Celebrating Easter 2021 in Raleigh

While we are returning to a bit of normalcy a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began shutting everything down, we are still navigating how to get back to normal safely, especially with holidays. Fortunately, as we come up on Easter there are plenty of ways to celebrate that are safe and fun for your family, including your preschoolers. We've compiled a blend of fun home-based activities as well as safe community events to create great memories this spring.

An Egg-Stra Special Easter Egg Hunt

Raleigh Parks & Recreation is offering Egg-stra Special Egg Hunts from March 19 through April 5th. Pick up a sheet at the front door of the community center and look for wooden eggs hidden throughout the park, counting them as you go. Then, submit them online for a chance to win a prize! No registration required and the locations include:

• Abbotts Creek Community Center (9950 Durant Rd.)
• Biltmore Hills Community Center (2615 Fitzgerald Dr.)
• Pullen Community Center (408 Ashe Ave.) 
• Tarboro Road Community Center (121 N Tarboro St.)

Bunny Trail Scavenger Hunt

Visit Pullen Park on Saturday, March 27 from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. for a self-guided scavenger hunt. Perfect for preschoolers and young children, attendees will follow the clues that take you along a cheerful bunny trail - find them all and win a prize and a fun craft activity to take home.

Backyard Easter Fun

If the weather is nice on Easter Sunday, but you're choosing to stay close to home, you can still make the day a fun adventure and take your celebration outdoors with these ideas:

• Backyard Easter Egg Hunt
• Egg & Spoon Race - Two racers each hold an egg in a spoon, whoever crosses the finish line first wins! We recommend using a plastic egg so it doesn't break and your little racers can just stop and pick up the egg if it drops!
• Jumping Bunnies - The Easter equivalent of a potato sack race, grab pillowcases or potato sacks and race across the finish line.

Inside Easter Fun for Preschoolers

If it's cold and rainy, the kids aren't feeling well, or you don't have an outdoor space to take advantage of, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate Easter with preschoolers from inside the house.

Best Books for Easter

• Little Blue Truck's Springtime - Alice Schertle
• Pete the Cat's Big Easter Adventure - James Dean
• Happy Easter, Little Critter - Mercer Mayer
• God Gave Us Easter - Lisa Tawn Bergren
• The Easter Story - Patricia Pingry

Best Easter Movies

• It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown - for rent on Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, and YouTube
• Prince of Egypt - Stream for free on Peacock
• Hop - Streaming on Netflix
• Peter Rabbit - for rent on Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube

Inside Easter Games & Crafts

• Hoppy Floppy's Happy Hunt - A lovely, simple board game that is perfect for kids ages 3-6.
• Easter Ecards - Using JibJab's Easter Ecards, you can add family photos into animated videos with music to create personalized cards. Little ones will love sending them out to family and friends. Punchbowl also has free ecards to send, and while you can't add your face to them, sometimes, simple is best.
• Salt dough Easter eggs - Make up a simple salt dough, roll it out to about 1/2-inch thick, and use an Easter egg cookie cutter or something similar to cut it out. Bake the unpainted eggs on 250° F for about an hour or so, and once cool, let your kids get creative with paint, glitter, gluing pom-poms, whatever you have on hand.
• Mini Egg Baskets - After coloring eggs, you probably have a free carton. Split the carton into thirds so each third has four egg-holder spaces. Have the kids paint and decorate the baskets. Poke holes in the sides where the egg holders come together and, using two different colors of pipe cleaners twisted together, make a handle that goes through the two holes to create a basket.

Wishing You a Safe & Happy Easter from Our Preschool in Raleigh

We know that things are challenging right now, not only for the kids we serve at our preschool in Raleigh, but everywhere. We hope that you have an excellent holiday, no matter how or if you choose to celebrate Easter.

If you’re interested in enrolling your child in a 5 star child care center in Raleigh, contact us today at our North Hills Drive location at 919-785-0303 or our Spring Forest Location at 919-790-6888 or schedule a tour!