Last week I talked about having a theme for each week at home. It really helps me when planning out each week and day to have something to narrow my focus. Pierce’s daycare has themes for the week that they structure crafts and learning time around and I love it.
Easter is this Sunday and it will be a much different Easter than we are all used to – no matter how you celebrate it or even if you don’t celebrate Easter at all. Living through a pandemic makes every day feel strange. But I still want to find fun ways for Pierce to experience the holiday since it is one of my all-time favorites. This is driven mostly by the candy selection but can you blame me? Reese’s and Cadbury eggs alone are just the best. Here are some ideas I am adding to my weekly schedule for this week. And you can definitely still buy candy and put together baskets for your kids! Just see how much Pierce loved his last year!
Books
I wanted to pick some books I already had that were Easter-themed. I am going to try and read these during every reading time this week. The closest I had were:
Some other great books that I found and would be great to include are:
Songs
Sensory Play Ideas
There are so many fun ways to create sensory play bins using plastic Easter eggs! Here are several ideas to get you started in building a sensory bin. If you are new to sensory bins, check this post out on materials needed and how to get started! I was intimidated at first but they are actually very easy to put together and provide a lot of benefits for young kids. Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates a child’s senses of touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing. From birth to early childhood, children are using these senses to make sense of the world. Providing opportunities for children to actively use all of their senses to explore the world is crucial to brain development. Sensory play can build nerve connections in the brain, helps with motor skills development, supports language development, and encourages problem-solving.
- Dried beans and plastic eggs
- Quinoa and plastic eggs with cups, egg carton
- Rice and plastic eggs
- Easter water play – cups, bowls, Easter eggs
- Playdough with Easter cookie cutters, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, pom poms
- Pom poms and plastic eggs
- Cereal and easter eggs with jumbo tweezers and cups
- Easter basket grass and plastic eggs
Indoor Activities
- Egg and spoon balance
- Egg letter match game
- Easter lacing cards
- Easter egg color sorting
- Indoor egg and candy hunt
- Cracking eggs: place small toys in plastic eggs and have your toddler crack them open
Art & Craft Projects
- Easter egg shakers
- Easter egg decorating: some of our favorites are gumball machines and narwhal eggs
- Easter egg printing
- Easter egg painting in a bin
- Q-tip egg painting
- Tin-foil Easter egg art
- Handprint cards
- Easter bunny ears headband
Outdoor Activities
- Egg hunt in your yard
- Easter-themed chalk drawings: bunnies, chicks, baskets, eggs, etc.
- Egg and spoon race: might be hard for younger toddlers but 3-year-olds could give it a try!
- Easter egg toss: toss eggs back and forth without dropping them
- Egg roll: Paint eggs outside and then roll them down nearby hills
