THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 14, 1995 TAG: 9503140090
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Mom, I'm Bored
SOURCE: Sherrie Boyer
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
THE WEATHER IS just glorious and at our house we are excited. Or maybe that's ``egg-cited,'' because just a few too many things have to do with eggs.
For those cracked eggs at your house, here are some springy ideas, some new and some so old they ought to be chicks.
Make an Easter egg tree with broken eggshells, flowers and a bare branch. Build it in scattered moments over the next month, adding a little every week, so that this shared activity is season long.
This activity is also a challenge, because the breakable eggshells must be handled at every stage. It's good if the children expect some eggshells to break and to know you won't be upset if they do. Besides, broken bits make great confetti (below).
Let the children plant a bare branch in a medium-size flower pot two-thirds full with soil. Use moss or plant spring grass to cover the soil around the trunk of the tree. If you plant grass, leave the pot outside in the sun, but remember to water it daily.
The children could paint the flower pot first (use bits of sponge dipped in spring shades of acrylic paint) or cover it with crepe paper.
Over the next weeks, collect eggshells as you cook. Have the children help you crack each egg in half carefully, using a blunt knife to tap around the middle. The result to aim for is a break down the middle of the egg, leaving a small ``bowl'' from each half of the eggshell.
Wash each ``bowl'' carefully with soap, rinse and leave it in a safe place to dry. The washing will be a great challenge for the children, as they try to get the shell clean without breaking the bowl.
When you've collected a few, turn them upside down and place the center of a 25-inch length of narrow ribbon ( 1/8 to 1/4 inch) across the bowl. Help your child glue it down from edge to edge. When you pick up the two ends of the ribbon, the bowl will be upright, swinging gently in its ribbon sling. Tie the ribbon in a bow to one of the branches of the tree.
Let your child gently fill the bowl with water (her miniature china teapot is perfect for this or try a teaspoon) and add a blossom or two. The end result is lovely white and brown egg baskets of flowers tied with spring ribbons to the branches of your tree.
You can add as many baskets as the tree will hold and change the flowers often. Another option is to fill the little baskets with treasures or candies.
A funnier thing to do with eggshells is to let them grow hair. Together, wash and dry the eggshell ``bowls.'' Then draw a face on the eggshell with paint or markers (this is another lesson in careful handling).
Dampen a cotton ball or two and place it into the eggshell. Sprinkle a few (10 to 15) garden cress or alfalfa seeds onto the cotton. Stand the eggshells in the carton on a sunny window ledge. Water the cotton balls lightly each day so they'll stay moist, but not drenched. In a few days, your eggshells will have edible hair. The children will enjoy eating their new friends' hair and then helping them to grow more.
With all of the half shells, you're bound to have piles of truly broken bits. Crush them. Make dye by mixing drops of food coloring and 1 teaspoon vinegar in 1/2 cup of very hot water. Soak the crushed shells for a few minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove and dry them on a cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven (or sun dry outside).
On construction paper, draw a design in glue with a cotton swab. Sprinkle the confetti-like shells on; shake off excess. Or glue the different colors to Easter eggs for a bumpy, totally egg look.
One last idea, when you can't bear real eggs anymore, make giant fakes with papier-mache. Blow up a balloon a little bit. Dip 1-by-3-inch strips of newspaper into a glue mixture (1 cup each flour and water) and lay across the balloon. Make three smooth layers. After the giant eggs dry (a few days), paint in spring colors. by CNB