Tuesday, March 19, 2024
We hope your week is off to a great start!
We love that you’ve dropped by to see what we’re up to!
😍
Last week, we offered our ideas for family fun
when preparing for the Easter holiday!
Our post highlighted baskets, hunts and tastings
with unique ways to celebrate!
Today we have a special post for you!
You see, it might be easy to overlook the real meaning of Easter,
between the egg hunts and chocolate bunnies!
The days between Palm Sunday and Easter are known as Holy Week..
For Christians around the world,
these days are reminders of the final week of Jesus’s life,
leading up to the crucifixion and then, three days later,
the miracle of His resurrection!
Today’s post highlights ways to weave seeds of faith
into the sharing of the Easter story with our young Littles!
The challenge?
Sharing the Easter story with toddler and preschool Littles in an age-appropriate way!
For Littles
- our grandbabies, our own children or for those we teach or are in our daily care -
grasping the meaning of Holy Week and Easter can be incredibly difficult!
It is huge and complicated and can even be quite scary!
This is most especially true for toddlers and preschoolers!
We both feel incredibly blessed to be able to share our faith with our grandchildren!
Our youngest Littles may not understand the details of the Easter story right away…
and that’s okay!
If we continue to faithfully share the stories about Jesus’s life,
our Littles will grow to know Him!
For us, first as parents and now as Grands of two year old Littles,
this is planting seeds of faith
and, for each of us,
it’s one of the most important gifts we can share with our precious Littles!
An Important Grand Tip!
Our philosophy on our role as a Grand…
As Grands, we always check with our Littles’ parents to get their “okay”
when sharing anything new!
This is true for all areas of life!
Our role, as Grands, is to support our Littles’ parents
and open communication is one of the best ways to do so!
💜
Read on for Laurie’s recent account of a moment shared with her Little D!
I was taking care of 2 ½ year old Little D and decided it was time to lay the foundation for Easter. I had a board book with pictures of Holy Week so I started to show her the pics while trying to tell the story in “Toddler Speak”. I told her that Baby Jesus, whom we had talked about at Christmas, had grown up and that His job was to love all of us and to do so He had to die on the cross. (Little D does have a little schema for death as her favorite little cat died not too long ago.) I continued by telling her that this was very sad but that then on Easter Sunday, Jesus went up to Heaven and watches over us from there. Little D was staring at me very intently during what I felt was kind of a bumbling explanation. I asked her if she had any questions, and she said “I think I like Christmas Jesus better than Easter Jesus”.
Out of the mouth of babes…
I think I like Christmas Jesus more than Easter Jesus!
- Little D
As Little D reminds us all, we need to be responsive to our Littles’ ages and abilities to understand. We suggest the following talking points as you share the Easter story with young Littles!!
✝️ Keep Things Simple!
Don’t complicate the Easter story (or any other bible story for that matter) with big words and lots of details that can be overwhelming! Remember to think like children and speak their language!
✝️ Accentuate the Positive!
Avoid going into too much detail about Christ’s death if your Littles are very young. We use the words “sad” and “happy” to talk about these events and we focus more on the excitement with both our “Hosannas” on Palm Sunday and our “Alleluias” on Easter Day!
✝️ Let Them Share!
Give your Littles lots of opportunities to open up about what they are thinking! Encourage questions and even share that sometimes YOU still have questions, too! Gauge the conversation to your Little's attention span!
✝️ Revisit! Revisit! Revisit!
Your Littles will soak in new information as you plant seeds over time. Find new ways each year to add understanding! As your Littles become familiar with the Easter Story and hear the vocabulary again and again, let them retell it in their own words. (No need to worry if they get the events of the week in the wrong order)!
✝️ Pray with Your Littles!
What better way is there to develop a relationship with God and Jesus! Again, keep it short and simple… you can even do an echo prayer (where your Littles repeat after you) and you can always shout “Amen” together at the end!
Have you heard of Resurrection Eggs?
Both of us used this resource with our own children way back in the mid 2000’s
as well as with Sunday School classes we taught over the years.
Check out this post from last year
to see how we used Resurrection Eggs with older kids!
This year, with Little L and Little D,
we knew that 12 eggs filled with objects from the Easter story
would be too heavy for them to comprehend…
Remember, we are all about planting seeds!
So… we tweaked this idea, and came up with our own…
Resurrection Eggs for Young Littles!
We are both excited to use this storytelling tool
to tell the Easter story with our Littles this year!
Our version features 6 eggs that each highlight an event from Holy Week!
Below, you’ll find what simple item (or picture) we added to each plastic egg,
a related bible verse
and a few easy and fun ideas for expanding on every topic!
Laura also purchased this board book to share with Little L!
Its simple illustrations and text are wonderful!
NOTE - We are not compensated for any items we share or link up….
We simply love sharing!
Egg 1 - A Leaf
(Palm Sunday)
“Hosanna! Blessed is He!”
(Matthew 21: 9)
Make Palm Leaves to Wave Together! Trace your Little’s hand onto green paper three or more times! Cut out the three leaves and glue or tape them to a long piece of brown paper or a wooden dowel. You can also trace your own Grand hands and cut those out, too, as shown below! Wave these palm leaves as you shout Hosanna!
Shout Hosanna! Your Little will love saying this word with you! Begin by telling him/her that when you are saying Hosanna you are greeting Jesus with joy! You can say Hosanna in loud voices or soft voices, in fast mode or s-l-o-w-l-y! Try playing “Stop and Go” by saying the word over and over when you signal “Go” and stopping at the word “Stop”! Repeat, repeat, repeat!
On the Road to Jerusalem! Lay down old T-shirts and dish towels (or even pieces of paper) to represent the coats and palm leaves put down for Jesus as He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Littles can then jump, leap, step and even crawl on all fours like the donkey down “the road”. Challenge your Little(s) to only step on the cloth/paper trail!
Egg 2 - A Cracker
(The Last Supper)
“Take and eat!”
(Matthew 26: 26)
Eat a Simple Snack Together! Invite your Little to enjoy a special snack of crackers (oyster crackers, mini Saltines or Goldfish perhaps) and juice together. Explain how this reminds you of the food Jesus ate during his last meal - the Last Supper - with his friends. Say a prayer together, too!
Dinner Time Sharing! During a meal together, have everyone at the table share who they’d invite to a special dinner. Talk about each person and how that person is loved. Share the message that Jesus loved his friends very much, too! At the end of your meal, offer up a prayer for all the loved ones you've talked about!
Make Bread Together! Find a simple bread recipe (or even a box mix) and make a loaf of bread together!
Egg 3 - A Cloth
(Jesus Washes HIs Disciples’ Feet)
“Wash one another’s feet.”
(John 13: 14)
Wash Your Little’s Feet! Take turns washing each other’s feet! Set a basin of water on the floor (add a towel underneath for added protection) and wash your Little’s feet as you remind them how much you love them and how much Jesus loves them! If your Little is old enough, invite him/her to wash your feet in return! Be sure to talk a bit about how Jesus washed his disciples’ feet after their last meal together… a true act of service and love!
How Can You Show Your Love? Brainstorm together ways you can serve people you love in the same way Jesus showed His love to the disciples.. Giving mom or dad a backrub OR picking up your toys without being asked OR helping bus the dishes after dinner would all be lovely ways to say I Love You!
Acts of Service… Together! Can you think of something you could do with your Little or as a family to serve others in the community? Perhaps it’s collecting toys to donate OR food for a local food shelf OR maybe it’s making Easter cards for a nursing home. Complete this task together!
Egg 4 - A Cross
(The Crucifixion)
“Jesus died on the cross.”
(John 19: 18)
A Cheerios Cross! The cross is a reminder of how much Jesus loves us all and is a symbol Littles can learn to recognize early in life!
Try making this simple version with your Little(s)!
• String Cheerios on to 2 pipe cleaners. You may need to hold the pipe cleaner for a young Little while threading, to keep his/her hand steady..
• Twist the 2 pipe cleaners together to form the cross.
A Grand Tip!
Older Littles will enjoy using beads to create a cross!
Paint a Cross! Use painter’s tape or masking tape to make a cross on a piece of white construction paper. Then let your Little use watercolor paints to paint the paper as shown. (You may need to guide young Littles as they paint.) At this point you could sprinkle some glitter on the wet paint. Let your project dry. When completely dry, remove the tape!
A Sad Day! Talk with your Little about times when others have made you sad. Acknowledge that this is a sad day… but, let your Little know it’s going to get better!
Egg 5 - A Stone
(Jesus in the Tomb)
“He rolled a big stone in front of the tomb.”
(Matthew 27: 60)
Dramatic Play - Jesus in the Tomb! Make a simple paper Easter scene with a cross, a tomb and a picture of Jesus (we found our picture from a Google search). Tell a simple story of Easter with your Little… Jesus died on the cross for us. They put him in a tomb and sealed it with a big rock. In the morning the rock was rolled away! Your Little will enjoy the simple steps of moving Jesus from the cross to the tomb, and pushing the big heavy rock away!
Look for the Biggest Rock! Head outside with your Little and take a walk. Be detectives and see if, together, you can spot the biggest rock and then try to lift it! Can you carry it? Is it heavy? Would it be hard to move it? Can your Little find a little rock or a colorful one? You could also play Hide and Seek with a rock or two and you could create a sculpture with rocks!
Build a Tomb! Your engineering Little can use blankets, wooden blocks, furniture and/or legos, to create a tomb like the one that Jesus was placed in.
Egg 6 - An Empty Egg
(Jesus is Risen)
“He is not here! He is risen!
(Luke 24: 6)
Jesus is Alive! Alleluia! This activity is an active one that will reinforce the meaning of Easter! It would be a great one to pull out after Easter dinner!
Here's how to play!
Sit or stand in a circle (with 3 or more people) and play catch with a plastic Easter egg. (You can also do this activity with only 2 people.) Each time a child catches the egg they say, Jesus is alive! Alleluia! When you are finished playing catch, have your Little open the egg! The Easter egg is empty just like Jesus' tomb was empty! Jesus is indeed alive… Today and always! Alleluia!
Caterpillar to Butterfly! The life cycle of a butterfly is a wonderful example of new life! Create this project ahead of time or have the materials ready for your Littles to make their own during your Easter celebration!
Here’s what to do:
• Glue pom poms onto a clothespin to make a caterpillar. Glue on two small wiggly eyes (or beads will work, too).
• Layer 2-3 squares of colored tissue paper (approximately 6” x 6” each) on top of each other and fold the stack, accordion style. Scrunch the tissue paper in the middle and clip to the clothespin to turn your caterpillar into a butterfly!
Now your Little is ready to turn his/her own caterpillar into a butterfly!
The caterpillar/butterfly transformation can be used to remind our Littles of the new life we have in Jesus because of what He sacrificed for us on the cross…. followed by His resurrection three days later!
Sing Jesus Loves Me! This well known children’s song is the perfect one to sing with your littlest Littles! What better message is there to reinforce with them! As an added bonus, try teaching your Littles the sign language for the song (or for the chorus only). Here’s a link to a Youtube video that shows you and your Littles the motions!
Below you will find an outline of what’s included with our
Resurrection Eggs for Young Littles!
We each made a copy and put it inside the lid of the egg carton
holding our Little’s set of Resurrection Eggs!
We invite you to do the same!
And here’s a graphic of the carton cover…
Just in case you want to copy and use that, too!
(Feel free to take a screenshot and then print!)
Our hope is that by starting this tradition with our Littles
we can then nurture these seeds of faith from year to year!
We’ve already brimming with ideas!
We have one more yummy topic to include in this post.
Last year, we shared both of the following food experiences
as part of our Easter posts.
We felt that each bared repeating so we are sharing them once again here!
Both reinforce the message of the Easter story in delicious ways!
Resurrection Rolls!
Last year, Little L helped Laura make Resurrection Rolls that the family enjoyed together
on Easter morning!
When making these breakfast treats you can, once again, retell the Easter story!
Feel free to use the graphic below to help you do so!
An Easter Story Snack Mix!
Finally, our Easter Story Snack Mix would be a wonderful addition
to an Easter basket or as a small bag of munchies!
You could make it with your Littles during a play date.
Your Littles could enjoy this treat during an Easter worship service
or while Easter dinner is cooking!
The ingredients are readily available!
As you add each ingredient to a bowl
take the time to retell and review the details of Holy Week,
leading up to the joy found in Easter Sunday!!
You can find more details about this snack mix,
including a few additional graphics that you are invited to screenshot and print,
in our post from last April,
Over the years, we’ve used this recipe with Sunday School classes
and found it to be an excellent way to reinforce so many events from Holy Week.
We think you’ll agree!
As Grands, we have the opportunity to plant seeds of understanding
beginning with the simple truth that
Jesus Loves Us All
and we are His forever!
ALLELUIA!
💜
Please feel free to comment at the end of this post
especially if you have special ways of sharing the Easter story with the Littles in your life!
We love learning from each other!
AND
you can find lots of our content on Pinterest, too!
Easter is quickly approaching, and we’ve got a few more topics to share
SO
look for us to return later this week!!
Our focus?
“Eggs-tra Special Fun!
Decorating Easter Eggs with Littles!
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See you soon!
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Will Blog for Comments from Photo & Story Treasures
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