Skip to Main Content
Easter Egg-stravagance

Easter Egg-stravagance

The egg is a symbol of new life and has come to be associated with Easter. Students will explore some of Easter's symbols and create a colorful Easter scene.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

Steps

  • Step 1

    Spring is a time of renewed life; leaves begin to bud, flowers bloom, baby animals are born - and Easter is celebrated. Have students explore some of the symbols associated with Easter. For example, eggs signify new life and rebirth, chicks come from eggs, and bunnies symbolize fertility and new life. Ask students to also investigate why it has become a tradition to dye and/or decorate eggs for Easter.

  • Step 2

    Students can create an Easter decoration that features a woven basket and some holiday symbols. If students don't celebrate Easter, they can create art that represents the season and the emergence of new life.

  • Step 3

    To form an Easter decoration, students will plan the overall background on a large sheet of paper. Then, to make the basket, have them fill a new sheet of paper with marker stripes using a monochromatic color pallette such as the Colors of the World many skin tones. Then have them cut the striped paper into strips. Reserve one strip for the handle. Then lay half of the remaining strips horizontally and weave the other strips vertically over and under the horizontal strips. After the woven object is formed, turn the ends under and glue them down. Then glue the handle onto the basket and attach the basket to the decorated background scene.

  • Step 4

    Have students draw eggs on a separate piece of paper, then decorate them with colored pencils, markers, and glitter glue. When the glue is dry have students cut the eggs out and glue them into the basket. To complete the scene they can draw other symbols such as chicks or bunnies, cut them out, and glue them onto the background.

  • Step 5

    Have students present their scenes and talk about how spring is a time of renewed life and hope.

Standards

SS: Culture: Create, learn, share, and adapt to culture.

SS: Individual Development and Identity: Describe factors important to the development of personal identity and the context of identity within families, peer or affinity groups, schools, communities, and nationalities.

Adaptations

Some Easter eggs, including the ones featured in the lesson plan's image, are not merely dyed but ornately decorated. These elaborate eggs are made using the "pysanky" technique. It is a Ukrainian wax-resist artform in which a design is created on the egg using melted beeswax and then dyed. Have students learn about the origins of this technique and look at images of some of these beautiful pysanky eggs.

Have students explore other symbols of life and rebirth. For example, the phoenix in Greek mythology is an immortal bird that rises out of the ashes of its predecessor, the lotus flower is an important symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, and the hummingbird which is seen as a symbol of rebirth in many Central American cultures.