Ideas to ‘egg’ on your imagination

#Middlebury

Which came first – the chicken or the egg? Well, for many families at this time of year, there’s no doubt. Eggs rule! While the kids are busy mixing, dipping and dying Easter eggs, rescue a few from the frenzy and decorate them together to fit each child’s personality, interest or something special you share with him or her.

Dye and decorate hard-boiled eggs close to Easter and keep them refrigerated, or empty eggshells for special keepsake eggs to bring out from year to year.

To empty an egg, poke a small hole with a straight pin at each end of a washed raw egg. Carefully wiggle a toothpick or wooden skewer into one of the holes to break the yolk. Place a drinking straw over the hole on top, and blow through the straw, collecting the contents of the egg in a small dish. Rinse out the empty shell and let dry. Store in an empty egg carton.

Here are ideas to “egg” on your imaginations with school-age kids:

• Make a series of character eggheads with a game called “Pass It On!” Everyone begins with a blown egg and starts by painting or gluing on yarn or string to make hair. Then you pass the egg on, and each person adds eyes, eyeglasses, eyelashes or whatever! Pass it on, and add a nose and other features or details. When you’re all done, set in eggcups to display and dry. You’ll no doubt hear the cheers – “That’s my nose!” “No, that’s my nose, but it’s your smile!”
• Create a “You’re a Good Egg” self-portrait using markers to draw the masterpiece onto the egg. Glue on craft-store movable eyes for personality and a feather for hair.
• A previous trip to the zoo might conjure up your child’s favorite animal or “eggimal.” His or her version of a fish, penguin or exotic bird can be created by tracing with a pencil a pattern of a beak, feet or fins onto different colored foam craft sheets. Cut them out and glue them onto the painted egg.

Note: Use nontoxic dyes, markers and household glue with these and other crafts with children.

The grandkids are coming! tip: Start a tradition of creating keepsake eggs. Unpack them every year and arrange them in a table centerpiece, or hang them with thread glued to each egg from a bouquet of forsythia and blossoming branches.

Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” airs on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”

© 2019 Donna Erickson
Distributed by King Features Synd.