Everyone enjoys participating in an Easter egg hunt in the community or with family but if your family is anything like mine, we have an abundance of plastic Easter eggs leftover after our yearly egg hunts. Here are some fun ideas how you can repurpose the eggs that are fun for kids as well.
Memory game
Open the plastic egg and set each half on the table. Hide small items like paper clips, coins, or erasers under each egg. (You will need two of each item.) Play memory and have your child pick two eggs to lift and they can collect them if they match. If they do not match, place the egg back on the table and allow the next person to try. Continue until all items have been matched. With young children, start with just three eggs and increase the numbers as they get the hang of it.
Egg toss
Glue or tape the eggs shut and set up Easter baskets or buckets and have your kids take turns tossing them, trying to get them into the baskets. Whoever can get the most eggs to land in the bucket or basket wins.
Letter and Word games
For pre-readers, you can work on matching upper and lowercase letters by writing one of each on a half of the egg and then having them match them up. For older kids write common word endings on one half of the egg such as “at”, “ot”, “all”, “ag”, etc. and common word beginnings on the other half of the eggs such as “h”, “b”, “c”, etc. Have your kids put the eggs together to make as many words as possible.
Shake it up
Use the plastic eggs to make homemade instruments. Fill the plastic egg with dried beans, rice, or popcorn seeds and glue the egg shut. Have your kids shake the egg along to music. To make a maraca, glue plastic spoons, one on each side for a handle. Make sure to do this with your children watching otherwise their natural curiosity can cause them to get creative and break open the egg to see what is inside.
Become an artist
Put a small amount of paint on a paper for your child and allow them to roll the egg through the paint. They can also open the egg and use it as a stamp. Change the colors for variety.
Sensory bin
Fill a large plastic bin or water table with beans, rice, or water and add some plastic easter eggs and small containers. Some of the eggs may have holes so they will enjoy watching the water slowly pour out from the bottom. If using rice and beans, they love to use them as scoops to fill up larger containers with the rice and beans. They may crack them open and try to serve you dinner as well.. Let the kids play with the sensory bin as they would a sandbox providing appropriate supervision.
Plastic Easter eggs are an affordable, and sometimes free item, that you can repurpose in many creative ways. Get the kids involved and see what new ideas you can come up with to reuse your eggs.
