This week we took a break from reading Exodus to celebrate Easter. David and I decided to read the account from Matthew. I also put together a little Easter gift for my neighbor who has small children. It was a version of the Easter Week activities we used to do when our kids were little. I thought I would just include that here as it might be useful to someone. For each day there is a symbol, a scripture and an activity.
Easter Week for Little
Kids
Monday: coin
On the first day of Holy
Week Jesus road a donkey into Jerusalem.
Then he went to the temple and overturned the tables of the money
changers. Can you imagine all the coins
spilled all over the floor? Jesus loved his Heavenly Father and wanted the
temple, his “Father’s House” to be sacred and holy.
(Matthew 21: 12-13)
(donkey piñata)
When Jesus entered
Jerusalem, he saw a fig tree that had lots of leaves but didn’t have any
fruit. In Jesus’s day there wasn’t any
candy like we know it. Figs were one of
the sweetest things they had could eat. Maybe Jesus felt like the Jews of his
day were like the fig tree. They
pretended to be good to show off, but they didn’t “bring forth fruit” by
keeping the most important commandments. (Matthew 21: 19-21)
(fig newtons)
Jesus taught many
parables during the last week of his life on earth. One of them was about 10 young women who were
waiting for a wedding to start. Some had
brought extra oil to burn in their lamps, and some had not. When it was time for the wedding to start,
the ones who had brought extra oil filled their lamps and joined all the people
walking into the wedding party. Those
that didn’t have extra oil, had to go and buy some and by the time they came
back the gates to the party were already closed and they couldn’t get in. If Jesus were telling this parable today he
would have probably talked about flash lights and batteries. We need to keep our batteries of faith charged
by reading our scriptures, saying our prayers and being kind to others. (Matt 25: 1-13)
(read our scriptures by
flashlight)
On Thursday Jesus invited
his disciples to join him in celebrating the Passover. During the Passover Jews don’t eat any bread
that contains yeast. This “unleavened
bread” is a little bit like crackers.
After he kept the Passover, the told the discipled that the bread and
wine used in the Passover really represented his body and blood that he would
give for them. Taking the sacrament each
week reminds us of the same thing! (Matthew 26: 26-28)
(do the children’s sedar,
or just eat crackers and grape juice)
Friday: love
On Friday Jesus was taken
by the Roman soldiers and hung on the cross until he died. This seems like a terrible thing but it was a
way for Heavenly Father and Jesus to show their love for us. Jesus died for us
so that we could someday live again with him. John, one of Jesus’ disciples
said, “For God so loved the world that he gave is only begotten son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John
3:16)
(Make heart-shaped
cookies)
On Saturday while his
body lay in the tomb, Jesus’ spirit went and visited people in the Spirit
world. He arranged for people to go and
preach to those who were in Spirit Prison.
Jesus’ sacrifice unlocked the chains of death and allowed those who are
captives of sin to go free through repentance. (D&C 138:28-30)
(Easter Egg Hunt:
represents the pagan side of Easter, or Easter without/Christ)
Sunday: empty
On Sunday morning some of
Jesus’ disciples went to the place where they had put Jesus’ body, and found
the tomb empty. Where had he gone? His
spirit and body had been reunited and he returned to Heavenly Father. He came
back to tell his disciples the good news-- because he died for us we will
someday be resurrected like he is and live with Heavenly Father again. (Matthew
28:5-7)
(I always gave each
person some new piece of clothing for Easter Sunday. When we were poor it might only be a tie, or
new socks instead of a whole outfil. Putting on new clothes was like Jesus putting on his new
resurrected body.)
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