When Easter Eggs Hatch Classroom Skills

Spring is finally here-at least according to our calendars! In this season of new beginnings, we educators have the opportunity to infuse new life into our classrooms with exciting educational activities. It's likely that you have already started to notice the retail stores setting up their over-the-top displays for Easter. But before you zip past the chocolate bunnies and plastic eggs, consider how you might use those colorful little Easter eggs to reinforce essential lessons you've been teaching your students. With a little time and creativity, your elementary students will be all abuzz about the "eggs-travagant" lessons they've learned - from addition and subtraction to compound words and sight words. Following are some crafty ideas for using plastic Easter eggs in the classroom.

Making Compound Words

Take one half of a plastic Easter egg and write the first part of a compound word on it (such as "jelly"). Take the other half of the plastic egg and write the second part of that compound word on it (such as "bean"). Mix up the egg halves and have your students put together the correct combinations of compound words ("jellybean").

Making Word Families

On the taller side of a plastic egg, write a common word family ending (ex: -ad, -en, -ing, -ow, -ug) On the shorter side of the egg, write a beginning consonant or blend. Have your students take one egg at a time, read the word that is formed by the two halves combined, and then twist the egg to continue to read each new rhyming word that is formed in the word family.

Identifying Synonyms and Antonyms

Write a variety of synonyms on plastic egg halves and have your students match up the correct synonymous words. You can do the same with antonyms.

Counting Stars

On one half of a plastic egg, draw a particular number of stars. On the other half, write the number represented by the stars. Mix up the egg halves and have your students match the stars with the correct number.

Practicing Addition and Subtraction

Give your students a fun way to practice their addition and subtraction skills. Write a problem on one half of a plastic egg and an answer on the other half. Mix up the egg halves and have your students match the problem with the correct answer.

Practicing Multiplication and Division

You can also do the above activity using multiplication and division problems. Of course, the difficulty of the math problems you use can be modified to suit your grade level and and curriculum needs.

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We hope these easy Easter egg activities will give you the opportunity to present classroom material in a new, fun, and creative way this spring. No matter what grade level you teach, there are always ways to tweak and modify these examples so that your students get the most out of the activities. Remember: memorable educational activities don't have to break the bank, but with a little preparation and creativity, you can help your students break open "egg-cellent" lessons! Please share your comments below! We would love to hear how you made this classroom activity your own and what you suggest for improvement and new ideas!