Easter Week: Thursday!

Easter Week

Thursday!

Crafts:

• "Some Bunny Loves You" Card: Construction paper, markers, pipe cleaners, two craft sticks, small pom pom

1. Fold a piece of construction paper in half.  Write a message inside the folded paper.
2. Cut an oval from a piece of white construction paper, and draw a bunny face.
3. Cut six small pieces of pipe cleaner.
4. Glue the face on the front of the card.  Glue craft-stick ears.  Glue the pipe cleaner pieces on as whiskers and the tiny pompom for the bunny's nose.

• Beautiful Baskets: Craft sticks, plastic-foam tray, glitter, plastic berry basket, cardboard, poster board

Egg Basket: 

1. Paint eight craft sticks and let dry.
2. Cut eight egg shapes form a plastic-foam tray or craft foam.
3. Decorate the eggs with glitter, and let dry.
4. Glue each egg to the end of a craft stick.  Let dry.
5. Weave the craft sticks in and out of the sides of a berry basket.  Add a dab of glue at each cross point to be sure the sticks stay out.

Handle Basket:

1. Cut two squares of cardboard as wide and tall as a craft stick.  
2. Cut tabs 1/4 inch long and the width of a craft stick apart into two sides of each square.
3. Fold back every other tab.  Use a dot of glue to attach one end of a craft stick to each folded tab on one square.  Glue the other end of each stick to the folded tabs on the other square.  
4. Tape a piece of cardboard to fit the bottom.  
5. Add a poster-board handle. 

• Paper Plate Bonnet: Paper plate, glue, hole puncher, ribbon, decorations

1. Turn a paper plate upside down.  Cover the bottom with tissue paper, flowers, ribbons, netting, sequins, glitter, buttons, artificial flowers, feathers, etc. using glue to fasten down the decorations.
2. Attach a long ribbon to each side for a tie.

• Broken Egg With Bunny: Colored construction paper, scissors, metal paper fastener, glue

1. On colored construction paper, draw an egg.  Then cut it out.
2. Next, draw a jagged line down the middle of the egg.  Cut the egg in half along the jagged line.
3. Using white paper, cut out two circles small enough to fit within the egg halves.  Paste them on a sheet of background paper, one above the other, to form a body and head of a bunny.
4. Draw two bunny ears on the top circle and add a face.
5. Poke a hole near the bottom edge of the lower circle.  
6. Also, poke holes in the bottom corner of each egg half.  
7. Pin all the pieces together with a metal paper fastener so you can close the egg and then open it to reveal the bunny inside.  

Activities:

• Easter Collage: Magazines and/or store ads, scissors, glue, poster board.  

1. Cut easter pictures out of the magazines or store ads. 
2. Glue them onto a piece of poster board, shaped like an egg.
3. Your child can add glitter over the pictures if they want too.

• Egg Power: 4 eggshell halves, masking tape, scissors, cans

1. Wrap a piece of masking tape around the midsection of each eggshell half.
2. Then, with your scissors, trip off the excess shell so each one has a straight-edged bottom.
3. Lay out the four eggshells, dome up, so they form a square.
4. Holding a can upright, stand it on the eggshells.  
5. Keep stacking cans on top of that one until the shells crack.

The "fragile" eggshells can support a surprising amount of weight.

The secret of their strength is their shape.  No single point in the dome supports the entire weight of the object on top of it.  The weight is carried down along the curved walls to the wide base.

• Carrot Tops: Carrots with leaves, magnifying lens

1. Look at the carrots carefully.
2. Under the magnifying lens, examine the tops of the carrot roots just below the leaves.  What color are they?

Almost any plant that is exposed to light turns green.  This green is the chlorophyll, which assists in the photosynthesis process.  (See chlorophyll test below.)  Some of the top portion of the carrot roots you looked at might have been green.  This part was green because the top portion of the root was exposed to the sun.  

• Chlorophyll Test:  Sheet of white construction paper, grass

1. Place the sheet of construction paper on the grass.
2. Step on the paper and twist your foot into the grass.
3. Lift the paper and examine it. What do you see on the paper?

You saw green smudges on the paper where the grass rubbed on the paper.  Grass and other plants are green because they contain a pigment called chlorophyll.  Chlorophyll is vital to plants.  Plants cannot move around to get food, so they must make it themselves.  Plants make food from carbon dioxide (found in the air), water, and sunlight through the process of photosynthesis.  Without chlorophyll, this process could not take place.  

Snacks:

• Easter Egg Shaped Brownies from Little Debbie
• Carrots, celery or lettuce
• Hard boiled egg

Education:

Letters/Words:

• Word of the day: Index card, pen

1. OR
2. Ask your children questions about things like: Is this big or small.  Is this green or blue?  Is this tall or short?
3. Then have them ask you questions using the word OR too.

• Storyteller: Index cards, pen, bag

1. Write down words you child knows on index cards.
2. Place index cards in a bag.
3. Then have your child draw out three cards.
4. Have them make up a story using the three words.

Numbers:

• Number Scavenger Hunt: White paper, tape/glue, pen, scissors, items like beans, crayons, money, blocks, buttons, paper clips, etc.

1. With your items glue or tape one of each item onto one sheet of paper.  
2. Above the each item, write down the number of that items is hidden around the room.
3. Your child must then find that number of items.  For example: if you have hidden 10 pennies around the room, then above the taped penny on the paper, write down 10.  
4. Have them count each item until they have found all 10 pennies.  

Music/Rhyme:

• Step By Step Website has some very cute Easter songs in their holiday section.

Books:

• It's Easter Pooh by RH Disney
• Easter Basket by Chuck Murphy
• Where Are Baby's Easter Eggs? by Karen Katz
• Clifford's Happy Easter by Norman Bridwell

Easter Week: Thursday!