1) Chocolate Easter Baskets
  Chocolate Clay
   10 ounces dark, milk or white chocolate confectionery coating (1-3/4 cups
semisweet or milk chocolate chips may be substituted), chopped and melted
    1/3 cup light corn syrup
  
   Combine chocolate and corn syrup until just blended.  Spread onto a sheet
of
waxed paper to 3/8-inch thickness (about an 8-inch square). Let stand,
uncovered, at room temperature for about 2-3 hours or until dry to the touch.
Wrap tightly with plastic wrap; let stand overnight.  Use immediately or
store
up to 2 weeks. Yield: 1-1/4 cups.
  
  It is a lot of fun, we rolled it into long strings and made Easter baskets
last year.
  
  
2) Dying Easter Eggs--the Natural way!
  This Easter, why not color your eggs using nature's very own dyes? It's
possible to come up with a great number of colors using natural ingredients
that can easily be found in almost any kitchen. 
  
  Pale Red: Fresh beets or cranberries, frozen raspberries 
  Orange: Yellow onion skins 
  Light yellow: Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed or ground
cumin
  Yellow: Ground turmeric 
  Pale green: Spinach leaves 
  Green-gold: Yellow Delicious apple peels 
  Blue: Canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves 
  Beige to brown: Strong brewed coffee 
  
  To dye the perfect Easter eggs the natural way, here's what to do: 
  
  1. Put eggs in a single layer in a pan. Pour water in pan until the eggs are
covered. 
  2. Add about a teaspoon of vinegar. 
  3. Add the natural dye appropriate to the color you want your eggs to be.
(The more eggs you
  are dying at a time, the more dye you will need to use.) 
  4. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. 
  5. Remove the substance you used to color the eggs. Put eggs in a bowl. If
you want your eggs to be a darker shade, cover them with the dye and let them
stand overnight in the refrigerator. 
  
3) One of my favorite egg dyes is with onion skins!  Gather lots of onion
skins; the dry outer layers.  (try to get a good variety of colors--I like
plain brown best; red onion also makes a good color)  Gently wrap them around
*raw* eggs and hold them in place with rubber bands.  Hard boil the eggs like
usual.  Unwrap them and WOW!  Beautiful colors and designs!  You may polish
with vegetable oil for a nice gloss.  This is a natural dye and the eggs are
still quite edible!   Happy eggs-ploration!! 
  
4) Or, cut off the "foot" of panty hose.  Drop the onion skin-wrapped egg in
  to the foot, twist the top of the foot and wrap a rubber band around the
  twist. This holds the onion skins in place, too.
  
5) I've only tried onion skins (and they *are* beautiful), but my 84-year-old
  mother remembers using beet juice for coloring eggs and also the liquid
  from mashed blueberries. (Blueberrries aren't available at this time of the
  year, but you could use them to color eggs in the summer.)
  
6) Also, it's fun to write something on the egg with a light colored crayon -
  white is the most fun.  The dye doesn't stick to the wax crayoned letters
  and they appear white (or brown if it's a brown egg) after the egg is dyed.
  
7) On TV last year I saw them put small leaves (ferns, etc.) against the eggs,
wrap the eggs in onion skin, then wrap the whole deal in panty hose. The dye
doesn't get to the part of the egg where the leaves are, so you have a leaf
print on the finished egg.  It's beautiful
  
  
8) Jell-O Eggs--Pastel Colors for Easter
  Dissolve two 4 ounce packages of unflavored gelatin in 1 cup of boiling
water.  After it cools to room temperature, whip in 8 ounces of Cool Whip and
combine with 6 ounces of flavored Jell-O dissolved in 1 cup boiling water.
Poor into lightly greased pan and refrigerate until firm (about 2 hours).
Cut
with egg shaped cookie cutter.  Decorate with shredded coconut.
  
9) Hide-An-Egg
  My big thing now is to hide a plastic egg full of jellybeans (1 egg for each
child) around my home.  The little ones get the easiest eggs to find.  When
the child finds his egg, he can eat the jellybeans inside.  I plan to do this
nearly each day, until Easter. 
  
10) Bunny Ice-Cream
  Arrange 3 balls of vanilla ice cream on a plate to form a bunny--use medium
one for head, large one for body and tiny one for the tail.  Cover with
shredded coconut.  Place carrot shavings (large) for ears, jelly beans for
eyes and nose, and licorice stings for whiskers. 
  
11) Easter Party Invitations
  Draw and cut out a basket shape and eggs from construction paper.  Glue the
eggs and plastic grass to the basket.  Write our invitation on the outside of
the basket.
  
12) Egg Carton Place Card (makes a cute cubby marker)
  Cut two cups from a cardboard egg carton for each place card.  Glue the two
cups together (bottom to bottom).  Cut a chick from const. paper.  Add
features with paper and glue the chick inside the cup.  Print a name on a
piece of paper and glue it to the front of the cup - put a few jelly beans
inside if you want.
  
13) Cotton Ball Rabbit
  Draw and cut out a rabbit shape from cardboard. Cover thears with pieces of
pink felt.  Outline them with glue and cotton balls.  Spread glue over the
rest of the rabbit, and completely cover it with cotton balls.  From felt,
cut
out and glue on eyes, a nose and a bow tie.  Glue buttons onto the body.
Glue
on black yarn for the mouth.  Attach a short string to the top of the rabbit
for a hanger.
  
14) Egg's Out Game
  Play hot potato with a plastic easter egg.
  
15) Cardboard Egg Hop Game
  Draw and cut out two large cardboard eggs.  Decorate them with paint,
markers, or crayons.  Have each player choose a partner and give each pair of
players two eggs.  To play:  In each pair, there is a hopper and a helper.
Starting at one end of the room, the helper places an eggon the floor in
front
of the hopper, who hops onto it with both feet.  The helper then places the
other egg a little way ahead and the hopper jumps onto it.  This continues
until the pair gets to the end of the room.  Now players change roles.  The
first pari back to the starting line wins.  If you don't want it to be a
competition, young children have fun just hopping.
  EASTER
  
16) Bunny Baskets:
  Using a white paper bag, cut out bunny ears at yop open end of sack. Draw,
color or paste on the facial features of the bunny's face. Pipe cleaners make
cute whiskers for the bunny. After face is done, open sack and staple the top
of each ear shut. Fill bunny baskets with green grass and fill with treats
for
the children.
  
17) Easter eggs:
  Give each child a large egg shape cut from construction paper.  Have the
children decorate with anything/everything (glitter, sequins, scrap fabric,
foil, buttons, crayons, markers).
  
18) Egg Shell collage:
  Make a collage from crushed egg shells. Egg shells may be colored or white.
Bruch diluted glue into an outline shape and then place egg shells into the
shape. The children can create their own designs or you may provide them with
the shape of a rabbit, chick or egg to fill in with the egg shells.
  
19) Movement Activity:
  HOPPING!!!  Give kids a variety of "hopping" commands such as:
  (Be sure kids are told to take their time hopping, hold a hand of younger
ones, if nec.)
  Hop in one place
  hop and turn in circles at same time
  Hop on left/right foot
  Hop backwards, sideways, make a square or circle
  Hop over a line
  Hop with a partner
  Hop to different rhythms (clap hands, use drum, music, etc...)
  
  
20) Bunny Face Salad
  Lettuce, cottage cheese, 1 pear, celery stick, raisins, 1 red grape.
Arrange lettuce on a salad plate.  Spoon cottage cheese on top of the
lettuce.
Peel and core a pear, cut it in half (or use canned halves).  Place one half
on top of the cottage cheese for the bunny face.  Add pieces of celery for
whiskers, raisins for eyes and a grape for the nose.  Cut the remining pear
section in half for the ears.
  
21) Hand Print Art: Springtime Bunny
  green, blue and white const. paper - scissors and paste
  Trace around 1 hand on white paper.  cut it out.  Fold the middle finger
under.  Fold the thumb and the pinky finger forward.  Cut out a strip of
grass.  Paste the hand print (w/fingers folded) fingers up - and the grass on
blue paper.  draw a face on the bunny, draw paws on the bunny, color the
inside of the ears pink.
  
22) Handprint Art: Swimming Duck
  yellow, blue, white and orange const paper - scissors and paste 
  Trace around 1 hand on white paper, cut it out.  Cut out a yellow duck body
and yellow duck head, orange feet and an orange bill.  Glue them on blue
paper
- using the hand print sideways as the ducks wings.  Draw an eye on the duck
and water lines around the duck.
  
23) Handprint Art: Basket of Eggs
  Trace around 2 hands on green paper - cut them out.  Cut out a large basket
shape from brown paper and four eggs on colored paper - glue the hands
(fingers up) as grass behind the eggs and basket on blue paper.
  
24) Handprint Art: Cherry Chick
  Trace around 2 hands on white paper - cut them out.  Cut out a yellow circle
(chicks head) and a large yellow egg shape (chicks body).  Cut out 2 orange
feet, 2 white eyes and an orange beak using the handprints (fingers down) for
wings glue the body parts on green paper.
  
25) Paper Mache Easter Basket
  Blow up a large balloon - cover with paper mache - when dry pop the balloon
and cut a handle into the paper to form a basket - paint!!!!
  
26) Natural Easter Basket
  Plant grass seed in an Easter Basket 2-3 weeks before Easter.
  
27) Paper Bag Bunnies
  Cut bunny ears from pink paper and staple to lunch size bag.  Cut pink nose
from const paper.  Using the same pink paper - cut whiskers.  Paste nose and
whiskers on face.  Draw in face with crayons - finish by glueing on a cotton
ball tail.
  
28) Easter baskets we have made:
  You take the empty green pint containers that strawberries (or other
berries)
come in, put pipe cleaners through one of the holes at the top.  Fill with
Easter grass and top with candy etc.
  
29) Circle Bunny
  Trace circles on white or pink paper.  Cut them out. Cut ears from the sides
of one circle leaving an hour glass shape in the center - use that as a bow
tie - Draw a bunny face on the other circle.  Glue ears and bow on rabbit
face.  Color - place on large sheet of const. paper
  
30) Easter Baskets
  Use decorative plastic margarine tubs.  Punch a hole on each side.  Use the
pipe cleaners for a handle.  Fill with Easter grass.   Put in dyed eggs and
jelly beans.
  
31) Chicken in a Shell
  Cut a large oval egg form wall paper or white paper.  Draw jagged line
across
half of egg and cut.  If white paper is used, it should be decorated.  Make a
chick's head out of yellow or white construction paper.  Color beak and eyes
black.  Paste chick to bottom half of egg shell.  Fasten top and bottom shell
together with paper fastener so top half of shell can be moved to reveal
chick.
  
32) Easter Bonnet
  Decorate a paper plate with tissue paper flowers and leaves.   Staple or
glue
decorations on bonnet.   Poke a hole on each side.  Put a ribbon through from
the top and tie under chin.  Have an Easter Parade wearing the bonnets.
  
  
33) Bunny Song
  
  See the little bunnies sleeping
  Till it's nearly noon,
  Come and let us gently wake them
  With a merry tune.
  Oh, so still.
  Are they ill?
  
  Hop little bunnies...hop, hop, hop
  Hop little bunnies...hop, hop, hop
  Hop little bunnies...hop, hop, hop
  Hop little bunnies, hop and stop! 
  
34) Easter Eggs
  
  At Easter time we color eggs,
  Shades of yellow, red and blue.
  We make them pretty as can be,
  We'll make some for me and some for you.
  
  
35) Finding a Treat
  
  Hippy hop, hippity hop.
  Will the Easter Bunny stop?
  Will he leave a treat behind,
  An Easter basket for me to find?
  
  I'll look over here, I'll look over there,
  I'll look behind things, I'll look everywhere
  I'll look until I find my treat,
  And then I'll sit right down and eat.
  
  
36) Easter Hat
  
  I'll make a pretty Easter hat,
  To wear at Easter time
  I'll put some flowers on it,
  And a bow will make it fine.
  We'll fasten on some ribbons,
  All pretty pink and blue,
  Then we'll take a picture,
  And I'll give it to you.
  
37) See the Easter Bunny - Tune - Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
  
  See how the bunny hops along, hops along, hops along.
  See how the bunny hops along, (children crouch and hop)
  On an Easter morning.
  This is the way he wiggles his nose, wiggles his nose,
  Wiggles his nose (children wiggle nose)
  This is the way he wiggles his nose,
  On an Easter morning.
  This is the way he flops his ears..................etc..
  On an Easter morning.
  See how he jiggles his cotton tail, cotton tail........
  (put one hand behind and wiggle it )
  On an Easter morning.
  
38) Puzzle Wreaths for Easter
  Another puzzle idea:   puzzle peice Easter Wreath
  1.  Mix four drops of green food coloring witha cup of white glue.  Mix the
green flue with all the puzzle pieces in a large bowl.  If the mixture seems
too drippy add more puzzle pieces.  Stir until the pieces are evenly coated
with glue.
  
  2.  Cut the center out of a paper plate to form a wreath shape.  Punch a
hole
in the edge of the rim and tie a piece of yarn through it to make a hanger.
  
  3.  Set the rim on a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface where the
wreath
will be able to dry for several days without being moved.  Pile spoonfuls of
the puzzle-piece mixture around the rim to form a three-dimensional wreath.
You may not need to use all of the mixture.  Add or subtract pieces until the
wreath looks right to you.
  
  4.  When the wreath has dried completely, you can decorate it by glueing on
some artificial flowers.  i used little easter decorations.
  
  Do all of the cutting and hole punching ahead of time this saves alot of
time
with little ones and helps for the projects to go smoothly.
  
39) Rubber Band Wraps
  Materials:
            Egg dye:(for an extra bright color use food coloring paste,
available at party supply shops. Dissolve a dab of paste or 6 drops fo reg.
liquid food coloring in a cup of hot water. Stir in 1/4 cup of vinegar)
  Rubber bands, (various length widths long enough go around the egg several
times)
   
  Wrap rubber bands around the egg, covering it completley. When you dip the
covered egg, the dye will seep under the bands in some areas and be blocked
out in other areas. Remove from the dye when the color is bright enough. Blot
dry with paper towels and remove the rubber bands. If you wish, repeat with a
new color. (If the rubber bands pop off the egg, try using thicker ones ro
wrap them more loosely.
  
40) Marbelized eggs:
  Materials: Egg dye, 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
  Lightly stir the oit into a bowl of egg dye. Immediately dip the egg inot
the
liqiud. Or stand the egg in a small cup and slowly spoon the oit-water
mixture
over it. WHen the egg dreis, repeat the steps with another color for an
interesting color combining efffect. TIP: For cleanup, wash all dipping
containers in ho soapy water and rinse with vinegar to get rid of oil.
  
  
  
41) Fingerpaint eggs
  Materials: Paper plates, tempera paint
  Put a few colors of paint on the paper plate. Hold the egg n the ends with
your thumb and finger so you can rotate it while you're stamping. Dip your
finger in the paint, dab off the excess on a paper towel, then gently press
your finger onto the egg.
  
  
42) KARO Syrup Eggs....
  Cut out easter eggs out of heavy paper.  Pour Karo syrup on it and drops of
food coloring.  Let teh kids use their fingers to mix the colors into the
syrup and lay them flat to dry- it takes a long time for them to dry, but
they
are really pretty when they are done.
  
  
43) Center Ideas:
  Housekeeping:  Easter basket with plastic eggs, Easter bonnets, dressy
clothes, and shoes
  Circle:  flannel basket, assorted sizes and colors of eggs, rabbit
  Books:  Books about rabbits and Easter
  Table Activities:  file folder activities 
  Blocks:  Easter basket and plastic eggs
  Puppets:  rabbit stick puppets
  Science:  egg sound cups
  Science Activities:  Incubator with chicken eggs to hatch