We are gearing up for Easter over in our house. This means, LOTS and LOTS of Easter Eggs, of course! Since I always get motivated by the ideas I see on other people's blogs and facebook pages (and have a tendency to steal said ideas), I thought I'd share what we'd done so as to perhaps inspire someone else :)
Let's see, for starters, we made an Easter Egg Tree. This was inspired by my friend, Angie. She posted pics of her girls doing a tree on facebook, and it was super cute and total motivation for me to do the same. It's actually very simple to do--the eggs already come with holes, you just loop string through and then hang on the tree. I envisioned my kids really getting into this. So after the tedious task of tying the string to each egg was done (very tedious btw!) we went outside to hang the eggs. I told the kids they could work on the low branches, and I would work up high. Elizabeth hung one, and then both kids raced to daddy's car. As an aside, they've started this new thing where they just BEG to play inside daddy's car. There was NO way I was going to change their mind. So I let them in, and while they played and honked the horn a time or two, I hung the eggs myself--lol. Oh well, maybe next year they'll get into it.
The second thing we are gearing up for, is our "Resurrection Eggs" activity. We did this last Easter, and Elizabeth really got into it. Which is why we plan to do it again this year. Basically, you fill each egg with a symbol for the Passion Story. Then each day the kiddos get to open 1 egg and you talk about the contents. You do this 12 days leading up to Easter. On the last day, they open an empty egg to represent the empty tomb. I think it's an awesome way to help children understand. Last year we'd open one egg after dinner, and then we'd read from our Easter books (below) and talk about what the contents of the egg meant. I'm toying w/the idea of making a second set, since I fear my plan of taking turns each time to open 1 egg, might not go over so well with my two. We'll see.
I've seen LOTS of variation on contents, but here's what we did:
1. A piece of fur (cotton ball colored black/gray) to represent the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem
2. A cracker symbolizing the Last Supper
3. A piece of soap, symbolizing Jesus washing the disciples’ feet
4. Three dimes to symbolize the 30 pieces of silver Judas received to betray Jesus
5. A feather to represent the rooster that crowed three times
6. A thorn, symbolizing the crown of thorns that was put on Jesus’ head
7. Dice to symbolize the lots that were cast for Jesus’ clothing
8. A small wooden cross or a nail to represent Jesus’ death on the cross
9. A piece of black paper to symbolize the darkness that covered the earth
10. A piece of cloth (we used a torn paper towel) to symbolize the cloth in which Joseph wrapped Jesus’ body
11. A rock to symbolize the stone that sealed Jesus’ tomb
12. Leave this egg empty to symbolize Jesus’ resurrection and the empty tomb!
We read these stories last Easter and I loved each one (two of them were just a few dollars from Scholastic, and the board book was a gift from Nana). The Miracle of Easter was so easy to understand for the preschool crowd and did a good job of explaining the Passion story at their level. The Easter Story is full of beautiful pictures and walks you through each event. And the board book, What is Easter, talks more about our traditions--of spring, and Easter Eggs, and dressing up for church--but ends by explaining that we do all of those things to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. I recommend all three!
This last one is educational (not religiously based), but it has been WAAAAAAY fun and a wonderful tool for early readers. Basically, you write the end of word families on one side of the egg, such as "at" then on the other side of the egg, you write, "C" and "H" and "M" and so on. Then, you have the child sound out each word, then rotate the egg to sound out the next. I told Elizabeth it was like a combination lock, once she read each word, she could eat the candy inside. Let me tell you what... this girl reads those words SO fast! Lol! Candy is SUCH a motivator!!! Since I don't want Liam to be left out, when he shows interest, I ask him to tell me the letters to get his candy. I can't tell you how much I LOOOOVE this activity. I wish I remember where I found it to give credit. The only downside is the permanent marker does rub off over time. Using labels might work better. But since I didn't have any in stock, I just have to re-write the words when the marker rubs off. I highly recommend this activity as well!!!
Anyway, what an egg-cellent way to kick off Easter?!
More to come...
