Being a mother of 4 kids vastly ranging in age, I am constantly trying to figure out ways to help in their education on the necessary levels without spending all of my time on it, and also keeping them entertained. If I gave each of my children an hour a day just focusing on each of their education that would take 4 hours of my time. Like every other mother, I can’t always spare that much time every day while maintaining my other obligations. That is why I was so ecstatic with the idea of an Alphabet Easter Egg Hunt.

I created the Alphabet Easter Egg Hunt to help my 2- and 3-year-old start learning their letters, and to help my 8- and 10-year-old practice their handwriting. The very first step in creating this experience for your children is getting colorful cardstock and cutting egg shapes out of it. I used Astrobrights Colored Cardstock and a Cricut to get the cut-out eggs. I used the Cricut to cut out 52 eggs so that my 2- and 3-year-old were able to find one of each letter.

After cutting out the eggs, I added the handwriting lines of a solid line, dotted line, and solid line for my older children to follow when writing the letters. Before having my children write the letters on the eggs, I laminated them and had my daughters help cut the eggs out of the laminate. The reason I laminated the eggs is that if you write on laminated paper with a dry-erase marker it can be erased and done again at another time. The reason I had my older daughters help me cut out the eggs is that it helps with their hand-eye coordination.

I plan on doing this Easter Egg Hunt every year with my children for the next few years. The best part about it being able to be erased is that when my youngest children get the alphabet down, we can use the eggs to teach them sight words.

My biggest advice as a mother is to be patient and understanding with your children as they are learning. My 10- and 8-year-old helped my younger two children know the letters they were hunting and the sounds they make. My 2-year-old didn’t really understand anything to do with the letters, but she did enjoy hunting for the eggs. My 3-year-old was more interested in the letters but didn’t want to do them in order. Every child learns at their own rate, and when you force rules on them it makes the experience less fun, which in return causes your child to not want to be part of the learning experience. Even though the Alphabet Easter Egg Hunt didn’t go as I had initially planned, I was successful in exposing my younger children to the alphabet again, and in helping my older children practice their handwriting and leadership abilities. I believe the best leaders are teachers and teaching my children to teach their younger siblings is a valuable lesson.