15 Unique Ways to Use Plastic Easter Eggs

It's that time of year again, where the best candy known to mankind is stuffed into little plastic eggs and hidden around the yard to (hopefully) be found by eager little hands! Easter is such a special time of year for children and adults alike. Easter egg hunts being only one of the many traditions that create wonderful memories for families.

When you picture those seasonal plastic eggs, I am sure you picture them stuffed with candy, stickers, maybe even money! You probably picture them scattered around the yard, or inside of your child's Easter basket. However, I am here to convince you that those colorful eggs can be used for so much more! So, if you are storing them deep in the back of a closet somewhere, waiting to get them out until the last minute, you're going to want to start digging now, because I can show you 15 Unique Ways to Use Plastic Easter Eggs to further your toddler's education through play.

1. Letter Hunt

Is your toddler practicing identifying their letters? Maybe even the sounds of letters? If so, you will want to give this easy activity a try!

What You Will Need:

• Letters A-Z (I like to use these from Target, but you could even cut up a piece of paper and write the letters on the pieces!)

• 26 Plastic Eggs *most of the letters from this puzzle fit inside of the regular sized eggs. However a few letters will need larger eggs.

• Easter Basket

To Play: To play this game you will need to hide one letter inside of each egg. Hide the eggs around your home. Have your child hunt for the eggs, and collect them inside of their basket. After your child gathers all of the eggs, work with them as they open the eggs to identify the name and sound of each letter. If you are working with puzzle pieces, have them match the letter to the correct spot on the puzzle board. *This same concept can be applies to numbers, shapes, colors, objects, etc.

2. Nature Hunt Is it a beautiful spring day were you live right now? If so, you will want to get outside and do this activity with your toddler! Here, in Montana, there is still some snow on the ground, but the sun came out so we went outside to see what nature had for us! What You Will Need:

• Plastic Eggs

• Easter Basket

To Play: This is such a fun and simple game! To play, you will need 5-10 empty Easter eggs. Next, it is time to go on a nature walk with your child. You will need to look for items you can collect to put inside of each egg! Once you have finished your walk, you can open each egg to look at all of the cool things you found during your walk.

3. Counting Buttons This has been one of the most effective ways to get my toddler to count and visualize number value. She is finally starting to understand that numbers have a value! This activity was so easy to set up and has been a favorite around our house. What You Will Need:

• 5 Plastic Eggs

• 15 buttons

• This Printable

To Play: My daughter asks to play this game ALL THE TIME! To play, you will need to add one button in one egg, two buttons in another egg, three buttons in a third egg, four buttons in another egg, and 5 buttons into the last egg. (I hope this makes sense so far). After you have filled the eggs with buttons, you will hide the eggs around your house. Have your child collect all of the eggs. After your child has found the eggs, have them open each egg to see how many buttons are inside. Count with them if they need help. Have your child line up the buttons on the dots matching the number they found.

4. Paint Circles As you can see from the smile on my son's face, this was a FUN one! We had a lot more finger/body painting than I was planning, but that smile makes the mess worth it. My daughter, who is 3, understood the concept of what we were trying to accomplish a little better than my son did. But overall, I love how this activity played out for us. What You Will Need:

• The tops of Plastic Eggs (one for each color of paint)

• Paint (as many colors as you would like)

• Paper of any size or color! (We chose a large sheet of paper on the floor so I could let the baby play. I will do this activity again for my three year old and we will use a regular size sheet of paper.)

How to Play: Prepare a plate, or palette with different colors of paint. have your child use the tops of the Easter eggs to dip into the paint then stamp the paper. It's that easy!

5. Ramp Races This was a blast! So easy, SO much fun. What You Will Need:

• A rain gutter

• Plastic Eggs

• Dump truck (or a bin of some sort to catch the eggs in)

How to Play: Secure the gutter at an incline. I used a velcro strip and secured it to our stairs. Place a bin at the bottom of the ramp, and have your toddler roll the eggs into it! Piece of cake, right?!

6. Magnet Play My daughter played with this for an hour before nap time the first day we pulled it out, and asked for it first thing in the morning the next day! What You Will Need:

• Large Bin. I like to use these

• A lot of rice.

• Plastic Eggs

• Magnets. Click HERE for the set we used from Amazon. (I also used regular whiteboard magnets)

How to Play: I love sensory bins because they are so easy to set up. All you have to do is add about 1/3 of the container full of rice. Fill the Easter eggs with refrigerator/whiteboard magnets. Add small magnets and the Easter eggs to the rice. Give your child a magnetic wand and let them explore!

7. Snack Time Make snack time more fun with this easy activity! What You'll Need:

• Plastic Eggs

• Snacks

How to Play: Simply fill your Easter eggs with finger snacks for your little one! This will buy you a little more time to finish the dishes, clean the kitchen, or just relax as they work on opening the egg by themselves to obtain their snacks!

8. Fizzy Eggs If your child loves science experiments, they will love this activity! What You'll Need:

• Baking Soda

• Vinegar

• Food Coloring

• Squeeze Bottle

• Plastic Eggs

• Muffin Tin or Ice Tray *Optional for holding eggs still.

How to Play: To play fizzy eggs, you will need to pour a little bit of baking soda (about 1/4 tbsp) into the bottom of your Easter eggs. Then you will add a couple drops of food coloring into each egg. Cover the food coloring with a little bit more baking soda. Pour vinegar into a squeeze bottle for your child. Let your child explore chemical reactions by pouring the vinegar onto the baking soda! See what colors come up as the baking soda fizzes and your food coloring is exposed. When the squeeze bottle runs out of vinegar, fill it with water to explore color mixtures.

9. Make a Garland Whether it is a garland to add to your holiday decor, a statement necklace for your little ones, or a caterpillar to drag around, it is all made the same way! Isn't imagination great? What You'll Need:

• Plastic Eggs

• Long Yarn

How to Play: Simply attach Easter eggs to yarn! Boom! Such a simple concept, but it is so good for their little minds to figure out and apply. This activity kept my toddler busy for almost 30 minutes straight.

10. Roll Paint What You'll Need:

• A Box

• Paint

• Construction Paper

• Plastic Eggs

• Marbles

How to Play: Add 2 marbles to the inside of each Easter egg you plan on using. (This will help them roll and not get stuck in the paint) Place a piece of construction paper on the inside of the box. Drizzle a little bit of paint on top of the paper. Add your eggs and have your toddler shake the box around to help transfer the paint!

11. Word Match The goal of this game is to help your toddler understand that objects have a word associated with them that can be written out. To you and me, this is an easy to understand concept. But for early readers, this is an important skill that needs to be taught. This activity allows toddlers to practice word recognition, and sounding out letters to make words. What you'll Need:

• Plastic Eggs

• Sharpie

• Small figurines

• Kinetic Sand

How to Play: I wrote the words "girl", "dog", "bug", "wolf", and "bear" on our eggs because those were the small items I had that are easy to sound out when spelled. (If that makes sense). You can use whatever items you have in your house though! The eggs are going to become the objects "home" and the goal of this game is to unite each object with its correct home. Hide the objects inside of the kinetic sand. Once your toddler locates an object, say its name slowly. Help your child identify the sounds they hear and work together to find the egg that has the correct name on it. When you find the egg with the correct name, place the object inside of its "home".

12. Bath Time Glow Fun If your kids are driving you crazy, this is the activity you need to remember! What You'll Need:

• Plastic Eggs

• Pom-Poms

• Glow Sticks

• Bath Tub

How to Play: Fill your tub with warm water, throw glow sticks, eggs, and pom-poms into the tub. Stick your kid in there too. Turn out the lights and let them play! Add scoopers, cups, etc. for an even more elevated experience. (Please supervise this activity). Something about the tub always helps my kids calm down. We use sensory baths as a way to reset often. It is fantastic, I highly recommend doing this activity with your child!

13. Make Instruments If you have a child who loves music, dancing and singing, then you need to give this activity a try! What You'll Need:

• 3 plastic eggs

• Dry beans

• Popcorn Kernels

• Beads

• Hot Glue

How to Play: Fill one egg with beads, another egg with dry beans, and the third with corn kernels. Hot glue the inside rim of the top half of the egg and stick it to the bottom half. Now your child can experiment with the different sounds in each egg! *You do not have to use 3 different materials for your eggs. I chose to do this so we could talk about the different sounds we hear.

14. Clean the Squishies If your house is anything like mine, then you have an abundance of squishies laying around that could DEFINITELY use a good clean. You could do it,OR you could have your toddler do it for you! What You'll Need:

• Soapy Water

• Plastic Eggs

• Squishies (or other small toy)

• Tools for cleaning (sponge, toothbrush, rag, etc.)

• Large Container

How to Play: Fill a large, open bin with soapy water. Place the squishies, or other small toys inside of the plastic eggs. add the eggs, and the cleaning tools to the container of water. Have your child open the eggs and clean the squishies/toys.

15. Color Sort This activity is similar to the letter hunt. So, if your toddler loved that activity, then they will love this one! However, my daughter LOVES this activity and the play that happens after the activity is amazing. I don't know what is is about stuffing little things into these plastic eggs, but nothing has been better for encouraging imaginary play for my daughter. What You'll Need:

• Plastic Eggs

• Mini Manipulatives. We love these ones. (You can also use pom-poms)

How to Play: Fill the eggs with one to two dinosaurs (that's what we used, so that is what I am going to say here- but know that any mini object that is one solid color works). Have your toddler open the eggs and find the correct bowl that matches the dinosaur's color- the dinosaur's "home". And that's it! So easy! I hope you were able to find a few ideas that you want to try with your toddler. It has been amazing to see all of the fun ideas we could come up with to play with our plastic eggs. If you are interested in more simple and fun ways to play with your toddler, please follow me on instagram @surviving_todderhood.