Tip Tuesday Bonus – Keeping Easter
Yesterday Karen was asking for suggestions of how to teach your kids the real meaning of Easter.
When we were little, my mom taught us the Easter story using scriptures from the New Testament, along with visual aids inside plastic Easter eggs. Gabriela details it on her blog.
I always make “hot cross buns” on Good Friday. They are actually two Rhodes Rolls, dipped in melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar, baked and then painted with a cross of cream cheese frosting. True hot cross buns don’t seem remotely appealing to me and the ones I make give us the chance to eat something yummy, while teaching the kids about the crucifixion and atonement.
Nettie from Singing a Verse of My Song has some cute suggestions too.
What have you got for us?
posted by Kathryn Thompson at 6:40 PM
12 Comments:
My mom also put scriptures in our plastic eggs. We had to find the scripture and read it to her before we could get our candy that WOULD have gone in the egg.
I have a great activity to do the night before Easter. You make "Resurrection Cookies". Each step, has a scripture that goes along the Easter story. It is great to do with kids. At the end, you leave the cookies in the oven until morning... and there's a surprise - the cookies are cracked and empty! I have started doing this with my daughter. If you want to see the recipe, follow this link...
Resurrection Cookies Recipe
4/11/2006 8:04 PM
In our preschool, we used to make a variation of ressurection cookies - ressurection bisquits. These are not nearly as yummy, but are very easy. Telling the story as we went, we would take 2 circles of raw bisquit dough,(to represent the rocks of the tomb) place a marshmellow (Jesus was wrappoed all in white cloth) in between them and seal the edges (the soldiers sealed the sepulchre), then bake according to the package directions. When the bisquits were broken open, there would be a big empty space in the middle (because the tomb was empty).
It was always a pretty effective lesson and didn't take much time to get from the story part, to the big finish.
When I was little, I always got a new dress, bonnet and gloves so that I would look fresh and new to welcome the risen Lord. Often I found the new bonnet "acting" as my Easter basket in the morning with the gloves inside.
4/12/2006 4:58 AM
I am trying to remeber what we did as little kids- I know painting eggs was a big thing... but when we cracked them open, we were told it was like Jesus breaking out of the tomb- that was neat. We went to church a lot during Holy Week- it was all very mystical back then in the Catholic Church- enough to make a child's imagination run wild. I always loved Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday much more for its religious significance than any old Easter bunny...
4/12/2006 5:01 AM
Last year we started a new tradition--a Lenten wreath. Like an advent wreath, but I used Spring greenery for it, and the candles are the colors of the salvation story--black for sin which seperates us from God, red for Jesus' blood of atonement, white for purity, green for new life, and gold for the treasure that awaits us in heaven. (My pastor uses these colors in his advent wreath, adn I always thought they fit better for Easter)
Only we were supposed to start the Sunday after Ash Wednesday and I totally forgot about it until your post asking for ideas. so now I'll have to add something new to our Easter tradition. Time travel.
4/12/2006 5:06 AM
Thanks for the link DYM. My little blog has never had so many hits! Have a nice day.
4/12/2006 6:52 AM
Thank you, Leah!! whew I was nervous that I am the only one that uses Netflix as one of my key imparters of truth. Netflix, Barnes and Noble... We do occasionally worry that Cereal (that would be Ariel), Cinderwewah, Bob and Larry and the fairies in the wall that only giggle when you are totally quiet are equally real to them as God. But then, at least they don't pray to Bob.
4/12/2006 8:47 AM
Hey, hot cross buns sound like a good idea! I think I'm going to make an attempt at that (I'm still in the process of learning how to cook.) My little Carver's too young to try to understand the meaning of Easter (just 4 months), but I'm sure hubby will appreciate the treat!
4/12/2006 10:17 AM
I have to admit the task of explaining Easter is a tad daunting. My kids are still worried about accidentally eating the forbidden fruit and dropping dead. And #1 Son is very concerned about Pharo, the crusafixion may push them over the edge. I too may leave it to Bob and Larry for the time being...
4/12/2006 1:41 PM
When I was smaller the focus of Easter was more on the wonder of the resurrection and new life rather than the crucifixion and suffering itself-- although that part of the story was not ignored. Emphasis on sacrifice and suffering came at older ages when we were able to fully grasp its significance rather than be terrified by it.
4/12/2006 2:54 PM
Love the Resurrection Cookies. And I feel your pain, farm wife. We went through a period of reading the New Testament where my (then) 4yo was VERY concerned about people going blind, deaf or losing the ability to walk. And what if Jesus wasn't around to heal us!
An ex-Catholic friend of mine suggested setting up pictures of the passion and resurrection for the kids to see around the house, like stations of the cross, only...different pictures. He pointed out that the Catholic church has been educating illiterate people on Jesus for centuries this way. So we have pictures in page protectors all over the hallway, at 3 feet high. It's not cookies, but we'll see.
4/12/2006 5:02 PM
No suggestions, but here's a joke: What do you get when you pour boiling water down a rabbit hole? Hot cross bunnies! Get it? Ha!
4/12/2006 7:30 PM
At relief society last week our teacher gave us little snack bags with jelly beans (appropriately colored) and this little verse inside....sorry I don't know where she got it...
RED IS FOR THE BLOOD HE GAVE.
GREEN IS FOR THE GRASS HE MADE.
YELLOW IS FOR THE SUN SO BRIGHT.
ORANGE IS FOR THE EDGE OF NIGHT.
BLACK IS FOR THE SINS WE MADE.
WHITE IS FOR THE GRACE HE GAVE.
PURPLE IS FOR HIS HOUR OF SORROW.
PINK IS FOR OUR NEW TOMORROW.
A BAG FULL OF JELLY BEANS
COLORFUL AND SWEET,
IS A PRAYER, IS A PROMISE,
IS A SPECIAL TREAT
MAY THE JOY OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION
FILL YOUR HEART AND BLESS YOUR LIFE.
4/13/2006 3:45 PM
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