Appropriate age group:
Elementary School

Type of weather:
Rainy

Description:
Proof, probably, that my mind is Totally gone...

My son loves to color Easter eggs! It escapes his understanding that this fun activity should be limited to once a year. He has asked to do it more often, and got evasive replies. Now that he's almost 7, he has perfected his Asking technique, and this last time, he asked in Stages:

Can we have Eggs for dinner.
--definitely! easy!

Can we have toast, too?
--absolutely no problem!

Can we have the kind of eggs you cook in the shells?

--you want it? you got it!

Can we color the eggs for Valentine's Day?
--arrrrrrrrggggghhhhhh!

Why Not?

--indeed, why not...

Other comments or suggestions:
So...thus it was that my creative and persistent son has Finally convinced me that egg-coloring can happen Any time of the year. Certain conditions apply: for Non-Easter egg coloring sessions, I will only prepare one coffee cup full of egg dye, in one Primary color of his choosing. * 20 drops of food coloring plus 1/2 c. of water and one tsp. vinegar will do it; let the cup sit just a few minutes, for safety reasons, and so the first egg in won't automatically crack due to extreme temp. differences. All eggs will go in that cup, one at it time (it's slower that way ;-) A soup spoon substitutes nicely for the wired bendy thang found in most 'kits.' Kids may supplement coloring artistry with stickers. Rubber Bands wrapped 'round the eggs B4 dying 'em can create interesting effects. Usually, though, my son just wants Color, plain n' simple.

There are ways to minimize mess, including Work with a Tray, and Wear an Apron.

I should mention that he's more enthused about Coloring than eating (process vs. product), so we do a dozen or less, and factor some Egg Salad into our week. Sometimes he will eat the eggs, while they R still warm.

You could do this on a Sunny Day, but I can't think of one single reason Why...

Insanity is inherited: you can get it from your dear Children...but I think one reason my son enjoys this is that his sophisticated 12 year old sister would not even Consider joining in the fun in the "off-season." At Easter, the egg coloring sessions can be more Intense, as both kids jockey for position at the table, and each longs for More and More eggs to plunk into the dye cups. "She got more than I did!!!" is to be avoided, at All costs...

*for further Egg cooking and coloring tips, check out E.Bunny's Hard-Cooked Eggs in the "Other" section of 'Family Recipes.' Safe storage of eggs matters Very much, regardless of the time of year.