Spring is a fecund time of year. After a long winter, everything is charging forth into bloom. The kiddos can finally take their barely-restrained energy outside. There is no symbol more apt for this fertile time than the egg. You may notice the resulting bounty at your local farmer’s market; the hens are laying in earnest again after a long winter’s rest.

It is thought that people have been heralding the arrival of spring with a celebration of eggs long before the arrival of Christianity and the observance of Easter. No matter your religious views, the arrival of spring is a universally joyous occasion and the dyeing of eggs need not be tied exclusively to Easter.

So in celebration of spring and the incredible egg, why not take a Saturday morning in the kitchen with the kids and experiment with natural dying? Below we outline a very easy, kid-friendly, safe exercise in natural dying that will give you the sweetest pastels in one’s Easter basket and beyond. Bonus points: Most of the ingredients are likely already in your pantry!