A photo is worth a thousand words. Those are crushed eggshells. Yes it was a mess. It was a huge mess. I had eggshells tracked from the kitchen to the family room. I don't regret it. She said, "mom can I make a mess?" I said sure. She had so much fun. And she got some serious texture and sensory play. Now I know that you are asking in your mind, "why the egg shells?" The answer: chickens. Chickens use a lot of calcium in their diets. That's what the shell of the egg is made of. Because they use so much calcium you have to give them some form of calcium in their diet. Either oyster shells or even cheaper, crushed egg shells. Have you ever had a farm fresh eggs? They are packed with nutrition and it takes effort to crack the shell. Now compare it to a store bought egg. Pale yolks and thin easy to break shells. It's just part of commercial egg production. Also fun fact did you know that in the USA it is illegal to commercially sale eggs until they have been bleached? That's why we have to store them in the fridge. They would go bad within days otherwise. Did you also know in Europe it's the opposite? It's illegal to bleach eggs and sale them. Europe knows that the protective coating that is naturally on eggs doesn't hurt anything and makes them fresher, longer. If they aren't bleached you can actually store them on the counter and they won't get bad. I know. Mind blown!
So next time you crack an egg remember how amazing they are. And if you let a 3 year old play in your supply of crushed eggshells they will be so happy and messy. But it's really the happy that counts. We have a vacuum for the mess.