Do you have a couple dozen plastic Easter eggs saved from years past? We do, and I'm always dreaming up fun activities to do with them.

Painting with Plastic Easter Eggs

Last year we made prints with plastic eggs. This year I decided to try something different. The little holes in plastic eggs has always screamed art and sensory play opportunity to me, so I finally stirred up something I thought of awhile ago.

An invitation to paint and create with plastic Easter eggs

How to Make Drip Paintings with Plastic Easter Eggs

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Supplies:

Building fine motor skills through art and play with plastic Easter eggs

Directions: I filled squeezy bottles with 1/2 paint and 1/2 water. I wanted the paint to be thin enough to drip out of the holes in the eggs. I didn't want it too watery, though, so I chose to water down tempera paint instead of using liquid watercolors. For older children it would be fun to observe different paint mediums with the eggs and how each one drips through the holes onto the paper. My twins are 3.5, so for now I kept the project simple.

Boosting fine motor skills through art and play with plastic Easter eggs

I covered our picnic table with butcher paper and set up an invitation to paint with plastic Easter eggs.

Drip painting creations with plastic Easter eggs

Tank was fascinated. He refilled his egg many times and watched the dripping paint intently. He also experimented with mixing paint colors and lifting the egg high off the paper.

Observing liquids - combining art and science with this open ended art project for preschoolers

Peanut was a bit more interested in finger painting. When they asked for more paint they both enjoyed mixing the beautiful spring paint colors together with their hands.

This looks like an incredibly messy art project, but actually the mess was contained to the table and their hands. Had I refilled their squeezy bottles a third time the paint would have dripped off of the table, but they were content after the second round of squeezing paint into the eggs. Here are tips for messy play as well as laundry tips to avoid stains and keep clothes bright.

The clean up actually took five minutes at the most. The boys rinsed their hands with the hose, and I folded up the butcher paper canvas and threw it in the trash outside. We used the hose to rinse a few stray drops of paint and the squeeze bottles, and everything was clean!