Easter Cupcakes

What You Need:

• Cake mix
• Measuring cups
• Water
• Vegetable oil
• Eggs
• Cupcake pan
• Cupcake liners
• Bowls
• Oven mitt
• Candy
• Spoon
• Knife
• Frosting
• Plastic zip-top baggie
• Scissors
• Food coloring

What You Do:

1. Preheat your oven to the temperature indicated on the cake mix box.
2. Help your child follow the cake mix instructions to make the cupcake batter. Have him mix the eggs, water, vegetable oil and cake mix in the large bowl.
3. Have him prepare the cupcake pan by filling it with cupcake liners.
4. Let him use a spoon to fill each liner with batter. Make sure the liners are filled ⅔ of the way up with batter.
5. Carefully place the cupcake pan into the oven. Bake for the amount of time indicated on the box.
6. Pull the pan out with an oven mitt and set aside to cool.
7. Let your child experiment with frosting and food coloring. The colored frosting will be the backdrop for his easter cupcake masterpieces.
8. Help your child use a spoon to scoop out the center of each cupcake.
9. Have him place a small candy in the empty space.
10. Let him use a knife to spread his colored frosting on the cupcakes.
11. Fill the plastic baggie with frosting, zip it up, and snip off just a tiny bit of one of the corners. Your child will use this baggie to write an Easter message on the cupcakes.
12. Have him think of a fun Easter message that will amuse friends and family, and help him use the frosting baggie to write out a single word on the top of each of the cupcakes.
13. When Easter arrives, having him arrange the cupcakes to spell out his Easter message.
14. Dig in to the sugary deliciousness!

For a bigger group, make more cupcakes! Just make sure you have enough cupcakes and letters to spell out each child's name.