alfalfa egg pals

what you need

[for two]

half of egg carton- not styrofoam

two hard boiled eggs- see recipe below

alfalfa seeds

two cotton balls

scissors

hot glue gun

popsicle/craft sticks

black permanent marker

pink paint

a bowl

a butter knife

a small spoon

for perfect hard boiled eggs

place eggs in pot, cover to top of eggs with cold water.

bring to a hard boil.

turn heat off, cover and let stand for ten minutes.

rush with cold water, let stand for a minute or two

step one: emptying the eggs

prepare your space; bowl, butter knife, small spoon.

gently tap only the top of egg on hard surface.

pick away only the broken part.

with the small spoon, scoop as much as you can from the top,

placing it into the bowl- you can eat this, don't waste it.

be careful- it will crack, you don't want it to.

with the butter knife, twist and dump, repeat a couple of times.

you'll need to use your fingers to pull out the rest

this allows you to get closer to the shell without it breaking,

 including the thin layer of skin attached to the shell. 

rinse it out, gently.

step two: egg carton pants

separate little cups carefully out of carton.

you want to make sure you can shape them enough to hold your eggs.

 run your scissors around the carton cup

remember the egg carton is made to hold the eggs perfectly

you job is to keep the back of the cup taller to make sure it doesn't topple over.

place an egg in to test it out- if there is too much, trim it up.

 step three: create an expression

we always just do eyes and a big smile.

with your sharpie marker, make two eyes.

with the pink paint, create a smile.

you can do this step however you want!

step four: feet!

with your scissors, carefully cut the ends off of a popsicle/craft stick

you want to make sure they are the same size, 

testing them together before you glue them.

once your done, using your hot glue gun,

 glue one on top of the other- allow to set a minute,

then glue to the bottom of egg carton pants!

step five: let there be hair!

your egg pals are ready to be placed in their own carton cup (pants)

now you'll want to take one cotton ball per egg, and place it under water.

squeeze out gently and place into eggs.

pour alfalfa seeds into eggs on moistened cotton balls- we don't measure.

place onto window sill or wherever you get the most light during the day.

water them with a dropper, once or twice a day, just a few drops

or enough to re-moisten the cotton ball, do not over water!

the alfalfa sprouts will grow within three to five days.

we give them hair cuts and it grows again.

it's so much fun and the kids love it.

I'll post our growing process day by day-

it's the most exciting part to Adriana and Ryland.

eating them is fun too!