He’s cute, he’s cuddly and every child knows what he brings during springtime: Easter eggs. The origins of the Easter Bunny dates back to the Holy Roman Empire, when archbishops decided to hide eggs and initiated the practice in the 17th century. The bunny seemed a proper fit since pagans considered the rabbit a symbol of fertility and rebirth during the spring equinox.

Today, the cute and furry rabbit continues to bring eggs to young children. Parents fill up Easter baskets with goodies and conduct egg hunts for the little ones. From California teachers to Sunday school supervisors, almost everyone participates in this tradition of celebrating the symbolism of Easter.

To safely secure the eggs that they find, the little ones will need a basket to put them into. Making a basket from scratch is fairly simple. Here’s how:

What You Will Need

• Scissors
• Half-Gallon Milk or Juice Carton
• Stapler
• Construction Paper (Pink or White)
• Glue
• Googly Eyes
• Pipe Cleaners (White or Black)
• Hole Punch Tool

Instructions

Collect your building materials. If you’re conducting an Easter basket project for a large classroom, have your students bring in an old, empty carton of milk.

Cut the carton in half using the scissors. It’s best to collect the carton a day prior to cut the items in half. Save the excess carton pieces as they can serve as your handle for the basket.

Locate the sprout ridge (the top of the carton) and use your hole-punch tool to create a hole in the center. It’s best if you are working with small children to also punch the hole for them. Many may not be able to cut through the thick cardboard most cartons are made from.

Use the colored construction paper to cover the carton. Some boys tend to dislike pink, which is why you can offer them the white (or any other color) alternative. Using the glue, ask students to stick on the colored construction paper around the inside and outside of the carton. Be sure to cover the carton handle as well.

Instruct the children to insert the color pipe cleaners. For pink colored bunnies, insert the white pipe cleaners and for white (or other colored) colored bunnies insert the black-colored cleaners. Glue on the googly eyes (which can be found at most craft stores) on each side of the sprout ridge.

Ask your children to draw and cut out bunny ears using construction paper. Make sure that students use the same color paper for the ears as for the rest of their bunny. For white ears, cut out large loops for the exterior and smaller, pink loops for the inside of the ears. Pink bunnies should use hot pink for the exterior and a lighter pink for the interior. If you’re working as an early childhood development instructor, always make sure to give detailed instructions and show plenty of examples to help children along.

Glue the ears together to the carton. Using a stapler, staple the bottom of the ears to the top of the carton.

Sources

it Thing! (2011)

Disney FamilyFun (2012)

Image courtesy of evenflo65.

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