Fun Activities for Easter/spring's Arrival

In a Parent's magazine ( a recent one) I saw a cute activity that adults can do with children where you crack open an egg (empty it and rinse it out) and then keep the shell - try to get more than half the shell on the bottom to stay in tact. Put some potting soil inside of it and some grass seed and rest it in one of the cradles from the egg carton (recyling!). You can draw eyes on the shell and glue on a beak, or you can make a bunny face and add ears or whatever. It was cute - maybe you can find it online at the Parents Mag site.

You can always go and buy a flat of flowers from a nursery and break them apart into individual flower sections - put some spring colored tissue paper around the base, tie on a ribbon, and give a flower to each guest to take home and plant in their yard.

Can't wait to see what kinds of ideas you get from all the clever moms on this site!

If you are looking for something to bring in more of the meaning of Easter, I would suggest the Resurrection Eggs. I think that is still what they call them. Each one has an object in it that represents what Jesus went through and the steps in which it happened. It is very educational for both kids and parents. You can hide the eggs and have the kids find them, or just go through them one by one. It comes with a booklet and instructions of various ways you can use them as a teaching tool. It can also spark some interesting conversations. We got ours several years ago at Bible Superstore. I believe you can find them at most bible stores. Happy Easter!

go to www.familyfun.com. They have some great ideas in this month's edition!

i really like the resurrection eggs too. for healthy: my kids' grandmas always give candies for Easter. so for our own easter egg hunt in the our yard, along with hard boiled eggs, i hide plastic eggs filled with things like dried fruit mix, yogurt covered raisins, frosted animal crackers. they are things that we rarely buy, so it's a treat for them. stickers would probably be fine for those ages too.

There is a great website that has crafts, activities, cakes, cupcakes and other snacks for all kinds of holidays and I saw a ton of Easter/Spring stuff on there! Just go to www.familyfun.com

We use the Resurrection eggs every year as well and love the story that goes with them!

We do the Resurection eggs in Bible school and have the kids use them to tell the story to their parents.

At home, for several years, we have had an Easter egg hunt for neighbor kids and our own in the back yard. For the younger kids we used the bigger eggs and filled with wrapped candies, safe toys, matchbox cars, etc. The bigger the kids, the smaller their eggs. Theirs would have different candies, rings, erasers, small toys. You could combine the ideas and use pictures in the eggs. When the kids find them all you can then use them to tell the Easter story. It is fun to hear the kids' version when they tell it though, let them tell it back to you!

We have also taken a branch of tree (broken or fallen), planted it in a container with small stones or dirt and made an Easter tree. You can "Blow out" real eggs or use plastic ones and let the kids and parents decorate them with permanent markers. Use a small hand drill to poke a hole in the end of the egg and use dental floss or embroidery thread to hang them on the tree.