1. Make a wire cross out of pliable wire. Barbed wire is more difficult to use and has a safety aspect if you’re making the crosses with children but it does capture the rugged look.
2. On Good Friday we place a large wooden cross with a purple sash around it out the front of the worship area. Before Easter Day the cross is covered with ‘chicken wire’ and each person comes forward to place a flower on the cross symbolizing ‘new life’.
3. Egg Shell Gardens The egg must be broken at the small end, leaving more than half the shell intact. A small hole is made in the other end. The child’s name and the decorations are put on with crayon. Each child dips his own shell in warm dye and when dry partly fills it with dirt. A little peat moss is sprinkled on top and three or four seeds are planted in each shell. Choose some seeds that germinate quickly. Marigolds are good for this. Stand the shells in a tray of peat moss until the seeds come up, when each child takes his garden home. The peat moss holds the moisture and keeps the garden from drying out. For obvious reasons, it is well to plant a few extra gardens.
4. Reaching out at Easter. As a church prepare posies of flowers or home made biscuits with a card that explains the Easter message and distribute to... > Those who have had a bereavement since last Easter. > Those in nursing homes. > People you know who may not hear from their family. > As a ‘thank you’ to people who have helped you.
5. Eggciting! Children love Easter egg hunts, especially the younger children. A hunt could also be incorporated into your Easter activities. Before doing so, it is important to explain to the children the significance of eggs in our Easter celebrations. Eggs remind people of new life. Discuss the different creatures that come from eggs i.e. Chickens, other birds, fish, butterflies, etc... Discuss the fact that on that first Easter Jesus was raised from death to have a new life and that we too can have a new life by following Jesus.
6. To Get one of the children to bite into a hollow chocolate egg. Ask them what they can see inside. (Nothing). Point out that when Jesus friends returned to the cave/tomb where his body had been placed, they too found it empty, just like the insides of the egg. Jesus had been raised from the dead, he was no longer there.
7. Why we have Easter eggs? The egg symbolizing life after death, comprises the first meal after a Jewish funeral. Easter eggs, therefore, are meant to remind us that death is not the end.
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