Keep kids active this Easter with the following activities

POLOKWANE – A fun activity for kids would be to make their own Easter bunny cap.

You will need:

• 1 xprintable bunny rabbit ears
• 1 x A4 piece of cardboard (Any cardboard will do – cereal boxes, carboard packaging, etc.)
• 1 x white cap
• hot glue gun or stapler
• cotton balls
• brown felt (not essential)
• 1 x pair of scissors

Instructions: Print out a template and trace the bunny ears onto the carboard, then cut along the outline so you end up with two cardboard bunny ears.

Now get your cotton balls and glue them on to the ears to create some fluffy bunny fur.

Leave a clear space in the centre of each ear to glue a contrasting piece of paper or brown felt as the bunny’s inner ear.

Then attach the ears to a cap using a hot glue gun or stapler.

Remember, adult supervision is important if kids are going to be using scissors or a glue gun

Need to keep the teens entertained? No worries.

Here are a few games they could play with friends:

1. Egg Hop Relay Race

Easter fun is only a hop, skip, and jump away with this game. Start by dividing everyone into pairs. Each pair receives two large egg cut-outs made from cardboard or heavy cardstock. The first teammate stands on one egg and the second places the other egg cut-out on the ground in front of the first. The first teammate “hops” to the second egg. Repeat this process, moving toward the finish line until you cross. First team to finish wins! As an added bonus, let the little ones decorate the eggs with their own designs.

2. Match the Eggs

Prepare to meet your match with this game, which tests young players’ sensory skills. Start by gathering an even number of plastic eggs. Divide eggs into pairs and fill each pair with different small objects. For example, fill one pair with jelly beans and another with coins. Put all the eggs together, and then let each child shake the eggs and attempt to place the two matching eggs together. Whoever has the most correct matches wins a prize.

3. Capture the Egg

Get ready for a little friendly competition with this fun take on “Capture the Flag”. Divide into two teams. You’ll need eight eggs, four each in two different colours. Have each team choose a colour and then line up their eggs on their end of the field. Each team must try to capture the other team’s eggs and bring them to their side of the field without being tagged by a member of the opposing team. If a player is tagged by an opponent, they are out. To win, a team must successfully capture all the other team’s eggs, or must have the last man standing.

4. Easter Egg Treasure Hunt

X marks the spot with this Easter-themed spin on treasure hunting! Make an Easter basket filled with goodies, or purchase a premade basket from the store. Hide the basket somewhere and then fill plastic eggs with clues that will help players locate the treasure. The first to reach the basket wins the treasure!

5. Easter Egg Decorating Station

What Easter celebration would be complete without colourful eggs and candy? An egg decorating station with both hard-boiled and plastic egg “canvases” is the perfect way to unleash your creativity. Encourage your little artists to get inventive by providing a variety of art tools such as paints, brushes, glue, glitter, and traditional egg-dying kits. Adults can get in on the fun by helping kids make special patterns. Add a little friendly competition by voting for the best design!

6. Easter Egg Lawn Bowling

Score major points with this version of bocce ball. Start with a dozen hardboiled eggs (or more, depending on the number of players). Leave one white, and dye each of the others a different colour. Gently toss the white egg onto the lawn. Each player takes turns rolling their coloured eggs toward the white one, trying to see who can get closest without touching it. For more of a challenge, play with raw eggs and eliminate each player who breaks their egg trying to get close to the white egg!

7. The Fox and the Eggs

Can you outfox your fellow Easter enthusiasts? This game is the perfect way to find out! One player is the fox and the others are Easter eggs. Before the game begins, each “egg” decides what colour they are going to be and keeps that colour choice a secret from the “fox”. The eggs then face the fox, who guesses colours one at a time. If the fox guesses a player’s colour, that player must run a set route before re-joining the other eggs in the home base “basket”. The catch? The fox chases the egg, similar to “Duck, Duck, Goose”! If the egg makes it back to the basket, he or she chooses a new colour and play continues. If the fox tags the egg before he or she returns to the basket, that player becomes the new fox.

8. Easter Egg Rolling Race

Let the good times roll with this fun relay race. Start with a dozen (or more) hardboiled eggs, one for each racer. Mark off a straight race track with multiple lanes. Each player begins by placing his or her egg at the starting line in his or her lane. Just like the popular White House tradition, each player then uses a wooden spoon to roll the egg down the lane and across the finish line. The first one to cross the finish line wins

Credits ideas from Beau-Coup and Kidspot.com

anne@nmgroup.co.za