53 ideas to prepare for Easter (Copied from Naomi Elliott)
Multi-sensory activity ideas as opportunities to share the Easter truth with our children
This list of suggestions shows how we can take advantage of the activities we would typically do during this time as well as giving us an excuse to do something a bit different, embracing religious and social traditions along the way! Ideas are presented in a vaguely chronological order to encompass the whole of the Lenten season.
1 Make pancakes! (savoury or sweet/ English or American). Engage in pancake flipping competitions or a pancake race and explain why we eat pancakes before Lent (because they contain fat, butter and eggs which traditionally were forbidden during Lent). Link Lent to Jesus’ 40 days fasting in the desert, and his temptations (c.f. Mt 4).
2 Build a den/shelter in the garden and consider our basic survival needs before comparing this to Jesus’ experience in the wilderness and his responses to the temptations offered by the devil (c.f. Mk 1:12-13/ Lk 4:1-14). (To Jews, the wilderness was a place of vulnerability and dangers – an unknown land with uncertain provisions – as well as a place of transition and change – reminding them of how God led their ancestors through the wilderness from slavery to freedom.)
3 Sing or play hallelujah songs (e.g. the Hallelujah chorus/ children’s response song) in preparation for burying the Hallelujah (hallelujah means ‘praise God’).
4 Bury the Hallelujah: Explain why we don’t proclaim hallelujah during Lent in order to create a sense of anticipation and even greater joy when the familiar word of praise returns. To symbolize, write out hallelujah on paper and bury it in the yard or put it away in a box.
5 Make pretzels and explain that the shape reflects that shape made when early Christians prayed (they would cross their arms and touch each shoulder with the opposite hand) and that the simple ingredients is in keeping with their fast during Lent.
6 Burn something (maybe a list of things we are sorry for) to create ash to introduce Ash Wednesday. Maybe use the ash to explain the circle of life or use as a fertiliser to feed new life (i.e. a plant).
7 Plant seeds (flowers/herbs/vegetables) to engage in talk about new life and resurrection (c.f. Mt 13:31-32/ Jn 12:24/ 1 Cor 15:36-44).
8 Visit a butterfly house or use stories (e.g. The Very Hungry Caterpillar/Why the butterfly died) or create pictures of butterflies (e.g. fold-over painting) to describe the transformation of life that Jesus brings and the struggle that achieved it (The caterpillar spins a cocoon and goes inside to sleep; from the outside it looks like it’s dead but inside the cocoon wonderful changes are taking place. After a struggle to emerge from the cocoon the caterpillar has been transformed into a beautiful butterfly!)
9 Organise a spring scavenger hunt in the local park, creating a list of items to be found and/or photographed – this could include insects and flowers to embrace the theme of new life in spring and the celebration of new life at Easter.
10 Construct a prayer nest: using either nature (twining twigs and leaves) or crafts (pipecleaners and paper) create a 3D nest then write down prayers on egg-shaped paper/card and place them in the nest in expectation that some might ‘hatch’. Maybe revisit the nest after Easter to find out which did hatch and to thank God for answering prayer.
11 Engage with www.40acts.org.uk for ideas of how to do Lent generously regarding practical acts of service.
12 As Lent tends to focus on giving up something, give away to a charity the food/drink you might be giving up for Lent (or the financial equivalent) or have a sort through of possessions and donate any unused/unwanted items.
13 Spring clean the house to illustrate how Lent provides Christians with the time and focus to get clean spiritually before God.
14 Wear green or plan a meal involving green food to introduce St Patrick’s Day on March 17th: pick up on how he evangelised using the shamrock leaf to explain the Trinity and explore how Jesus’ baptism reveals the three persons of the Trinity (c.f. Lk 3:21-22), perhaps also reflecting on all or part of the prayer ‘St Patrick’s Breastplate’.
15 Embrace silence to introduce St Joseph’s Day on March 19th: encourage children to have fun chasing bubbles, then ask them to just listen to them pop, then ask them to sit comfortably and close their eyes and listen to all the sounds going on around them to introduce the importance of stilling ourselves and being silent and opening ourselves to God. Encourage quiet times during Lent. Maybe also examine Jesus’ own silence before his accusers during his trials (c.f. Mk 15:1-5/ Mt 27:11-14/ Isa 53:7).
16 However your family engages in Mothering Sunday – the fourth Sunday of Lent – it can be used to highlight the importance of physical and spiritual families. (Originally churchgoers were encouraged to return to their ‘mother’ church once a year which often became an occasion for family reunions.) One of Jesus’ last statements from the cross concerned asking one of his disciples to take care of his mother (c.f. Jn 19:25-27). Perhaps consider buying a gift that would transform another mother’s life, via www.makeamothersday.org.
17 Collect spare change in a jar and discuss how money can be used for good and for bad, looking at how money tempted Judas to betray Jesus (c.f. Mt 27:3-4) and deciding on a way to use the spare change to benefit/bless someone else. Maybe consider Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal (they help dying people to spend their last days of life in their own home with people they love rather than in a hospital), reflecting on the range of people who surrounded the dying Jesus (c.f. Jn 19:25-27/ Mk 15:40-41/ Lk 23:35-41).
18 On the appropriate evening set the clocks forward together, indicating the start of summertime, and use this activity to each share about things you are looking forward to in the days/weeks/months/years ahead. Maybe consider how Jesus’ resurrection and what that promises affects our view of time.
19 Make a candle and explore the symbolism of Jesus as the light of the world (maybe contrasting this to the fact his trial took place illegally at night (c.f. Lk 22:52-54/ Jn 18:28) and the darkness that descended during his crucifixion (c.f. Lk 23:44-49)). Maybe light the candle each night and say a prayer.
20 Plan and cook a meatless meal for a Friday, explaining that because Jesus sacrificed his own flesh when he was crucified (on a Friday), some Christians abstain from meat on Fridays throughout Lent. Explore ideas such as self-denial and self-sacrifice, simplicity and austerity.
21 Explore a traditional church building, and even a cemetery, perhaps with a list of things to find or as a treasure hunt in order to become familiar with traditional features and symbols.
22 Visit a petting zoo or farm where there are sheep to talk about why Jesus is called the lamb of God (c.f. Jn 1:29/ Rev 12:11) or why lamb is eaten (at Passover and Easter) (c.f. Ex 12:3-14).
23 Watch age appropriate films such as Narnia, Easter VeggieTales on youtube or Jesus Christ Superstar to draw out the Christian story.
24 Dress up as superheroes or watch superhero films to introduce the belief of Jesus as saviour, exploring how Jesus saved us, why he saved us, who he saved, what he saved us from and what he saved us for.
25 Put a white carnation in water and add red food colouring to the water and wait a couple of days for the flower to change colour, explaining the importance of Jesus’ innocence and his taking on our sins.
26 Visit an aquarium or pet shop to watch fish as a way to explore how the fish became a symbol for Christianity. (After his death Jesus’ followers were persecuted and the fish symbol was used as an identifying symbol that fellow Christians would recognise, but non-Christians would not. Not only do fish feature in a lot of stories involving Jesus, but the early Christians saw an x-shaped cross in the tail, reminding them of Jesus’ death. The letters of the Greek word for fish, ΙΧΘΥΣ (pronounced Ichthys), made a neat little acrostic poem that was used as a motto to describe Jesus as Christ, God's Son, and Saviour.) If you don’t have one already, maybe buy a fish sticker for the car.
27 Find a suitable Stations of the Cross for children to participate in.
28 Conduct a blindfolded smell test or create a perfume or buy several incense sticks or scented candles or organise a scented bath to create an ambiance from which you can discuss the significance of the woman who broke perfume over Jesus (c.f. Mk 14:1-11/ Mt 26:6-13), perhaps linking it to the significance of the three gifts Jesus was given by the astrologers (gold signified kingship, frankincense signified worship, and myrrh signified burial), evoking the scene as Jesus himself acknowledges when his body was prepared for burial (c.f. Lk 23:55-24:3/ Jn 19:39-42).
29 Visit a petting zoo or farm where there are donkeys to talk about the significance of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a colt (c.f. Zech 9:9) and the reaction this caused in the crowds who recognised its significance (c.f. Lk 19:32-36/ Jn 12:9-19).
30 Dress in purple and explain how purple is a colour of mourning but also a colour of royalty (c.f. Mk 15:16-20), linking these ideas to Jesus – Christ crucified/the killed king.
31 Go litter picking/weeding along your local street to consider the lengths the crowds went to in order to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem – cutting branches from trees to spread on the road and even placing their own coats on the road for Jesus’ colt to walk on (c.f. Mt 21:6-9).
32 Make bread (leavened or unleavened) to talk about the Passover meal Jesus shared with his disciples at his last supper (explaining why they used unleavened bread c.f. Ex 12:17-20,39)) or to talk about how for Christians the bread represents Jesus’ body (c.f. Lk 22:7,19).
33 Host a Passover meal to reflect on Jesus’ last supper with his disciples and the symbolism of the bread and the wine (c.f. Ex 12/ 1 Cor 11:23-26).
34 Create a red fruit smoothie and when discussing its health benefits compare it to the benefits that Jesus’ shed blood brings which we remember in the drinking of communion wine (c.f. Mt 26:27-29/1 Cor 11:25-26).
35 Polish shoes and use this time to think about the impact on the disciples of Jesus washing their feet – peoples’ feet were dirty and dusty from all their walking so this typically was the job of a slave (c.f. Jn 13:1-17).
36 Make a prayer chain, writing prayers on strips of paper and linking them together to hang up on display.
37 Climb a hill or visit a wood to reflect on why Jesus might have gone to the Mount of Olives during the last week of his life (c.f. Lk 22:39-53). (Gethsemane, meaning oil press, is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives, which in the Jewish tradition is also known as the “Mount of Unction”, since the oil made from its olive groves was used to anoint the king and the high priests.)
38 Prepare the garden for spring (e.g. cutting back shrubs and grasses, thinning dead foliage, mulching beds, weeding) and create a crown using the unwanted foliage from the garden to consider the humiliation of Jesus being forced to wear a crown of thorns (c.f. Mt 27:27-31).
39 Make a daisy/dandelion chain to help consider the contrast in Jesus being forced to wear twisted thorns as a crown (c.f. Mt 27:27-31).
40 Make a bedroom name plaque for the bedroom door, encouraging individuality, to reflect on the plaque that was hammered onto Jesus’ cross (c.f. Mt 27:37/ Jn 19:19-22) and the reactions this caused concerning Jesus’ identity and why he was perceived as a threat.
41 Make a necklace which contains a cross to explore why the cross is the symbol of Christianity. Maybe compare the cross to an electric chair or naughty step in order to show the shocking nature of the symbol for Christianity (c.f. Lk 23:32).
42 Go rock climbing/scrambling to consider the cosmic effect of Jesus’ death and resurrection: there was an earthquake which split rocks at the time of Jesus’ death (c.f. Mt 27:50-52) as well as an earthquake at the time of Jesus’ resurrection (c.f. Mt 28:2), along with the detail of the stone sealing the entrance of his tomb (c.f. Mk 16:1-5).
43 Go to an indoor soft play centre and use the experience of an obstacle course to discuss the layout of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (with non-Jews only permitted in the outer court, men and women permitted in the court of the women, men permitted further in leading eventually to the curtain that separated humans from the room called ‘the holy of holies’ – representing God’s presence – where only the high priest could enter and only once a year) to explore the significance of this curtain being torn in two from top to bottom as Jesus died (c.f. Mk 15:38). Maybe consider the importance of this for Christians (c.f. Eph 2:14-18/Gal 3:28).
44 Go swimming and, discussing the role of chlorine in pools and soap in baths, explain that Jews had to regularly wash themselves in small pools (mikvehs) before entering the temple as a way of purifying themselves before meeting with a holy God, whereas Jesus declared that only one baptism, through him, is needed (c.f. Mt 28:18-20/ Lk 3:15-18/ Eph 4:5/ 1 Cor 12:13).
45 Make or eat hot cross buns and explain that because of the cross on top they were traditionally eaten on Good Friday.
46 Make or buy some Easter biscuits. Traditionally they are served after church on Easter Sunday and are presented in a bundle of three biscuits to represent the Holy Trinity, so prepare little bundles that can be given away to people whilst explaining the Trinity (maybe looking at how the three persons were represented at Jesus’ baptism – c.f. Lk 3:21-22) and exploring how Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection proved that he was and is God’s son.
47 Make the beds together with fresh, crisp sheets and reflect on the clean linen cloth that Jesus’ dead body was wrapped in and the significance of the detail that his followers found it had been left behind upon discovering the otherwise empty tomb (c.f. Lk 23:50-53/ Lk 24:12/ Jn 20:3-10).
48 Watch the sun rise as a family to welcome in the day that celebrates the risen son!
49 Offer an eggy breakfast menu with choices such as boiled egg, scrambled egg, poached egg, scotch egg, fried egg, eggy bread, egg mayo, omelettes and even pancakes again, to draw out the symbolism of the egg representing new life, as heralded by Jesus’ resurrection.
50 Organise the classic chocolate Easter egg hunt, either for your own family or as a surprise for a neighbour. Draw out the symbolism of the egg representing new life, making sure you hide some hollow chocolate eggs since when these are cracked open they represent the empty tomb.
51 Create a miniature garden to capture the resurrection scene, which can be used to explore Jesus’ physical resurrection from the tomb.
52 Buy fish and chips and use this meal to talk about the significance of the resurrected Jesus eating in front of and with his disciples, whether it was broiled fish in the locked room (c.f. Lk 24:40-43) or grilled fish on the shore of Lake Galilee (c.f. Jn 21)
