Ingredients
- White paper
- White crayon
- Scissors
- Food coloring (a basic set of four kit will do)
- Pencil
- Spray bottle with water
- Wax paper
- Sink or bin to collect the excess water and food coloring.
Preparation
Step 1
Preparation: Depending on the age of the child you are working with, you may want to cut out large eggs using the white paper. Older children can trace an egg template or draw their own.
1. Lay the blank white egg paper onto a sheet of wax paper. This is so the paper egg can dry without sticking to any surfaces.
2. Using a white crayon, illustrate the egg. *****See notes below for recommended activities. *****
3. Have the child dot the different colors of food coloring around the white paper egg.
4. Quickly (before the food coloring sets in) spray the egg so the colors blend and bleed into one another.
5. Drain excess food coloring and water into a sink or bin.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 if needed.
Suggestions for wax (crayon) resist:
For ages 2-4: This may be a hard concept for them to understand if you ask them to draw with a white crayon onto white paper. My children were very concerned that they couldn't see what they were drawing. When I taught art to this age group, I either wrote or drew a special message on each egg and added their name. They then saw it "appear" when they tie-dyed their paper eggs.
For ages 5-7: Have them illustrate their own egg using white crayon either by having them draw simple decorations or a message such as "Happy Easter."
For ages 8 and up: Challenge these children by directing them to draw a pretty detailed picture depicting something about Easter, or discuss the Principles of Design (repetition, balance and pattern for example) and have them create a pattern.