Easter mental health therapy activities

Is there anything better than plastic eggs filled with jelly beans? By now, I’m sure you know how much I love seasonally themed counseling lessons, and Spring and Easter are the perfect opportunity for so many cute and engaging activities! With just some plastic eggs from the dollar section, you can create lots of exciting tools for your Easter or spring counseling activities!

Spring Counseling Activities

Encouragement Egg Hunt

Who couldn’t use a little extra encouragement as the year winds down? Stuff plastic eggs with affirmations or kind statements and hide them around the school or classroom. Your students will love finding eggs with encouragements inside! You can even get your students involved by having them write kind words for their peers to find.

Emotional Eggs

One of my all-time favorite feelings check-in tools is my Eggceptionally Emotional Eggs! I made these in my very first counseling position, and they continue to be a crowd pleaser. Just grab some plastic eggs and add facial expressions with a fine-tipped permanent marker. I found that adding a layer of clear nail polish after the marker dried was really helpful in increasing their longevity. The first set I made lasted about 7 months before the faces wiped off, but with the nail polish, they’re still going strong. Have your students choose an egg when they come in to the counseling office and another as they leave to reflect on their feelings.

Somebunny Special

One of my favorite books to read around Easter is It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny by Marilyn Sadler. It’s about a bunny who is tired of being a bunny and wants to be someone else! I’m sure you can predict that by the end of the book, he returns home, happy to be a bunny. I like to use this activity to get students thinking about why they’re so special just being themselves!

As a wrap up craft-ivity, students make an “I’m somebunny special” bunny and write affirmations or special qualities they have on the eggs.

Jelly Bean Diversity Lesson

For a quick lesson with Pre-K or Kindergarten students, grab a bag of jelly beans and clear bowl. Pour the jelly beans into the bowl and ask students to make observations. All of the jelly beans are different colors and have different flavors; they each bring something exciting and unique to the bag. People look different too. We have different skin, hair, facial features, and more. And just like the jelly beans, we each bring something awesome to the world. We each have unique skills and qualities that make the community an exciting a beautiful place! Have your students identify 3-5 of their unique skills and qualities to share with the group.

Basket Full of Coping Skills

For those students who you are still working with to develop positive coping strategies, build a basket full! It can be as simple as a paper version, or you could even write coping skills on paper and place them inside plastic eggs. Have students fill their baskets with strategies that will work for them. Short on paper and time? Build a digital basket with this activity on Google Slides:

What spring counseling activities do you have planned this year? Let me know in the comments!

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Aftercare groups
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Our treatment programs and counseling times allow individuals to maintain a regular work or school schedule and home life while engaging in treatment.

Date published: 2022-4-03

Easter-themed activities for all ages

Easter is a fun holiday for everyone and a perfect opportunity to bring cheer to older adults.

Whether or not you participate in the religious aspect, the Easter holiday is bright and joyful and is a great time to get together with family and friends.

To help you enjoy the holiday, we rounded up 6 fun Easter activities for seniors.

These ideas are great for people at any age and fun to do in groups or one-on-one.

6 ways to celebrate Easter with seniors

1. Decorate the house
Creating simple Easter-themed decorations is a fun activity and placing them all around the house will instantly brighten the mood.

Try these festive DIY Easter crafts and decor ideas:

Dye eggs for an Easter egg hunt or for a table display for an Easter-themed meal – here are simple dyeing

instructions using food coloring

and

this video

explains how to use staple food items to create dye for eggs (go to 1 min 15 sec in video).
Hang these

3-D Easter egg ornaments

– make these fun ornaments with colored paper (or color them after printing on plain paper) and ribbon (or string scraps).
Display this

festive table centerpiece

– all you need is an egg carton and some paint or colored markers.
Hang this

Bunny Easter garland

– don’t worry if you don’t have pom-poms, try using cotton balls or just use the festive bunny shapes without a “tail.” And feel free to color in your bunnies if you don’t have colored paper.
Make these happy

sock bunnies

– if you don’t have felt, use pieces from a different colored sock or colored paper to make the face and belly.

2. Make creative Easter baskets
Making and giving Easter baskets as gifts is another fun way to celebrate the spring season.

As an fun alternative to a store-bought basket, we found some great tutorials on DIY Easter baskets.

Once you have a basket or container, fill it with some store-bought or DIY “grass” (cut plain or colored paper into thin strips) and your favorite candy or decorations from the ideas shared above.

These DIY easter basket tutorials and fun and festive:

3. Send Easter cards to family and friends
It’s always fun to get cards or letters in the mail. So why not make simple Easter cards to send to friends and family?

You could make them by hand or print some out. They don’t have to be fancy, it’s the thought that matters most.

Some templates you might like:

4. Have a virtual family gathering on Easter Sunday
Holidays are a great reason to get together with family and friends – even those who don’t live in the area.

One good thing to come out of the coronavirus pandemic is the widespread use of video chats and conference phone calls.

Even if you’re seeing some family and friends in person, consider adding on a group video chat or a group phone call to visit with people who live far away.

For free one-on-one video calls:

For free group video calls:

Zoom

– here’s a

helpful video tutorial

on using Zoom, FYI group video calls are free for 40 minutes (hint: start a new call after 40 minutes)
Google Meet (

Web

/

iPhone

/

Android

)
Google Duo (

Web

/

iPhone

/

Android

) – for up to 32 participants

If video doesn’t work for everyone, set up a free conference call line so everyone can dial in and hear each other.

Here are a few free services:

5. Play Easter games
Games are fun and festive, whether you have 2 or 20 people.

You could even play these over video or audio group calls – just email the printables and instructions ahead of time.

Easter Picture Bingo

Easter Number Bingo

6. Participate in Easter church services – in person or virtually
Many people enjoy attending church services as part of their Easter traditions.

With Covid vaccines, booster shots, and high-quality masks to lower risk, many people may want to return to attending in person.

To reduce coronavirus exposure for people who are immunocompromised or still at high risk for severe illness, consider attending Easter services virtually – their church might have services online

Or, find a church that offers online services by entering a search phrase like “easter service online” or something similar into your search engine to find one that appeals to you.

Recommended for you:

By DailyCaring Editorial Team

This article wasn’t sponsored and doesn’t contain affiliate links. For more information, see How We Make Money.

Whether you’re looking for Easter fun in Chicago or at home, we have ideas for you!

This Guide is sponsored by The Theraplay Clinic. The Theraplay Clinic is the mental health practice of The Theraplay Institute located at 1224 W. Belmont Avenue, Fl. 1, in Chicago, Illinois. They offer clinical therapy services to address a multitude of mental health and behavioral challenges for children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. Theraplay-based, non-therapeutic groups and programs offer support to children and adults who can benefit from an opportunity to connect with their peers.

Looking for all the Easter hoppenings in the area? You’ve come to the right place! Macaroni KID Chicago Northside has been hopping about collecting all the information on all the ways to celebrate Easter just for you!

Our goal is to make sure you and your family don’t miss out on any Easter fun! So here is a list of all the local, (and some not-so-local), Easter events, crafts, recipes, and fun we can find! We’ll be updating this list as more events come in, so check back often!

Now let’s hop to it. Click on the individual event name or story for more details:

🐰Easter Events🐰

Saturday, March 12th thru Saturday, April 16th

Easter Bunny HOP! & Pictures with Easter Bunny, Evanston

Saturday, March 16th thru Saturday, April 16th

Easter Bunny Bingo, Lincoln Park

Friday, April 1st

Bunny Arrival Party, Lincolnwood Town Center, Lincolnwood

Saturday, April 2nd thru Saturday, April 16th

Bunny Photos, Lincolnwood Town Center, Lincolnwood

Saturday, April 2nd

Easter Bunny Visits, Mt. Prospect

Egg Hunt, Norwood Park

Bunny Train, Fox River Trolley Museum, S. Elgin

Free Photos with the Easter Bunny, Davis Theater, Lincoln Square

K9 Eggstravaganza – Dog Easter Egg Hunt, Skokie

Saturday, April 9th

Bunny Train, Fox River Trolley Museum, S. Elgin

Bunny Trolley Hop, Illinois Railway Museum, Union IL

Easter Celebration, Golf Mill Shopping Center, Niles

Easter Egg Hunt, Wicker Park

Eggventures in Wonderland, New City, Lincoln Park

Flashlight Egg Hunt, West Chicago

Lincolnwood Egg Hunt, Lincolnwood

Bunny Bingo, Lincolnwood

Sunday, April 10th

Easter Egg Hunt and Magic Show, Glenview

Hamlin Park Easter Egg Hunt, Roscoe Village

Walnut Room Bunny Brunch, The Loop

Thursday, April 14th and Friday, April 15th

Aqua Egg Hunt, Oakbrook

Saturday, April 16th

Belmont Bunny Hop Easter Bunny Photo Sessions, Lakeview/Roscoe Village

Bettendorf Castle Afternoon Easter Egg Hunt, Fox River Grove

Bunny Train, Fox River Trolley Museum, S. Elgin

Easter Egg-Stravaganza Presented by Kinder Joy®, Lincoln Park Zoo, Lincoln Park

Easter Saturday at The Forge, Lemont

Easter Treats and Crafts, Albany Park

Eggstravaganza Parade, Schiller Park

Family Easter Crafts, Lakeview

Family Easter Cruise – Springtime Cruise With the Easter Bunny, Dusable Harbor

Gallagher Way’s Easter Egg Hunt, Lakeview

Hop N’ Stop, Northcenter

Saturday Brunch-Rustic Easter Bunny, Lakeview

Scavenger Egg Hunt, Lincolnwood Town Center, Lincolnwood

Walnut Room Bunny Brunch, The Loop

Sunday, April 17th

Easter Brunch with Biagio, Portage Park

Easter Egg Hunt, Lincoln Park

Easter Egg Hung and Bunny Jump, Skydive Chicago, Ottawa

Easter Lunch, Grand Geneva Resort and Spa, Lake Geneva

Easter Sunday Bunny Interaction, Lakeview

Easter Sunday Brunch and Hunts, Logan Square

Happy Easter-All Ages-Personalize Egg, Lakeview

🐰At-Home Easter Fun🐰

Looking for at-home Easter fun ideas? Here are some of our favorites:

How to Make Natural Dyes For Your Easter Eggs

STEM Craft: Fizzy Dinosaur Eggs Are Fun to Make — and Break

Quick Kitchen Science – Bouncy Egg Experiment

🐰Easter Eats🐰

There’s nothing better than the food on Easter! But what do with all those eggs? Here are some fun Easter-related recipes from Macaroni KID Chicago Northside and Macaroni KID EATS!:

Craft a Snack: Egg Funny Faces

Craft a Snack: Make Your Own Bunny Waffles!

Recipes and Ideas for Leftover Hard-Boiled Eggs

3 Easy Easter Treats You Can Make With Your Kids

Food With Imagination: Baby Yoda Deviled Eggs

Any other ideas? Feel free to share them with us.