Man, could we all have something to look forward to right now. Right? It is a very unusual season we are in, but I am so thankful for the many ways technology is still providing a sense of community during this time- face timing with family and friends, so many random text check ins from sweet friends I haven’t chatted with for a while or the ones from church we used to see weekly between bible studies and church. We are so thankful for the community of believers God has given us. It is such a sweet church family we have that truly cares for the needs of its people, and has been very intentional about doing just that. The other night we zoom called with another family to sing and pray together for a little while- it was such a sweet time to encourage one another!
As much as what’s going on can be a huge distraction to us all right now, I wanted to share one way we can be preparing our children’s hearts and our own hearts for Easter in the coming weeks. I took a poll in my IG stories a few weeks ago and this activity was what you all wanted to see, so here we go! Resurrection Eggs are something we started last year after a sweet gal from our church did a make and take weekend for some of us younger moms to start doing with our own children to create memories and traditions to get our children’s hearts ready and excited for Easter! Christmas always seems to be a huge focus, and then Easter just kind of comes up fast with little preparation for it like Christmas, which is why I love this activity! It’s also hands on (which the kids love of course!) and is a great way to continually be reading and talking about the Easter story to grow our family’s excitement and anticipation for Easter morning! We have loved doing these!
I have seen people do these with 12 eggs or 18, so you can totally modify this activity to what works for you, we did 18! We don’t typically hide the eggs when we do this, but you can also do that as an extension of this activity prior to reading the Easter story with them as they open the eggs up! Again, lots of ways you could do this activity- keep it fun and exciting for them! 🙂
What we typically do is open each egg that corresponds with the part of the story I am reading to them. They get to open it, hold the items in them, look at them, and when we get to the next part of the Easter story that has an egg to go with it, we set the previous egg opened back in the egg carton, so they can still see the previous ones we’ve opened. I always let them play and explore the resurrection eggs when I take them out for the first time, that way they are patient to open them when we actually sit down to read the Easter story. 🙂 I also let them look at and re-read the story themselves and just play with the items in the resurrection eggs after we do the activity too!
If you’d like to hide the eggs beforehand too, here’s what you do: Hide the eggs and let your kiddos find them, and do not let them open them up until all eggs have been found! Open the eggs together and read the Easter story. We have two storybook bibles we toggle between to hit all parts of our resurrection eggs typically, and that is the “It’s All About Jesus Storybook Bible” and the “Jesus Storybook Bible”. We regularly read from these two bibles all the time, not just Easter too. 🙂 Definitely recommend them! Before Collins was born, Dakota found this bundle of picture book stories from the bible that we will also pull from to read the Easter Story sometimes, but I can not find them! But, for the most part, we use those two bibles above, and as long as you have A bible… you’re good! 🙂 There are some other books related we have in our seasonal bin right now, that is in the first image of this post!
H o w t o o r g a n i z e t h e e g g s . . .
Below is the PDF file I typed up for the directions and how to organize your eggs to print off and have at home! The rest of the blog post below will be helpful to reference as you are reading it!
You’ll need 5-7 different colors of eggs to recognize the order that the eggs will be opened. Or you can use any colored eggs and just number them in the order that you read them! Either works! I didn’t have them numbered before, but wanted to do that for this year, so I did that! I would probably do that from the beginning it I were to change how I did it, then create my own little key with the corresponding items in each numbered eggs!
Color 1 – Palm Sunday
Color 2 – Things that happened on Thursday night before Good Friday
Color 3 – The crucifixion
Color 4 – Stone and sealed tomb
Color 5 – Empty egg for an empty tomb *if you’re only using 12 eggs, this would be the last one. To teach about the times that people saw Jesus after the resurrection, add color 6.
Color 6 – After the resurrection
Color 7 – Jesus’s ascension to heaven, with the promise that someday He will return.
Below is a list of choices you can do for your eggs, there are more than needed for 18 eggs. You can tweak these or change them out as needed depending on the age of your kids (obviously a choking hazard for little pieces like that in the eggs). I am always right there when Tommy is doing with us, so we are okay with the choices we picked, but if I am going to walk away, I usually put them away or let C look at them another time when Tommy is still sleeping during nap time or something like that, but typically, I’m right there with them doing it!
Color 1 – 1 egg
Palm leaves, donkey (triumphal entry)
Color 2 – 3 or 4 eggs
wine cup/communion cup and cracker (Passover)
little bit of cut towel (use an old one you have at home already!) with a small piece of soap (cut from a bar you have at home already!) (Jesus washing the disciples’ feet)
three dimes (Judas paid 30 pieces of silver for betraying Jesus)
Rooster-a little toy figurine if you have one at home or find one here, I like this set, because it also has a sheep, which you’ll need for another egg. You can use the rest of this set for a toy barn you might already have at home, or for some new bath toys or sensory bin animals! (Rooster crowed 3 times after Peter denies Jesus 3 times) We love to read this Tales of Truth book too around Easter, because it highlights this story before the crucifixion.
Praying Hands, if you have plastic toy ones like mine you could use those, otherwise you could easily make these with brown construction paper!(Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane)
Color 3 – 7 or 8 eggs
leather shoe string (Jesus is whipped)
Sponge- cute a little square from one you already have at home) (Jesus given vinegar on a sponge)
Purple cloth (anything you might already have at home) (Jesus mocked)
Sign “King of the Jews” (you could type this out on your computer or write it out on a small piece of paper) (Jesus mocked)
Dice/straws cut small/toothpicks (Soldiers cast lots for Jesus’s clothing)
Cross and nails (we had these little wooden crosses, but again you could make this out of construction paper or cardboard too) (Crucifixion)
Black cloth, make it big enough that when you stuff it into the egg it pops out when you open it (The darkness in the middle of the day when Jesus died)
Crown of thorns (not sure how you’d make this, but you more creative people than I am could find a way!)
Color 4 – 1 Color
Stone/rock (Jesus’s burial in sealed tomb)
Color 5 – 1 Color
Leave empty to represent empty tomb!
Color 6 – 3 or 4 eggs
Map of Road to Emmaus, you could draw this or make this on the computer (Road to Emmaus)
Sheep- toy figurine from the set I shared above with the rooster! (Jesus reinstates Peter, “feed my sheep”)
Fruit or seeds like we did (Represent garden)
Fish- toy figurine like from this set, the rest would make great bath toys or for an ocean sensory bin! (Jesus feeds the disciples fish for breakfast when they see him on the shore before He ascends)
Color 7 – 1 egg
Cotton ball (Jesus’s ascension)
I hope this post encourages you and your family to create lasting memories and traditions that create excitement and anticipation for Easter! And at a time such as this, helps you to quiet the distractions of the world for a period of time and fixes your hearts and minds on our savior, Christ Jesus! He is our only hope!
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. -John 10:10
with love,
from courtney
withlovefromcourtney.com 