Three Easy Easter Crafts for Toddlers

Easter is a great time to keep little hands busy with creative crafts. Spring colors present a bright palette to keep toddlers interested in creating one of a kind decorations and designs.

The following crafts are easy to put together with minimal supervision, perfect for toddlers and older children too!

Funny Easter Bunny Ears

Subject of countless stories, these magical, mythical characters brings joy to many children every Easter holiday. Let your child have a little of their own make believe by fashioning a set of bunny ears to hippity-hop around the house with.

Items Needed:

1 Sheet of White Poster board

1 Sheet of Pink Construction Paper

Pencil

Scissors

All-Purpose Glue

Tape

Markers or Crayons

Instructions:

Cut a two inch wide by two foot long (twenty-four inches) strip of poster board. Out of remaining poster board, cut out two long, rounded ears to serve as bunny ears. (Hint: for an idea of the shape, just look at Easter Bunny pictures or clipart.) The ears should be around nine inches long and four inched wide at the widest point of the ears.

Cut two smaller ears shapes, in the same design as the larger ear shapes, from the pink construction paper.

Glue the pink construction paper ears inside the white poster board ear shapes.

Take the strip of poster board and wrap it around the child's head as if it were a hat band. Mark with a pencil where the ears should be positioned. Remove the strip and glue the ears onto the strip in the position you marked (be sure to glue the ears on the inside of the band, so it will be at the back of the child's head when finished.)

Have the child decorate the outside of the white cardboard strip (head band) with markers or crayons.

When finished, tape the band to fit the child's head and cut off any excess cardboard.

Practice a bunny hop and enjoy a little make-believe time!

Paper Plate Barnyard Animals

When children are focused on the Easter Bunny, other animals fall to the wayside, but Easter is a great time to remember all the animals in the barnyard. These simple paper plate animals will encourage your toddler to think about colors, shapes, and even the sounds of the animals you are exploring.

Items Needed:

White Paper Plates

Construction Paper

Scissors

All-Purpose Glue

Markers or Crayons

Other embellishments if desired, such as pipe cleaner, cotton balls, and yarn

Instructions:

Decide which animal to work on first. Ideas include ducks, chickens, sheep, cows, horses, pigs, and of course, bunnies.

Help the child to select construction paper colors for ears, mouths, noses, eyes, and other parts of the animal. The paper plates may be used for just faces, or for more elaborate designs incorporating the full animal (legs, tails, and so on.)

Decide what shapes need to be cut out and help the child cut the appropriate shapes from the construction paper to form the animal.

Have the child color the plate with markers or crayons. The color selected should be the base color of the animal you are designing.

Help the child to glue on the parts of the animal to the plate. Decorate with additional embellishments, if desired. Use items such as a pink pipe cleaner for a pig's tail, or loops of yarn for a horse's mane and tail.

When finished, display the barnyard pals on the wall for decorations and future fun!

My Pet Chick Rock

Help your toddler create their very own pet chick rock to celebrate Easter with. This adorable craft will be a treasure long past Easter.

Items Needed:

1 Smooth Rock (preferably with one flat surface)

Yellow Paint

Paintbrush

All Purpose Glue or Craft Glue

Google Eyes

Decorative Materials (sequins, feathers, construction paper, yarn, buttons, pipe cleaners, beads, markers, etc.)

Instructions:

Wash and dry the rock. When rock is fully dry, let child paint the rock yellow. Allow paint to dry.

When paint is fully dry, glue a set of google eyes to the flat surface of the rock. This will become the "face" of the pet chick rock.

Next help child to finish the face using a variety of decorative materials. For example, make a tail from feathers or construction paper, and a beak from pipe cleaners. Add additional details such as eyelashes by drawing them in with markers.

Allow glue to dry. The Pet Chick Rock is now ready to enjoy its new home!