Happy Friday friends! I hope you're ready for more Easter egg inspiration. I am honored to share today's guest post from AshleyAnn at Under the Sycamore. It's such a treat to share her words here, I have been following Ashley's blog for years (she was the first blog I ever read!), and I am constantly inspired by her heart, her perspective, her parenting and her photography!
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My family relishes traditions - the sentimental, the peculiar, the significant, the funny and the meaningful. With every holiday I am editing our traditions - adding new ones and letting go of others. I like to keep our holidays simple and full of meaning. You won’t find the pinterest-worthy decorations at my house for celebrations, but you will find us gathered and present with each other. I’ll take meaningful over beautiful any day. If I can get meaningful and beautiful, well, that would be the jackpot!
Easter is my favorite holiday. Everything is springing up new. The grass is green. The sky is blue. Unlike other holidays, there isn’t all the extra stuff competing to distract from WHY we are celebrating. This year I wanted to try something new. A package of gorgeous hand carved wood eggs arrived on my doorstep. I gathered the kids (by the way, I have 5) and began sharing with them the stories of the artisans, who made the eggs. We talked about how the purchase of the eggs provides employment for the deaf, disabled and disadvantaged artists who make them. The eggs are from olive trees that grow in the hills of Gilead - less than 50 miles from the Mount of Olives where the Easter story begins. Immediately my kids were excited and interested in what we would do with the eggs.
I shared with the kids the reasons eggs are significant to many cultures and the symbolism of new life emerging. After a quick history lesson (#homeschoolmom) regarding Easter celebrations, I pulled up images on my computer of how various cultures have painted eggs over centuries.
When it comes to art and creativity, I give my kids free reign to be themselves. Armed with paintbrushes and paint, I set them loose to turn their eggs into something they found meaningful. The colors may not have been ones I would choose, but in many ways that was the point. We gathered around the paint to celebrate the coming of Easter in a meaningful way, not simply create perfectly decorated eggs for decor.
The kids are deciding where we should display our eggs. I voted for a bowl in the living room, but I think I'm outnumbered by those that want the eggs in their rooms!
For more information on some of the resources we used:
Painted egg images - https://www.pinterest.com/
Paintbrushes - http://www.
Painted eggs cultural resources - http://www.huffingtonpost.
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A huge thank you to Ashley for sharing her post with us! Check out her blog if you don't follow her already.