Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Time for An Easter Party with these Treats!

If you have a family, classroom, church or friend Easter party to attend this weekend, maybe one of these treats will inspire you.  Hey even if you don't have a party to attend, maybe you will want to host one after seeing these...
From Family Go here are some Easter cupcake animals:
easter cupcake animals
Some {rabbit} carrot cupcakes...might be fun to eat after watching the new Hop movie!:
Rabbit's Easter Cupcakes
Some easy grab and go treats from Make and Takes:
Marshmallow Bunny or Recess's PB "suckers"


From the Creative Itch, these totally adorable chick cookies:

Oreo Chicks from Brown Paper Packages:
I love holidays!  It's so much fun spending time with the family.  Oh and of course, having a 5 day break from school isn't bad either!  I can't wait to get some things done around the house.  Spring cleaning is definitely calling out to me!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Personalized Easter Baskets

With Easter being just ONE WEEK from tomorrow (YIKES!...that soon already!?!...actually it feels like it should have been forever ago!)  here is a super solution for your kiddos' Easter baskets (and grass).  This idea is from Brown Paper Packages.
If you are lucky enough to have a Silhouette, simply cut out the names of your children in vinyl and attach it to the color of bucket your child likes.  Kierste mentioned that she found this brightly colored spring buckets in the gardening section of Target for only $2.99.  Another reason why I love Target!!
The grass that was used was shredded cardstock.  A do-it-yourself straight from the paper shredder!  I absolutely LOVE this Easter basket idea!! 

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Easter Egg Nest Treat Idea

Last week I was in charge of making the Easter treat for the Young Women of my church. My mother-in-law helped me come up with this idea:
You may have seen a similar ideas for making nests using Chow Mein noodles?!?  These were made with scotcheroos.  Make a batch of scotcheroos (see below for recipe) and press them in a muffin tin.  Melt chocolate (I used melted chocolate chips) and pour over the top. While I was waiting for the scotcheroos and chocolate to set up, I colored some coconut with green food coloring for grass and added 3 jelly bean eggs to each nest.  Next, I popped the treats out of the muffin tin and individually wrapped each nest with a note that said...Hope you have an EGG-cellent Easter!

Scotcheroos Recipe:

1 c. light corn syrup              6 c. Rice Krispies cereal
1 c. sugar                             1 c. butterscotch chips
1 c. peanut butter                 1 c. chocolate chips

Measure corn syrup and sugar into large saucepan. Cook over med. Heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Mix well. Add Rice Krispies. Stir until well coated. Press mixture into greased 9 x 13 pan. Set aside.
Melt chocolate & butterscotch chips together in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over cereal mixture. Let stand firm. Cut into 1 x 2” bars and serve.

Have I mentioned before my LOVE for peanut butter and chocolate?  Oh my...these things are addicting!
Here is another very similar idea using no-bake cookies from All Things Heart and Home.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Easter Egg Matching Activity

I recently made this matching activity for my younger kids out of Easter eggs. I bought a pack of 18 eggs from the dollar store and knew I wanted to do something with them, aside from using them for only Easter.
First, I made a set using numbers (1-10). My 4 year old had to match the number to the correct number of dots for a match.
An easier version, was to match the same shape for a match. Circle with circle, triangle with triangle, etc.
I separated all the eggs and put the halves in a basket. The kids had to dig through the basket to find the matches. My 9 year old son came into the room awhile later and decided to turn the game into memory. The kids then set up the eggs in rows with the numbers and shapes facing away from them. One at a time, they took turns picking an egg and seeing if it was a match.

*When making this activity, make sure to not let the eggs match up in colors! Separate all the eggs first, put them back together with a non-matching color and then write on the eggs.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Fun Easter Ideas

Some more fun ideas for Easter I have come across are: (this is the last Easter post...this year and then I will move on. Promise.)

Egg a House. The nice way.


This looks like such a fun idea...more a neighbor idea than relating to school, but still fun.


From Skip to My Lou:
Bunny Egg Holder



Bunny Treat Bags


Make a bunny hat by using a paper plate.

Click HERE for the instructions and click HERE for the template.

From Family Fun:
An Egg Shirt



Party Carrots



Bunny Tangrams


On a side note, (not dealing with Easter) when I was a teacher, I use to incorporate tangram activities every once in a while into the classroom. They can be used as a math activity or to go along with a book, such as Grandfather Tang's Story.

Here is an online (free) copy of the story if you are interested.

HERE is one more fun Easter site with crafts, recipes, and ideas.

Easter Goodies

Easter just ended, but that doesn't mean the ideas have to. Sorry for the late post, but we were out of town for most of last week and things have been hectic as they usually are. Anyway...if you want some fun Easter goodies for next year, here are some ideas I have come across:

Cinna-Bunnies from Studio 5.


Any of the ADORABLE cake pops from Bakerella.


Edible Bird Nests from Me & My Insanity





And finally, what's Easter without PEEPS? Okay so I am not a big fan of them, but if you are, here are some ideas for you.

Make some homemade PEEPS. These were featured on Good Things Utah and here is the recipe:

1/3 c. water
2.5 tsp powdered gelatin (1 envelope)
1/4 c. water
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Bloom the gelatin in the bowl of an electric mixer
2. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat on high to make a soft ball sugar syrup (232F in Salt Lake City) 238 at sea level.
3. Add syrup to gelatin. Mix on high until soft peaks form. Add vanilla.
4. Put into a piping bag with a round tip and pipe desired shapes. Pipe directly onto colored sugar and cover with more sugar. Don’t let it sit too long or it will form a skin and the sugar won’t stick. Use immediately. If it starts to become too thick to pipe, put it in the microwave for 10 seconds.

Easter Bunny S'mores


PEEPS Drizzle Pops


PEEPsicles


More PEEPS ideas HERE.
I also found some more cute, fun and yummy looking rice krispies recipes HERE.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

What To Do With Those Plastic Easter Eggs

I was trying to think up some ideas of ways you could use plastic Easter eggs in an educational way. After Easter, it seems that those eggs get stored away until the following year when they can again be used for another egg hunt. Well here are some ideas I came up with. If you are a teacher, I was thinking that some of these ideas could be used as centers.

Fill an Easter basket with an assortment of eggs split apart. The students have to find the correct match up, connect the egg and place the complete egg in an egg carton. If you are trying this activity on older kids, try to mix up the colors so the answer isn't so easy to find. (Like a pink top with a green bottom.)
Math problem to answer match up - Write the problem on one half of the egg and the answer on the other half. Depending on the age level of the kids, you could do anything from simple addition to division.
Upper and Lower Case Match Up - Find an upper case letter and its matching lower case letter and connect the eggs.
Cursive to Print - Have the kids try to match up the correct cursive letter to the same letter in print. The could be a good activity when just introducing cursive, especially since cursive can feel like a whole new language to kids! :)
Dots to Numeral - For younger kids, have the them match up the number of dots on half the egg, with the correct numeral on the other half. (four dots = 4)
Numeral to Number Word - Four to 4
Word to Definition - This could be applied to spelling, vocabulary lesson, etc. On this particular activity, have the eggs whole and have the students place the correct definition to the word (typed out on a piece of paper by you) in an egg with the correct word.
If you have any suggestions that could go along with this, or other ideas for reusing those plastic Easter eggs, I would love to know what you are thinking!

Listening Eggs


This activity would be good for: Preschool-kindergarten/Special Education

1 empty Egg Carton
12 Colored Plastic Eggs

Objects to place inside eggs such as small rocks, sand, paper clips, erasers, beans, beads, etc. If there are concerns the student may place the objects in their mouth, the eggs can be hot glued closed or taped.

Place two similar objects into 2 eggs. Numbers the eggs and record what is in each egg. Place the eggs in a small basket and have the kids "listen" to the eggs to match the sounds. Have the kids then put the matches in the egg carton, side by side. Have the kids continue doing this u until all eggs are matched. You can check the kids' work by looking at your answer key or having them open the eggs to discover for themselves. You could even have the kids try to guess what each sound is.

Candy Bar Wrappers - Bunny Style

Jadi, from Parties and Holidays, had these cute bunny templates on her blog that she said she found on Katrina's blog from Katrina's Kreations. Ahh...the joy of blog hopping! LOL Anyway, I thought that I too would share these adorable candy bar wrapper templates of bunnies. I think they are super cute and would be fun to give to a teacher, friend, neighbor, etc. If you really want to get cheesy, you could also attach a tag saying, "Hoppy Easter" or I am so "HOPPY" to have you for a teacher, etc.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Ideas for Decorating Hard Boiled Eggs

Oil and Food Coloring Marbled Eggs


What you'll need:
Eggs (hard boiled or raw)
Food coloring
Vinegar
Cooking oil
Containers for the dye mixture (mugs will work)
Paper towels
A few spoons
In each container combine one tablespoon of each of the following: oil, vinegar, and your choice of food coloring. Add enough water to make the liquid deep enough to cover an egg. Swirl the liquid with a spoon, and quickly lower and raise an egg into it. Pat dry with a paper towel, and repeat with a second color. Swirl into a third color, if desired. Some white areas can be left on the egg. Gently pat dry the completed egg, leaving a bit of the oil to give the egg a varnished look.


CRAYON EASTER EGGS


What you'll need:
Crayons
Boiled eggs
Neon food coloring and white vinegar (optional)
How to make it:
Be sure that boiled eggs are cool and dry. Place a double folded kitchen towel and place it on the table underneath child's hands so if the egg slips out it will have a soft cushion to land on. Use crayons to draw designs on the egg. Have kids hold the egg gently so they do not crack the shell.
This step is optional but adds a fun effect. If you like, mix 1 Tbsp of white vinegar into a coffee mug of water (filled ¾ full) then add several drops of food coloring. Dip the crayon colored egg into the dye and let sit for about a minute.
Remove and let dry. The dye makes the crayon look brighter, especially if you use neon food coloring!

Tips:
To boil perfect eggs, place into a shallow pan, cover with water and boil gently for three minutes. Turn off heat and cover pan with a tight fitting lid and let sit for 15 minutes. Place pan in sink, carefully drain out hot water and let cold water run over them for several minutes. Turn off water and add several ice cubes and let sit for about 5 minutes more.
Try different types of food coloring, we used neon colors!
The longer you leave the egg in the dye, the deeper the color will be.

If you like these ideas, you can find more HERE.

Here are some more ideas I have found for decorating hard boiled eggs. Enjoy and have fun creating!

Make your own food color dye - Combine 1/2 to 1 Tablespoon of food coloring with 2 tsp. vinegar in a cup that is deep enough for the eggs. Add water to about the half way point. Gently place the eggs into the cups. I use a soup spoon to place my eggs in the cups, to avoid cracking. The longer they are left in the dye, the darker the color shade. Experiment with different combinations of colors When you remove the egg from the dye, pat dry with a paper towel and place in a holder.

Rubber Band Designs - Wrap elastic bands around hard cooked eggs, then drop them in food-coloring dye. Remove eggs, pat dry with paper towel and remove rubber bands. The parts of the egg covered with rubber bands will not be colored. Once the rubber bands are removed, you can drop the egg into a different color dye.

Sponge Painted Eggs - Cut a sponge into small pieces. Pour some acrylic paint into a shallow dish or onto wax paper.Clip the sponge pieces onto clothes pins, one for each color of paint. Dip the sponge into the paint and dab the egg with it. Start with your darker colors first for the best effect. Put the egg in an egg cup to dry. *Do NOT eat eggs that have been painted!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Easter File Folder Games

Here are some egg patterns ready to use for file folder games, memory, matching, etc.
This one deals with matching the correct numerals to the number of dots.
Click HERE for the full 5 page print out available for this number game.


This is an alphabet activity where the child has to match the correct upper case letter to the lower case letter.


And finally...here is a file folder game where you try to match the same color of bunny to the Easter basket. I thought these 3 games might be fun to use for younger children around Easter time. I found these activities at A Child's Place under the section Free Printables on the sidebar.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Easter Games

Easter Bunny Hop - Work off some of that candy induced energy with Easter Bunny Hop, a relay race for two or three teams. Each player must cover a certain distance jumping with a plastic, stuffed or styrofoam egg between his/her knees.

Fluffy Needs A Tail - Make a Rabbit on poster board without a tail.The children will rake turn "Pinning the Tail"on the bunny, using Large Cotton balls and tape.

Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny, Where's Your Egg? - Cut a Large paper egg. The players form a circle with one child in the middle as "the Bunny" The Bunny covers their eyes while a player is selected to sit on the egg. Then the Children Chant..."Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny, where's your egg? Somebody stole it from your home!" The Easter bunny then has three guesses to find the child who is sitting on it. That child then becomes the new bunny in the middle.

Easter Relay - Divide the children into two teams. Provide each team with one spoon and a marshmallow Peep or plastic Easter egg. Have the kids take turns carrying the object on the spoon from one side of the room to the other.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Easter Fun

With Easter about a month away, I have been looking online for some fun gift ideas to give away to neighbors, friends or teachers. I found some really cute ideas on skiptomylou.


The bag is a clear, disposable cake decorating bag. Fill the bag with Cheetos and tie it closed with green ribbon. I am sure if you wanted to change it up you could add jelly beans, gum balls, or something else as long as it was orange.

Check out these colorful eggs (sidewalk chalk):

Click HERE for the tutorial. I know my kids would have a blast both making them and using them! What a perfect idea for Spring!