The first day of spring is March 20th this year. Many cultures and religions mark the spring season in different ways. For Christians spring means Easter celebrations, the Jewish community has Passover and Purim, and for many Pagans it means celebrating the spring equinox, sometimes called Ostara.
Ostara is the time of rebirth and new life. We see more light each day, and we can feel a shift in the weather. We start to see the bird activity increase, and there are early spring flowers cropping up in the yard. It’s a time for coming out of the winter weather that has had us indoors more than out. We see the presence of the Divine in the cycle of changing seasons.
How can families with young children celebrate the equinox together? Crafts are a fun way to get the kids involved.
Egg dying:
You can either hard boil your eggs or blow the eggs out of the shell raw by carefully poking a small to medium size hole at each end of the egg and blowing the egg out from one end. You can save the raw egg in a container for making scrambled eggs or for baking.
Try using natural ingredients to color your eggs instead of the food coloring kits that are sold in grocery stores. Various common food, beverage, and plant items can create really rich beautiful colors. Use about a cup of water in a pan combined with your dyeing ingredients and let it come to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and let it be for about 10 minutes. Pour into dishes or measuring cups with a good dash of vinegar and use a spoon to lower the eggs into the dye. The longer the ingredients sit in the water the stronger the dye will be, and the longer you leave the egg in the dye the darker your color results will be.
To achieve a brown/beige color try using dark coffee or tea. For blues grape juice and red cabbage leaves are best. An orange color might come from carrot peels, paprika or chili powder. Raspberries, red onion skins, or wine can give a nice pinkish red or purple. Feel free to try many different ideas to see what works best.
Kids can really experiment with colors and designs. Try using a crayon to write on the egg before you color it. The design will show up when the colors dry. Kids may want to write their names, draw a spring flower, or maybe something to symbol what they hope the coming spring time will bring for them. It’s the perfect opportunity to discuss intent by connecting the “growing” of our hopes and desires with the growth of new plants and flowers.
Another fun idea is to “tie dye” the eggs by wrapping rubber bands of varying widths around the egg shell prior to coloring it. The results can be quite dramatic!
Coffee Filter Butterflies:
Spring and butterflies fit together perfectly, and even really young children will have no problem creating their own with this craft.
You will need
Coffee filters (one filter is one butterfly)
Chenille stems
Water color paints
Paintbrushes
Water
Spread the coffee filters out on a plate and paint with spring hued watercolors. You can lay them on a craft towel or newspapers to dry. When they have dried fold them like an accordion or just pinch them together in the middle to create a wing effect on either side. Position the filter into a folded chenille stem and twist the stem to secure the body of the butterfly. You can use the excess length of the stem to create antennae. Try hanging the finished butterflies from the ceiling. This could be a good time to talk about the butterfly life cycle as well.
Herb Gardens:
Mark the start of the gardening season by planting your very own herb garden. Recycle an old egg carton or similar container and fill it with a bit of good soil or cotton wool. Most herbs like a lot of light and don’t care much for soggy ground so choose a window sill that let’s the sun in without getting too hot. Try growing sage, rosemary, lavender, and chamomile. Kids love to use what they’ve grown in what they can cook and eat! This is an easy way to help children stay connected to where our food comes from, which is so important in a time when many families eat fast food on the run.
Spring Drinks:
Move from winter cocoa and cider to lighter fruity flavors. Try blending your favorite juices with ice and a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. Add some mint or coconut for something extra.
