The 4^th graders learned about Pysanky eggs, traditionally made in Russia and the Ukraine. We read the book Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco, a story about a goose who breaks Babushka’s pysanky eggs by accident. Babushka is sad that her eggs are broken but then the goose leaves her a wonderful surprise! After we read the book, we looked at real, pysanky eggs. Finally, we created our own pysanky egg designs.

We also took turns and dyed real eggs. Then, we wrote descriptive paragraphs about our eggs and had other kids listen to the descriptions and guess which one belonged to which student.

rech4

A basket of real Pysanky eggs

View our Slideshow!

Pysanky Symbol & Color Meanings

White--Purity, innocence and birth; Yellow--light, purity, happiness, hospitality; Orange--strength, endurance, the eternal sun; Black--eternity, darkest time before the dawn; Light Blue--the sky, with its life-giving air, good health; Light Green--spring, new growth and hope; Bright Red--happiness in life, hope, passion, the sun.

The sun represents light and life.

The star represents success.

The bird symbol on Easter egg The bird represents spring and good harvest.

The fruit symbol on Easter egg Fruits and vegetables represent a good life.

The animal symbol An animal represents prosperity and good health.

The forty triangles symbol on Easter egg The forty triangles represent the different parts of life.

The circles symbol on Easter egg Circles represent protecting the family.

Back to Mrs. Kanas’s Classroom Homepage