Preview: Make good use of those plastic Easter eggs with a fun mommy & me activity!
Wondering what to do with all the plastic Easter eggs you have laying around after Easter? My daughter and I came up with a fun plastic Easter eggs idea that is our new favorite Mommy & Me activity! We even managed to make a fun learning game out of those plastic eggs.
How to reuse plastic Easter Eggs
I did not purchase one single plastic egg this Easter yet I have 6 dozen of them in my house. Six dozen. New. Plastic eggs.
*Sigh*
They came from Easter egg hunts and baskets- but NOT the ones from the Easter bunny. I caught the Easter Bunny in my house; I even got a picture (of the Eater bunny in my house). We discussed plastic eggs. He agreed- no eggs. 😉
Yet I still have quite the collection. SO what do I do with all those plastic eggs after Easter? I could save a few for next year (not that I need to since we will get 6 dozen more), throw them out… but I thought of something fun instead: a mommy and me activity idea for some fun, educational sensory play!
Since my kids are obsessed with Youtube videos, I thought instead of watching people have fun opening surprise eggs, we could make our own! Imagine that idea- having our own fun instead of watching other people play. Radical idea, I know, but worth a try.
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How to make Surprise Eggs from plastic Easter eggs
Here’s what you need:
plastic Easter eggs
Character figurines (small enough to fit in the eggs)
I’m sure you know how to make surprise eggs after seeing 724,867 Youtube videos about it, but here is how we did it:
- Put the character in the egg
- Roll the Play-Doh out
- Cover the egg
- Let the child pull the Play-Doh off and
- Open the egg to reveal the “surprise”
(It is easier to cover the eggs if you are able to roll the Play Doh out flat first)
How to make a learning game out of Surprise Eggs (or plastic Easter eggs)
This actually ended up being so much fun! We took turns creating and opening the eggs. The creator secretly added a character and the “opener” had to guess what was inside before ripping it open.
I even tried to ruin the fun by making it educational: I gave clues like “the character inside has red hair”, “the character’s name starts with A”, “this character has 4 legs”.
Ideas to make it an educational game:
- Give clues about the item inside to practice object recognition. Some ideas for clues to give:
- Color
- shape
- animal noises
- Where the character or animal lives
- What the animal eats
- Letter the item starts with
- Have the child guess the item inside using a specific sense
- For example, they must close their eyes and feel the item to guess what it is
- Use candies or fruit inside (clean) eggs and have the child taste the item and guess what it is. (Always supervise and use age-appropriate items to prevent choking!)
- Play “What is missing”:
- Lay items on the table
- Have the child look at the items
- Have them close their eyes
- Take one of the items and hide it in an egg
- The child has to guess what is missing
- The child opens the egg to see if he guessed correctly!
Luckily no one noticed I was trying to instill knowledge because they were too busy trying to guess. This also a great sensory play and fine motor building activity but I won’t tell if you don’t 😉
Fun, educational, and hands-on. Take that, Youtube.
Honestly, my favorite part had to be the smiles. Watching them get so excited to open the eggs and seeing their faces light up when they thought they guessed the character… I love it. So much of parenting is about taking care of our kids. It these moments when we get to enjoy our kids that are what makes us happy parents. And good ones at that 😉
(If you want to make the most of the 18 short years you have with your sweet kids, you might like
- 7 Day Family Time Challenge
- 10 Ways to bond with your kids doing everyday tasks- Free printable list!
- 75 indoor activities for families when your kids have cabin fever!
- Meaningful and Memorable Gift Ideas for Kids Who Have Everything!
Learning activities:
- Practice Name Writing with this DIY Reusable Name Mat
- Betty Boo-Boo: Band-aid letter matching activity for preschoolers
As you finish cleaning up from Easter, save a couple of plastic Easter eggs and use them to make some memories with your kids!
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