ear shapes to fit inside the white ones. Cut out a nose shape from pink felt. Cut out a eyes and whiskers from black felt. Glue the eyes onto your bunny shape. Glue the whiskers onto your bunny shape in an 'x' shape. Glue the pink nose in the center of where the whiskers cross. Glue the pink bunny ear shapes to center of the white bunny ears. Glue the ears to the back of your puppet - pink side facing the front. Add a white pompom (or small ball of cotton) to the back of the puppet for a tail.
Science
*Rent or borrow an incubator and hatch chicks.
*Observe eggs in many forms (raw, hard boiled, scrambled, etc).
*Add things to plastic eggs - shake and match the sounds. NOTE: Tape closed if items are very small.
Block Area
*Add chicks and bunnies for building their homes.
Dramatic Play
*Add bunny ears.
Songs:Circle Time
*Mr Ears
*Little Rabbit Foo Foo
*Here is a bunny
*Oh, see the baskets
*Little Peter Rabbit
*I'm An Easter Bunny
*Lippity Lop
*Did You Ever See A Bunny Stories:
*The Big Bunny and the Magic Show
*Noddy's Easter Egg
*The best Easter Egg Hunt
*One, Two, Three OOPS
*My Bunny
*The Bunny Book
*Hoppers Easter Surprise
*Blue's Egg Hunt
*Corduroy's Easter Party
*The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise
*Clifford's Happy Easter Games:
*Match the Eggs - decorate paper eggs and mactac them cut in half and children match the cracked eggs.
Water & Sand Play
*Add plastic eggs to hide in the sandbox.
*Add trucks and plastic baskets for delivering. the eggs
*Turn the water a pastel colour using food colouring.
Outdoor Play
*Have an Easter egg hunt.
*Set up an egg on spoon race - children line up with an egg on a tablespoon and must get to the finish line with their egg still on the spoon and without holding the egg at all. To make this less messy, use hard boiled or plastic eggs.
Songs
Little Peter Rabbit
(sung to: John Brown's Baby)
Little (child's name) Rabbit had a flea upon her toe (x3)
So she flipped it and she flopped it and it flew away.
Continue using every child's name in the group.
Did you ever see a bunny
(sung to: Did you ever see a Lassie)
Did you ever see a bunny, a bunny, a bunny
Did you ever see a bunny wiggle his nose?
He wiggles and giggles, and giggles and wiggles
Did you ever see a bunny wiggle his nose?
Did you ever see a bunny...flapping his ears?
He flips them and flaps them... (etc)
Did you ever see a bunny...hop on one foot?
He hops and he hops...(etc)
Lippity Lop
Oh See the Baskets
I'm An Easter Bunny
Mr. Ears
I have a little bunny
I call him Mr. Ears
His nose begins to wiggle
When Easter time is near.
Printouts
Bunnies and Baskets Colour Matching Game
Put Your Eggs In A Basket Word Family Game
How Many Eggs Are In Your Basket? Activity Book
Related Sites
