Easter Lesson Plan

Here are some of the things we do as a family with young children to explain Easter from a biblical perspective.

1. Children's bible versions of the Easter story and all the events around it here.

2. Resurrection Eggs - This is a dozen plastic egg kit that you can purchase at churches, online or Christian book stores or make yourself. Each egg contains an item that is a symbol of part of the Easter story and it is a powerful teaching tool. Here is a sample kit though the exact items can vary from kit to kit.

3. Sinful Heart/Blood of the Cross/Pure Heart
I make white hearts and laminate them then I have the kids use a black
wipe off marker and write each of their sins on the heart. For the younger I
have them just make an X as they tell me each sin. Then I use a red cross (made out of construction paper to symbolizes Jesus' blood) to cover over their heart and I erase the sins and show them how Jesus dying on the cross covered our sins and
makes our hearts pure before God. The heart is then white again, the way God will see our hearts because of Jesus' sacrifice for us. This seems to really bring the
lesson home for younger children.
--A friend of mine suggested modifying this by using a red/pink eraser and making it into the shape of a cross to show the erasing of the sins.

4. Jelly Bean Prayer This is a craft simple craft with a poem and some jelly beans that shows God's love for us with the cross. Print the poem here. Have younger children glue the bean next to each line have older children glue the bean and the copywork the saying or memorize it.

5. Family cross - Each year we make a large family cross with each members of the household represented on it. We take two big pieces of butcher paper and form them
into a cross. Then each family member traces his/her hand and writes
their name on it. We glue the colorful hearts onto the cross and
write Easter and the year on the top and have a heart for Jesus in the
center. We hang this each year to show how Jesus dies for each of our
sins. Then at the end of the year when we take it down to save it we
compare it to last years cross to see how our family has changed
(added members, grown in size, etc), it is a nice tradition to have.

6. Resurrection Cookies - These are cookies you make the night before that also help show the story of Easter. The recipe and details can be found here.

7. Easter night/morning enactment We have not done this before but it looks so good I think we will add this to our routine this year. A fun activity a family created to bring it home to their kids. Read more.

8. Easter morning - We read the Easter story from the actual adult bible. By now the kids are very familiar with the story and can follow along with ease and patience. Then we look for eggs and do some of the traditional secular activities.