Easter Crafts for Young Children

Here are some fun Easter crafts to do with your young children! Take the time to do a few fun crafts and activities and remember how special Easter was when you were a child! Spring has sprung and the world is springing to life again after a long winter! Enjoy!

1. Cottonball Lamb: Cut out the basic shape of a lamb using cardstock or cardboard. Look at your kids' board books or coloring books as well as the internet for shapes if you need them. Use white paper or paintwhite prior to beginning to hide any gaps. Let your little one spread glue all over the lamb (that's the fun - and messy - part!). Then give them a pile of cotton balls and let them place the balls all over the lamb until it is completely covered and nice and fluffy! Add some cardstock eyes and a nose with glue and your lamb is ready for display on the wall, the fridge, or the bulletin board! This is simple but lots of fun for a toddler!

2. Easter Bonnet: Buy very inexpensive straw hats at the craft store or the dollar store. Also collect some or all of the following: Easter grass, plastic Easter eggs, silk flowers, leaves, birds and butterflies used for wreaths or arrangements, and whatever else you can think of that might look good on a festive Easter bonnet. Explain that in the old days the ladies used to wear fancy hats and bonnets in the Easter parade. Tell your kids that its their turn to make a fantastic Easter creation and that there are no rules about how crazy the hat can be! I still remember doing this in fifth grade - it made that much of an impression on me! Wear the hats for a fun Easter photo or Easter parade around the yard or block!

3. Egg Decorating: Yes, it's a mess but all kids love to help decorate Easter eggs! Get your craft aprons out and do this in a place where nothing can be ruined, maybe even outside on plastic or paper if the weather is nice! First, hardboil the eggs without cracking them if possible. Buy the traditional kit or simply use food coloring in glasses of warm water and a few teaspoons of vinegar. There are a lot of things around the house that actually can be used to dye eggs such as onion skins for a light tan-orange color, beet juice for a light red-pink, or spices like turmeric for a yellow color. Experiment with edible items for new colors! Jazz up your designs by first: wrapping eggs with rubber bands, covering them with removable dot stickers or hole reinforcers, or writing on them with wax or white crayon. After the eggs have been dyed and are thoroughly dry, remove what you have added and you'll have some neat designs! Double dip or half dip to create two-tone eggs!

4. Easter Egg Surprise: Use cardstock or craft foam in fun Easter colors to draw a large oval egg shape. Cut out and allow your child to decorate it with all kinds of fun stuff like glitter, puffy paint, shiny paper, and more. When it's finished, explain that the egg is going to crack open soon and something is going to hatch! Draw a zig-zag line across the egg and cut into two parts. Create a hinge at one end by punch a hole in the two pieces so that they slightly overlap and then securing with a fastener. Now we need to add the secret surprise. You will glue this part inside the bottom part of the egg so that the little creature sticks up from the bottom half of the egg like it is peering out. Make this critter out of cardstock or craft foam too. Some ideas might be a duckling, a chick, a puppy, a rabbit, or whatever your child's favorite animal is! When you are finished, the egg should open and close and the surprise inside will appear each time you "crack" the egg open!

5. Bunny Ears: Cut a 1- or 2- inch white strip of cardstock or construction paper the circumference of your child's head plus a few inches. Allow your child to decorate this strip with fun Easter stamps, crayons, markers, and stickers. Then glue two rabbit ears that you have made out of white or pink construction paper or cardstock to the inside of the band. When they are dry, staple the band together so that it fits snugly on your child's head! Then let the bunny-hopping begin!