Dying Easter Eggs

     Dying Easter Eggs is one of my favorite Easter activities, and I am very proud to pass on this love to my daughters. With just the three of us, I usually use a box kit to dye my Easter Eggs. This year, I decided to use my classic DIY Easter Egg dye that I would use while teaching my preschoolers.

To dye eggs without an Easter Egg Dying Kit, you will need:

-Vinegar
-Water
-Eggs (Hard Boiled)
-Food Coloring
-Spoons and Cups (one for each color)
-Some Paper Towels

Step #1: Boil your eggs, and make sure to save your hot water from boiling.
Step #2: After the eggs have boiled, pull them out and place them nicely on a paper towel to dry.
Step #3: Pour 3/4 cup of boiling water into each cup.
Step #4: Pour 3 tablespoons of vinegar into each cup needed.
Step #5: Add approximately 10 drops of food coloring into each of their cups. (The more drops added to each cup, the more vibrant the color will be on each egg.)
Step #6: Place the eggs in their cups, and leave for a few minutes. (The longer the egg is in its cup, the darker the egg will become) Continually adjust your eggs using a spoon, this will help even the color around the egg.
Step #7: Once the egg has reached its desired color, pull it out and place it on a paper towel to dry.

     The best thing about this dye recipe is, crayon can be added to the egg to help resist the dye just like the typical Easter Egg Dying Kits that are sold in stores. This recipe definitely helps save a few dollars, but I have found it really helpful when dying eggs with multiple children. I have used this method several times, especially while teaching upwards of 25 children.
I wouldn't recommend dying Easter Eggs as a whole group activity, but I would most definitely suggest doing it in small groups for center time. That way, the teacher can monitor each child and clean up any mess before it "gets out of hand". I would also recommend having the children wear smocks, or old clothing sent from home. This will prevent their nice clothes from getting stained.

     Thanks for stopping by. Please let me know if you decide to do this activity with your kiddos, and how it turned out for you. I always enjoy hearing from you. Thanks again! 

Fun Math Games for Kids

     I love using visuals to teach children, especially when it comes to math. When I taught preschool, I would always use empty egg cartons and cereal to sort and count. The treat would always draw children into the activity, but there was one rule: the child couldn't eat the cereal until the learning activity was over. Today, I would like to share with you just how I taught math using an egg carton and cereal.

     For the counting activity, I would cut out and place numbers 1-6 (one number for each hole in the carton). Once the numbers were placed, I would ask the child to look at each number. Then count out the same number of cereal, and place them into each carton hole. To make it a little more challenging, I would mix up the numbers. For example: Instead of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; I would change it to 5, 3, 4, 1, 6, 2. If the child did well with both challenges, I would add more numbers to the carton. For example: instead of 1-6, I could add 7-12. Then ask the child to count, and place cereal to match the written number.

     Another great way to test a child's math skill is to have them sort their cereal. I would always ask kids to sort by color. If he or she mastered this concept, I would ask the child to sort the cereal by size. To make it a little more challenging, I would switch the cereal out for one that has different shapes (i.e. Lucky Charms) and ask the child to sort the cereal by their shapes. This is a terrific way to test your child to see where they stand in learning their colors, sizes, and shapes.

     These small math activities could be used in any math center, or just as a fun activity to do at home with your spare time. Kids really enjoy these activities, especially getting that tasty reward at the end!
   

DIY Playdough

 

I'm about to share a money saving recipe for all of you teachers and parents out there. I hate spending a lot of money on cases of play-dough, only to have the colors get mixed together and dried up.

This recipe is so easy, and very safe... so safe that you and your kids can make it together. Not to mention, it is safe enough to eat. {I wouldn't recommend it though, because it tastes horrible.}

To make this DIY play-dough, all you need to do is:

Mix together 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of salt, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and one cup of water. Once you have mixed all of these ingredients together thoroughly, you may divide your dough up. As you can tell, I separated my dough into 4 equal parts. Place the dough in separate Ziploc-baggies, and added food coloring into each bag. "Zip" the bags up, and then "mash" the food coloring into the dough. This was especially fun for my kids, because they both got to help "mash" the food coloring into their own dough, without making any mess.

Once the color is mixed in, it is ready to be pulled out to have fun with. Remember to keep your Ziploc-baggies. That way when you are finished, your dough won't dry out.

I hope you enjoy using this recipe. If you decide to use this recipe, please let me know how it turned out. I would love to hear from you.

 

Homemade Puffy Paint Recipe

My 3 year old daughter, Brooklee, really enjoys being crafty. She can spend a lot of time coloring, painting, and drawing. Sometimes she gets tired of using crayons, markers, water colors, and colored pencils. For these times, I've set aside some amazing homemade paint recipes {that hardly cost anything!} to make especially for her.

Today, we made some of our homemade Puffy Paint. 

(the paint actually dries "puffy", leaving a 3D image)

To make some of your own, you will need:

- Flour 

-Salt

-Water

-Food Coloring

 -Scissors

 - Construction paper-- or any heavy paper

- Ziplock Baggies (1 baggie per color that you will want to use)

 

What you will need to do:

You will need to mix equal amounts of salt, flour, and water together. Divide the mixture into your Zip-lock baggies, then add a few drops of food coloring to each bag. Seal the baggies completely. Combine the flour/salt mixture with the food coloring by shaking each bag. Once the mixture has been colored, make a small cut in one of the bottom corners to help squeeze the mixture out to make a design on your construction paper.

Now that your design is done, set aside and let dry.