Have you found yourself faced with extra plastic Easter eggs after this past Easter? I know I have. We usually keep them to use for the following year to do egg hunts or placing treats for the baskets. Over time, however we’ve been accumulating extra from gifts given by relatives and egg hunts.
I’ve seen other parents faced with the similar situation posting questions and looking for ideas on repurposing those plastic eggs. They make excellent toys for babies as they are the perfect shape for little hands. I thought I would share a few of my ideas for getting new uses out of them as homemade toys.
Shakers
Babies are fascinated by rattles and toys that make noise when shaken. There are so many ways you can make homemade shakers. This is one way to make them putting those extra eggs to use. Fill the bottom half of the egg with small items that will rattle such as beads, small beans (lentils work best) or buttons. Use a hot glue gun to go around the inside rim of the top egg and place it onto the bottom wiping away any excess glue. Be sure the two halves meet up and are closed tightly. Allow to dry. You could also use tape to go around the eggs to seal them such as colored duct tape or blue painter’s tape. Just be sure to check them periodically as your filler item can pose a choking hazard if the egg comes loose or apart.
Weeble Wobbles
Have you ever seen those little Weeble Wobbles toys that wobble but don’t fall down? Well, they are very easy to make using your extra plastic Easter eggs. Press a glob of play dough into the small half (the top) of the egg and close it. It will weigh the egg down just enough for it to wobble, but come back up. You can draw on them with permanent makers to make silly faces and people.
Bath Toys
Plastic Easter eggs make the perfect bath toys. They float, dry easily and can be used for pouring small amounts of water from one half to the other, which kids love to do. Most plastic eggs contain a small hole in them to keep from holding water which is also good.
Creepy Crawler
Make a snake, bookworm, or whichever you want to refer to it as using your eggs. You can use as many as you’d like (20 is ideal, though the more you have the longer it will make it.) Take your eggs apart and string the halves along a piece of string such as yarn or twine (you could also use garden wire to make it bendable but you may need to drill larger holes in your eggs for thicker wire) all going in the same direction. Once all your egg halves are strung, tie a knot on each end of your crawler. For the face you can either use a marker to draw one or if you have googly eyes, glue them to the head. There you have it, a colorful creepy crawler for the kids to play with!
Learning Games with Plastic Eggs
In addition to making great homemade toys for babies, plastic Easter eggs can also be used to create learning games for toddlers and preschoolers. I have an aunt that’s a school teacher and she would buy the plastic eggs after Easter when the stores would put them on clearance and use them as fun learning tools for her students. These are some great ideas for those who homeschool as well.
Upper Case/Lower Case Matching
This is a great way to teach preschoolers how to identify their upper case and lower case letters. With the egg together, write a capital letter on one half using a permanent maker and a lower case letter on the other half. Take the eggs apart and mix them up, then have your toddler try to match the upper case with its lower case component.
Pattern/Sequence Game
Create a pattern using 3 different colored eggs in a sequence. Have your child try to guess figure out color comes next. You can do this using the halves rather than the whole eggs to stretch it out further.
Memory Match Game
This is a fun game you can play with older toddlers. Take small objects such as colored paper clips, coins, etc. and hide them under the egg halves. You need to have 2 of each item you use to create a matching pair (so 2 pennies or 2 matching pair of colored paper clips) Mix the eggs up and let your child choose 2 to lift up and try to match the pairs.
Simple Math Concepts
On one half of an egg write a simple mathematical equation such as 1+1= and write the answer on the other half. Take the eggs apart and mix them up then encourage your child to look for half with the answer on it to put them together.
Sorting and Counting
Place a certain amount of eggs in a container or bucket. Provide a second container to sort the eggs into. Give your toddler a pair of tongs to use as a tool and have them transfer the eggs one at a time from the first container to the second container counting each one. You can instruct your toddler to only transfer a certain amount, so if there 10 eggs have them transfer 5 of them one at a time to the second container while counting.
Plastic eggs provide countless possibilities. There are so many craft projects that you can do with your kids reusing old plastic eggs that don’t even have to be Easter-themed. Use your imagination and get creative, but most importantly have fun!
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