Easter Activities

Ella loooves the Easter story and fully understands the meaning of it and each detail connected with it. Last night at dinner, she even gave us a little lesson on the Passover dinner Jesus ate with his disciples with her roll and milk! Delia doesn't seem to have the story down as well, though, so I've been trying to do more hands-on stuff so she can see, feel and finally understand how Jesus took our punishment when he died on the cross and why his empty tomb is so exciting.

.

We've been doing these Resurrection Eggs every day. Inside each of the 12 eggs is a little item associated with the Easter story (a donkey, wine glass, praying hands, crown of thorns, stone, etc...). I read the account in small pieces and the kids take turns opening a corresponding egg. It's very tactile and experiential and it has made the story really stick with Delia. Not surprising, Ella has gotten so she can be the story teller.

Yesterday we did these Resurrection Rolls. The idea here is to take Jesus' "body" (a marshmallow) put "spices" on it (cinnamon and sugar), wrap it in a "cloth" (a crescent roll) and put it into the "tomb" (the oven) for 3 days (12 minutes). When you open the tomb, you'll find Jesus' body is no longer present in the clothes. The empty crescent is like a little empty tomb itself. A great lesson that tastes like cinnamon rolls! We loved it! I'll leave the instructions at the end of this post if you want to try it yourself.

Not so related to the actual Easter story, but fun nonetheless, today we dyed our Easter eggs at Jetta's house. The kids all had a good time turning their eggs different colors then decorating them with stickers...



...But more time was actually spent on the awesome task that is peeling a hard boiled egg and eating it with a little salt! Oh, the concentration!
.
Resurrection Rolls:
Ingredients:
1 tube crescent rolls
8 large marshmallows
cube of melted butter
Mixture of cinnamon and sugar
.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Give child a triangle of crescent roll dough (this represents the cloth Jesus was wrapped in.) Have child dip marshmallow in butter and then roll in cinnamon and sugar mix (this represents the oil and spice Jesus was anointed with). Wrap the coated marshmallow tightly in a crescent roll, bringing up sides and sealing. Bake for 10-12 minutes (the oven represents the tomb). Talk about how Jesus was in the tomb for 3 days. When the rolls have cooled slightly, the child can open them and eat them. The marshmallow will disappear symbolizing Jesus was no longer in the tomb. He is risen!!