Plastic Egg Play
Full disclosure – we have plastic eggs out around our house year round. They are perfect for learning the concepts of colors, open/close, on/off, in/out, and so much more, and can be utilized in so many different ways. The following are ways you can learn and play with plastic eggs starting with baby up through preschool age. As always, please be sure to supervise if your child is still mouthing items. Half of one of these plastic eggs is the perfect size to fit into a little mouth and can become a choking hazard.
Shaky Eggs: Fill eggs with different material: rice, beans, pennies, pasta, etc, and give the eggs a shake. Baby will have a great time shaking and listening and you can narrate what baby is hearing. Ex: That sounds soft/that is loud/shake fast/shake slow. I did hot glue the eggs together so baby wouldn’t be tempted to open and mouth any of the material inside the eggs.
Textured Eggs: Find materials of different textures around the house and attach to the eggs. The materials pictured above: velcro/feathers/googly eyes/pipe cleaner/foil. This will give baby a chance to feel different textures and for you to talk about what baby is feeling. Ex: This feels smooth/this feels rough.
Glow in the Dark Eggs: Fill plastic eggs with glow sticks and let baby explore. A glow in the dark egg hunt could be fun too!
Dump and Fill Eggs: Fill an egg carton with plastic eggs (and ducks if you have them on hand). Let baby explore, take the eggs in/out and open/close. Describe what baby is doing while she is doing it.
Plastic Egg Themed Sensory Bin: Fill a bin with edible easter grass, plastic eggs, and chicks and let baby explore.
Hide & Seek Eggs: Hide little animals or objects in the plastic eggs. Let your toddler open the egg and then talk about what she finds.
Painting with Eggs: Heads up, this can be messy! Let your child “dip” the eggs in the paint and then stamp along the paper. Show your child what to do and see if she can follow your lead.
Stacking Eggs: Such an easy activity! Demonstrate how to stack the eggs and describe how the eggs are being placed “on” and the tower is going “up.” This can be a quite challenging fine motor activity, especially when the tower begins to lean.
Matching Eggs: Eggs can be matched by color, and if you are feeling really ambitious, draw designs/shapes on the eggs and match that way. Describe the colors, designs, and shapes that are being matched.
Egg Hunt: How about a good old fashioned egg hunt? Place eggs around the house or outside and let your child search for them. Use spatial concepts (in/on/up/under) to give hints on where to look for the eggs. This game is a hit in our house year round.
Do you have more ideas on how to use plastic eggs? Please share in the comments!