The other day as our family of four were riding along in the Phillips’ family station wagon, Isaac inquired, “Mommy, why do we celebrate Easter?”
As I again cursed the hospital for not sending us home with some sort of kiddie question/answer book for these type situations when they handed us over our newborn babies, I searched for the answer.
Because let’s be honest, there was no Easter egg hunt on the day Jesus rose from the tomb.
Here at casa de phillips we recognize both religious and secular meanings of holidays, attempting to be mindful of important seasons of the year. We try not to let the fun (Santa Claus) completely overshadow the true meaning of particular days on the calendar (celebrating the joyous birth of our Savior), yet we also strive to let our kids enjoy being a kid (running around like crazy attempting to find plastic eggs stuffed with candy while dressed in expensive church clothes).
In the recognition of the secular celebration of Easter, we made our own batch of Easter eggs on Monday. I am not big on the boiling and dyeing off eggs (mainly because I cannot bring myself to eat a tie-dyed egg nor throw it away), so I thought this craft would be a great replacement (however, I might give in to one of those cute dye kits in Target if Easter does not get here soon…)
For this egg craft, one needs the following materials:
*Paper Plates
*Ice cube trays or empty cups/containers
*Food Coloring
*Scissors
*Condensed Milk (yes, milk….stick with me.)
*Paint Brushes
Pour about 1/2 teaspoon of milk into an ice cube tray (these make a great reusable paint container) and mix in a drop of food coloring to make desired color.
Cut the centers of the paper plates into oval egg shapes. Allow children to decorate their eggs with the milk paint. Be sure to NOT use the shiny side of the paper plate, because the paint will not adhere to that side.
Once dry, punch holes in the tops, fasten with ribbon, and hang from a desired location. Ours are currently displayed above the kitchen table
This is a really great craft to teach younger children about how primary colors can be mixed together to make secondary colors. Isaac was quite intent on instructing Evelyn on this process.
It is also a great craft for younger kids who like to paint because the paint is completely non-toxic (loaded with sugar…but non-toxic).
One can also use light corn syrup rather than milk if desired. Just be warned that if allowed to get too hot (by either the direct heat from a light bulb or from the house heater) the corn syrup paint will melt.
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