Eggshell Mosaic

What else can you do with eggshells other than try not to step on them? Here's a way to creatively use your breakfast scraps. Collect shells from a dozen eggs, wash and dry them on a piece of paper. Then have your child crush it with a spoon or masher. (Children love this activity very much.) Take two or three plastic cups or cups, pour water into them and dissolve a little paint of different colors. Place the crushed shells into cups and stir. Soak the shells in the solution for about fifteen minutes until they color. Then have the child take it out with a fork and lay it out on the paper. Let it dry overnight. The next day, your child can put together a mosaic picture by gluing the shell onto paper and tracing the details of the picture with colored crayons.

For variety, while the shells are drying, the child can play with the colored water that remains in the cups. Take pieces of white fabric or paper napkins, roll them into a roll and secure with a rubber band; then dip into one or more solutions of different colors and dry. (Paper napkins dry very quickly.) The result is beautifully colored paper or fabric.