Easy ways to keep kids entertained over Easter

It’s Easter time, and the children are looking for something to do. But you’re prepared, and you know of some great Easter-related activities that will keep them entertained.

Make an Easter bonnet

Easter bonnets are bright and colourful, and making one is a great way to have fun. And you don’t have to stick with a spring theme if your children want to go in another direction, such as a favourite movie or action hero.

Materials:

• One paper plate per hat
• Construction paper and/or felt
• Crayons, markers or paint, ribbons, glitter, etc. (for decorations)
• Glue and/or tape

Directions:

1. The plate can be painted before starting or left as is to decorate later.
2. Cut three slits across the centre of the plate, as if you were cutting a pizza but starting and stopping about an inch or so in from the rim. This is to keep the brim of the hat in one piece. You now have eight triangles. Fold the triangles up so they look like stalks or leaves sticking up.
3. Colour or paint the plate as desired. Then cut out flowers or other shapes from the construction paper or felt. Glue these onto the “stalks,” and decorate them with your supplies. Now you have a unique Easter bonnet.

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Create “stained glass”

A sunny window just cries out for some stained glass, and here is an unbreakable kind for children of all ages. You might even want to get in on the act.

Materials:

• Waxed paper
• Crayons and crayon sharpener
• Scissors
• Iron (for the adult)

Directions:

1. Decide how big the stained glass is to be, and cut out two sheets of waxed paper in that size or a bit larger.
2. Choose the colours you want to use and, using the crayon sharpener, sharpen the crayons to get the shavings. Sprinkle the shavings onto one sheet of waxed paper. You can sprinkle different colours all over the sheet or place the colours in a pattern. Leave an inch or so around the edge of the paper clear of shavings to allow the second layer of paper to seal properly.
3. Once you are happy with your design, carefully place the second sheet of waxed paper over the shavings. An adult can then place a heated iron on the waxed paper “sandwich” and press until the shavings are melted. Poke a hole or staple some string or ribbon at the top of your creation to hang your masterpiece in the window.

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Play a game

How about Easter bingo? This is a game even younger children can play, because it doesn’t use numbers and letters. But it does take a bit of preparation before.

Directions:

1. You will need to make bingo and calling cards, and the players will need markers, which could be anything from jelly beans to pennies.
2. For your bingo cards, instead of having columns headed by the letters B-I-N-G-O, make five columns of different colours, like pink, blue, green, yellow and orange. In the rows, place pictures of eggs, bunnies, flowers — even happy faces (draw or add clip art from the computer). You can have repeats in different columns on the same card, such as a hat in the pink row and in the green one.
3. For the calling cards, write down the images and a colour (for example, pink flower, pink hat, yellow flower, yellow hat) on small squares of paper or cardboard, and put them in a bag.
4. To play, pull out a calling card, and call it out as you would for regular bingo.

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