Easter Activities for Children

Ideas for Spring Crafts, Egg Coloring and Baking with Kids

Feb 29, 2008

Celebrate the start of spring with Easter activities, crafts and family fun.

Ready or not, here comes Easter! If you’ve got kids home for spring break or are expecting out-of-town guests, keeping children entertained is easy with some ideas for spring crafts and Easter activities for kids.

Easter fun for the family can include making Easter bonnets, windsocks or other crafts; making a homemade Easter basket; getting a head start on your spring garden; or coloring Easter eggs with creative materials.

Children whose spring break coincides with the week before or after Easter can enjoy some fun Easter activities at home.

Creative Easter Egg Decorating

Coloring Easter eggs can be as creative as you want it to be. Get out the paints, markers, stickers and craft supplies, and use new ideas for creative Easter egg decorating.

Taking a lesson from nature, make your own natural dyes from things found in your back yard.

Bunny Rolls

Combine 2½ cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Mix well. Heat 2 cups water and butter until 120-130 degrees. Add to flour mixture. Add two eggs. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Refrigerate overnight or 6-12 hours. Divide dough into four equal parts. Form dough into bunnies:

For a side view bunny: Divide each dough part into 9 balls. Roll each ball into an 18-inch roll. Cut 10 inches for body, 5 inches for head, 1 inch for tail, 1 inch for each of two ears. Swirl rolls for head and body and place together on cookie sheet. Form ears and tail and attach to bunny.

For a back view bunny: Divide each dough part into 9 balls. Roll each ball into 14-inch rolls. Lap one end or roll over other to form a loop. Bring end that’s underneath up over the top end, letting ends extend to each side for ears. Shape into ears.

Place rolls 2-3 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Combine egg and water. Gently brush rolls. Cover. Let rise at room temperature until almost doubled, about 10 minutes. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy Easter Bonnet Craft

This is an easy craft that even a young child can make with the help of a parent. You’ll need a paper plate, glue, yarn, and construction paper, crayons and markers, glitter, stickers, beads, pastel tissue paper, silk flowers and other decorations.

Punch holes in opposite sides of the paper plate and thread through a piece of yarn. Make the yarn long enough to tie under the child’s chin when the paper plate is set atop her head when finished.

Decorate the paper plate by coloring it and gluing on decorations. Place the finish bonnet on her head and bend the plate slightly for a bonnet effect. Tie the yarn under her chin.

Easter Windsock Craft

Whether or not March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, the start of spring usually means breezy, windy days. Windsocks are fun and easy to make, even for young children.

Cut a sheet of poster board into a rectangle the size of your choosing. Have your child decorate it with Easter and spring designs. Form the finished rectangle into a tube by connecting the two long ends and taping them together.

Cut pastel crepe paper streamers 3-4 feet long and attach them to the bottom of the tube with tape on the inside of the tube. Punch two holes in the top of the tube and tie a string between them to hang the windsock on the porch.

Start Your Garden

Get a jumpstart on spring planting by starting some plants from seed in small containers. Teach your children how to water and care for the plants and soon they’ll be big enough to plant in a small backyard garden.

The copyright of the article Easter Activities for Children in Stay-at-Home Parents is owned by Diane Laney Fitzpatrick. Permission to republish Easter Activities for Children in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.