Dyeing Easter Eggs with Water, Vinegar, and Food Colouring
Last year we painted blown out eggs. This year we’re going back to my favourite method of decorating Easter eggs. My family did them this way when we were kids. In my eyes, this is the classic method of dyeing Easter eggs.
It’s pretty simple, and they turn out bright and colourful. I’ll give you the scoop on how I do this (even with a class of 26 students!) with the least mess possible.
You will need:
- Hard boiled eggs
- Egg carton
- Paper towel
- Mug for each colour you use
- One tablespoon for each mug
- Food colouring
- Boiling hot water
- Vinegar
- Crayons
- Tablecloth or a thick layer of newspaper
- Optional: oil
Steps to Dye Eggs:
- Hard boil as many eggs as you plan to dye and allow them to cool completely.
- Lay down a plastic tablecloth or a thick layer of newspaper. We keep a small square of an old plastic tablecloth as our messy craft surface.
- Boil the water. Pour enough into each mug to fully cover an egg.
- Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to each mug of water and stir. You will still be able to eat the hard boiled eggs after. They only retain the tiniest hint of the vinegar flavour, if any.
- Add a generous amount of food colouring to each mug and stir. We used red, yellow, green, and blue.
- Draw designs and pictures on the eggs using crayons. Remember to hold them very gently so their shells don’t crack. Keep an egg carton handy and set the extra eggs inside so they can’t roll away.
- Hold a tablespoon at the top of water in one of the mugs. Place the egg on the spoon and gently lower it into the dye. If you lift it right back out, you’ll see some of the dye has already been absorbed. The longer you leave it in, the darker the egg will be.
- Gently lift the egg out and dry it with a paper towel.
- You can mix colours by dipping the eggs in a second colour. *Optional: Quickly stir in a few drops of oil before dipping an egg to create a spotted effect.
- Admire your creations and then return them to the fridge until Easter.
Links to Learning:
- Make a prediction. What will the eggs look like when you peel them?
- Which colours can you mix together to get an egg that looks like a robin’s egg?
- Can you make a pattern on your egg using crayons?
- “Tell me how you made that one.”
Tips for Dyeing Easter Eggs with Your Students:
Have each child bring to school a container that will fit a hard boiled egg. Give students Easter grass or paper towels and have them make a safe little nest in the container.
Set up a dyeing station near a sink. Give each student a hard boiled egg and have them decorate it with crayons. As each child finishes decorating, have them bring the egg in their container “nest” to the dyeing station, dip it, dry it off, and return it to their nest.
Providing Easter colouring or activity pages will help students wait for a turn.
