Little Explorers: Make Your Own Modern Art

Living with toddlers can feel like an elaborate dance on a floor of eggshells. Someone is always on the brink of a meltdown because they’ve dropped a raisin or something similarly serious. The Little Explorers experience their emotions fully and earnestly and managing that can be tricky. To release the tension this week we smashed those eggshells! But to make it even more liberating we filled them with paint first!

You will need to collect lots of eggs. This is definitely a ‘more is more’ situation. More egg shells, more paint, more panache!

Traditionally, to empty an egg out of its shell neatly involves piercing two small holes, top and bottom, with a scalpel. You then insert a skewer and wiggle it around to break up the yolk. Next you put the egg up to your mouth and blow hard to push the contents out. This way you get a beautifully complete, delicate egg shell, ready for decorating.

However, because we’re real life here folks, we did it in a way that the Little Explorers could get fully involved. We used a skewer and broke a smallish hole in the top of the egg, then poked around inside to break up the yolk before pouring it out for the morning’s scrambled eggs. With a vigorous shake, the yolk and white mixture glooped out. It wasn’t the neatest process, but it made for a good breakfast!

We dunked the shells in boiling water for a couple of minutes to sterilize the insides and left them on the windowsill to dry out.

When we thought we had enough (we didn’t – you could always do with more than you think) we chose our brightest poster paints and the Little Explorers had a super messy time trying to pour the paint inside the hollow shells. We thought the eggs looked very pretty all covered in paint.

Next for the splattering! Outside, of course! We propped up a canvas from an old art project but you could simply use a large piece of paper or a cardboard box. We think, in hindsight, it might have been better to have the canvas flat on the floor to get max splat!

The Little Explorers chose their eggs and lined up to belt them at the canvas. The mini paint explosions left gorgeous, Tate Modern-worthy trails of delight! It was a perfect way to dispel pre-back-to-school nerves and now the artwork is hanging in pride of place at LittleLife HQ.

Expert Explorers: Did you know that painters use egg yolks to make a kind of paint called egg tempera? The paint is used to create jewel-like paintings with crisp lines. Tempera is made of egg yolk, powdered pigment, and distilled water or vinegar. The yolk binds the ingredients together. But if a painting session goes on too long, the yolk begins to ‘cure’ and hardens like a stone.