Is regular egg decorating too difficult for your child? Does your child have a special diet and you want non-food treat ideas? Here at Autonomie, we think that every child has the right to enjoy play, so we've put together some modified activities you can do with your child this Easter.
Easter egg hunt
An Easter egg hunt is never fun if you don’t have a chance of finding an egg. So, instead of attending your local egg hunt, create your own.
Here’s how:
Hide your eggs in your own home or garden. Place the eggs out in the open to make them easy to find. More than one child? Select one colour for each child ensuring that everyone will get the same amount of eggs. For children who use wheelchairs, hide mini eggs in Easter baskets at table level.
Work on skills while having fun
Older children may enjoy a treasure hunt. Write clues on how to find Easter eggs. (e.g. First clue: Look for the potted plant in the living room) or create a riddle (e.g. I’m hiding in a really cool place in the kitchen). Use whistles or flags to signal they've found an egg.
Make egg hunts multisensory, by using ribbons and photos, as well as sensory buckets for children to put their hands in and fish our the clue. These could be filled with rice, tepid water, sand, pasta, fine cut shredded paper, sponge balls, to name a few ideas!
Special diets
There are ways to treat children who can’t enjoy chocolate and treats at Easter. There are lots of non-food alternative treats.
Here are non-edible alternative treats:
· Money
· Stickers
· Crayons
· Colouring book
· Card making kit
· Finger puppets
· Marbles
· Coloured shoelaces
· Hairclips
· Jewellery
· Nail polish / Lip gloss
· Mobile phone charm / case /cover
· Temporary tattoo
· Wristband
· Hat / cap
· Shopper bag
Decorating Easter eggs
If your child has fine motor skill difficulties here are some ways to decorate eggs:
· Use a crayon on a warm egg to make melted colour designs
· Try sponge-painting
· Use stickers
· Glitter
· Fill empty egg shells with confetti
Some more Easter activity ideas
Take an Easter basket to the beach and let your child fill it up with seashells or coloured pebbles.
If you have children with mobility issues or use wheelchairs, why not create a small ramp to roll eggs. You could create a cardboard ramp at your kitchen table to roll eggs. You could even roll eggs at your local play park! Wheelchair users could sit next to the slide and reach over to roll their egg along part of the slide.
*Please be aware this a guide only. Parents and carers should choose activities and treats with care, appropriate to their child’s individual needs and abilities.
