Hello and welcome to an Easter Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is April 16th.
How did Easter sneak up on us so fast? If you're an active Christian family like ours, you know the challenge of getting the meaning of the religious holiday to sink in and resonate with kids. I teach 4th-grade church school, and even after spending an entire lesson on the big deal about Easter, if you ask them what Easter is about, they'll still shout, "The Easter Bunny!" or "Candy!"
Over the years, I've come across two activities that do the best job I know of (so far) to make the whole Easter thing stick.
Resurrection Eggs: Telling the Easter Story - This craft consists of a dozen plastic eggs stored in an egg carton. Each egg holds an item that symbolizes aspects of the Easter story. Just yesterday, the 4th Grader pulled out the egg set her older sister assembled when she was 10 years old, and asked, "Tell me the story of Jesus." Now, the ladies from my book club will tell you just how terrible I am at recalling the details that make up a good story, but thanks to this Resurrection Eggs activity, as she opened each egg, I surprised myself in being able to tell the story. So, if you're like me - short on details, long on highlights - here is the Easter story in an easy nutshell. Or, rather, eggshell.
1. 3 pieces of "silver" (pennies wrapped in tinfoil) - Judas sold out Jesus for only 30 pieces of silver.
2. Leather strap - Jesus was whipped.
3. Thorns - The soldiers made a crown of thorns and made Jesus wear it.
4. Cross - Jesus was forced to carry a cross (upon which he would be crucified). Bonus points for mom for remembering the place he carried the cross to was called Golgotha.
5. 3 nails - Jesus was nailed to the cross - with spikes. (I add some theatrical flair here and maybe some fleshy detail if I haven't really grabbed their attention yet.)
6. Slip of paper that reads, "This is Jesus, King of the Jews" - The long version of INRI that is on top of the cross.
7. Piece of sponge - Jesus said, "I'm thirsty," and the soldiers gave him a sponge of wine on a stick.
8. Piece of cloth - Jesus died and was wrapped in a cloth.
9. Sachet of spices - The women anointed Jesus with spices. ("Oh! He got those at his birth, too," the Fourth Grader interjects.)
10. Rock - They rolled a rock in front of the tomb.
11. Angel - After the sabbath was over, when the ladies came back to check on Jesus's body there was an angel who said, "He's not here!"
12. Empty - Jesus isn't in the tomb. He's gone! *poof* (Magic fingers for effect.)
However, as any good teacher/parent knows - the way to a person's heart (and brain) is through the stomach. The best, best, best Easter activity I have ever come across is a treat called Resurrection Rolls. This recipe is chocked full of tasty symbolism that leaves kids in wonder while creating a family tradition that goes beyond the Easter basket and all those jelly beans. Last week during church school, when asked what the kids look forward to during Easter, I overheard one of the girls say, "Resurrection Rolls." I am (almost) certain that she sighed.
Resurrection Rolls recipe - Ingredients: large marshmallows, crescent roll dough, butter, and a sugar/cinnamon mixture. Here's the gist: Jesus is the marshmallow. He gets wrapped in the "linens" (the dough triangles) and anointed with the "oil" (butter) and "spices" (which are actually spices.) The oven represents the tomb. Follow the package directions for baking the crescent rolls, pop them in the oven and when they come out - watch out, they're hot - again *poof* Jesus (the marshmallow) is gone! It's a tasty contemplation that makes for a great conversation about just how exactly Jesus was resurrected.
If my brief directions are annoyingly too simple (I'm a big-picture kind of gal, remember?), click here for a much more thorough explanation and recipe.
On This Day
Historic Highlights (credits)
Happy Birthday to You!🎶
Remembering You
Kim
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