~ Religious Ideas for Easter ~
For non-religious Easter ideas, click here
Books
Jesus Appears to His Followers, in "Pray and Play Bible" pub. by Group
The Miracle of Easter, in "Pray and Play Bible" pub. by Group
The Easter Story, in "Pray and Play Bible 2" pub. by Group
Songs
Easter Activities
Resurrection Eggs
Resurrection Eggs are a great way to connect Easter eggs to the story of Jesus. These eggs can be found in the children's section of a Christian store.
I've also seen them at Walmart. Each egg has an object inside it that represents the true story of Easter: three coins in one to represent Judas' 30
pieces of silver, white cloth in one to represent the shroud He was wrapped in, a stone in one to represent the stone that the angel rolled away.
This set is a wonderful, hands-on way for the children to learn the Easter story. We talk about one egg per day, leading up to Easter, and at times,
I tell the whole story and have the children open up all of them. I also have a book called "Benjamin's Box" by Melody Carlson that was designed for
use with Resurrection Eggs. The original Resurrection Eggs are made by FamilyLife. They include some pieces that you would not be able to make
yourself. Here is a link to Resurrection Eggs at Amazon.com, and two story books that go with them (you do not have to have the books to use the eggs).
Here are two websites that describe how to make your own set (some pieces are different from the FamilyLife set):
Rainbow Castle
Catholic Mom
Stained Glass Cross
I drew an outline of a cross with a black permanent marker. Children placed colored tissue paper on the cross outline, painted over each piece with liquid starch, and cut it out after it was dry.
Cross
Here's another cross one of my students made at the art center using foam shapes. We had some extra crosses in the art center for the children to use.
Cross Magnet
I cut out a cross from craft foam. The children glued a plastic jewel on each of the four points on the cross. I glued a magnet to the back. (Or you could attach to yarn to make a necklace.)
Cross Snack
Children spread icing on a graham cracker and made a cross with mini chocolate chips. You can trace a cross in the icing with a toothpick to give the children an outline.
