It’s almost Easter: Time to tackle dyeing Easter eggs with kids!
An eggshell is like a blank piece of paper. With a little help and some imagination, kids can create Easter eggs as fun, interesting, and unique as they are! These tips can help.
Decorate hard-cooked eggs. Hard-cooked eggs are best when you want a sturdy egg for hiding and when you want to eat them when you’re done. They are also easier for younger children to handle.
Everyone should wash their hands in hot, soapy water before and after handling eggs (even if they’ve already been cooked or decorated)! This protects everyone from any bacteria on the egg, and protects the eggshell from any oils on hands that may make the dye not adhere.
Dyeing Easter eggs with kids: more ideas
Kids don’t have to be highly creative to create an egg-ceptional egg. Help kids use their imagination to create cool looking eggs by gluing on fun materials found at craft stores, like fake gems, sequins, trims and ribbons. They can also use paint, including gold or silver metallic paints, to make their eggs “eggstra” special!
To create an egg with a face, create a light flesh color by dipping your egg in a dye that’s made of a little bit of red and yellow coloring; for a darker flesh color, use a little red, yellow, and green. Then let kids “eggspress” themselves – with a smile or other look they paint on (or use the method below to create a “Pysanky” face). You can make your own or use store-bought stencils or decorating kits for as a fun and easy way to create egg faces.
To make eggs with several different colors (sometimes called a “Pysanky,” or Ukrainian egg), have kids draw on their egg with a clear wax crayon. Each time they use the crayon, they protect that color from dye. For example, keep an area white by drawing on the egg before they dip your egg in any color. Then dip the egg in the lighter colored dye first and then move to darker colored dyes.
Just be sure to let the first dye color dry before dipping it into the next color “bath.” Cover up more areas to keep the color, and peel the wax off of other areas to add color. When they’ve finished their “Pysanky” eggs, peel off all the wax layers to reveal an interesting multi-color design.
Polish the egg by rubbing in any remaining wax (heat egg slightly in hot water).
