Easter Crafts with Kids

Easter is a great time to create some fun crafts with your kids.  The thought of Easter is so uplifting to me.  The day takes place in the Spring, with the sun warming the Earth and with new life all around us. With it still a little wet on the ground to play for long outside it is the perfect opportunity to sit down with your children and have fun making crafts like this.

I use Pinterest as an ideal starter and builder :) .  I sat down with a Pinterest search of 'Easter Crafts" on my computer and an anxious 5 year old at my side.

After looking for what seemed to be hours we both decided that String Easter Eggs would be the most fun. There was so much we could do; we could add sparkles, use different color string and make different sizes.

Example image from Cool Craft on http://tinyrottenpeanuts.com

And now we attempt creating this Easter craft and discussing the meaning of Easter.

We started with a supply run to Michael's where we picked up:

Colored String - Embroidery Floss is best

Elmers Glue

Water Balloons 

Blow up the water balloons.  A pump helps but I found it easier if you just stretch them and blow them up with your own hot air.

The next step is to cover the entire crafting area with newspaper and lay out wax paper to place your finished eggs to dry.  Mix up elmers glue with water [just enough to make the glue thin and watery] on a paper plate. 

Cut your string selections at arms length at first and once you get the hang of it can make the length longer if you wish.  Lay the string in the plate of glue, totally covering it.  [Yes this gets messy]

This was my daughters favorite part of the whole craft.  She loved the feeling of the glue and how it dripped off the string.

Run your fingers down the string to remove excess glue and get ready to be creative. Wrap the string around the balloon as you desire. 

Morgan had a great time doing her first one but lost interest quickly in wrapping the string around the balloon.  We decided that she would play in the glue/water mix and soak the strings and help take the glue off and I would wrap them all.  It was a lot of fun. 

They don't really look like much when they are sitting on the wax paper to dry. The dry time depends on the humidity and air flow but I would give them a good 2 hours.

Morgan was very anxious the whole wait time because the only way to get the balloons out is to pop them. A fun activity by anyone's definition.

They we tried to pop too early on some and decided to wait over night. They turned out pretty cool for our first try, definitely a project we will do again.

They also add a little flare to the room as an Easter decoration.  

What kinds of crafts do you do in the Spring or for Easter, comment and share your ideas.

Hats off to Disney, they deserve a warm hug

Disney did an amazing job with their latest movie.  In case you have been living in a cave and this is the first thing you are reading after landing free WiFi. (Man do I wish) I am referring to FROZEN. It has gone viral, caught on fire and is running wild all at the same time.

My actual first experience with this movie was looking up what all the hubbub was about on YouTube. My favorite has to be these two adorable little girls, Maddie and Zoe singing "Let It Go". 



My take away from this video was that kids rock! These girls are 4! I took my daughter who hasn't enjoyed any movie yet in her 5 years to see this in the theater. (For some reason she gets overwhelmed with them.  I am not sure if it's her imagination running ahead of the story-line or if she dreads what she doesn't know will happen next.)

She was immediately absorbed in it. There were some situations that she cuddled in closely but the soundtrack and amazing creativity that Disney is known for pulled her attention back from fear to wonder.

Since that day we now play a made up game called "Frozen". We also play the section when Elsa is climbing the mountain and singing 'Let it Go' on YouTube every morning before school.



We gave my daughter the soundtrack and she immediately opened the case and placed it directly into her Barbie CD Player...and this was her 20 minutes later (Please note: She is 5 years old and this is the most she has stayed still; well, ever.)

I honestly enjoy everything about Frozen, the movie, the soundtrack and how much imagination it allows my daughter to use.  Disney has outdone themselves this time and I can't wait for the Elsa princess dress to come out.  I can see the look on my daughters face now. She has one or two for every other princess dress and this one would totally make her day.

There has been a lot said about what Disney was thinking when they created this movie. Where did they see this one going?  It is the first movie that they have done where it seemed that they were giving the female character some independence.  I found this mix on YouTube with my daughter and it has turned into one of her favorite videos.  I think it's just because it has all the princesses in it, but I know when she wants to listen to it because she says, "Can I watch...you know, 'I don't need a man'?" Watch and you'll see. An interesting message:



If you haven't seen Frozen, go see it, don't walk, run to the closest theater or Redbox kiosk. If you don't have kids, don't worry, you don't need 'em.  Kids and adults alike will enjoy this movie.  

By the end you will have a deep connection with Sven and Christophe. Not to mention you really will want a warm hug from Olaf and see him experiencing summer.

Don't slam the door, you don't have to keep your distance ... for the first time in forever ... you can go watch a kids movie.