For the past few years, it has bothered me that Easter is arguably the most important holiday of the year, yet it seemed like all our family did to commemorate it was hunt for plastic eggs and eat tons of candy. I wanted to find a way to honor our Savior's incredible sacrifice in meaningful ways that would still be engaging for our kids.
After Easter last year, I happened upon a blog post by another mom who plans a simple mix of fun and inspiring activities for each day of Easter week. It seemed like just the sort of thing I was looking for, so I decided to give some of her ideas a try this year.
We started on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. We read Mark 11:7-10, watched a short video about Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, then talked about why He entered the way He did, and why people were so excited about it. Then we reenacted the triumphal entry, using big kale leaves from our garden as palm leaves. The kids each wanted to take a turn riding the "donkey," and they had so much fun that they reenacted the scene a few more times the next day (complete with kale leaves, which I had put in a vase on our table as both a quirky centerpiece and a reminder of this Bible story).
I called the next day Temple Monday, because it's the day Christ drove animal vendors out of the sacred temple courts. We read Mark 11:15-18, watched a short video about Jesus cleansing the temple, talked about why He might have been so upset about what they were doing, then acted out that scene. All the kids wanted to play the lead role again, and after the first cleanser got a little wild and crazy, we stopped to talk about the fact that even when Jesus confronted people, He did so with dignity and self-control. Things calmed down a bit after that, but they were still a little wild. Kids are kids.
The blogger calls the next day Teaching Tuesday because Jesus taught several famous parables, such as The Parable of the Talents. We talked about what a parable is and why Jesus used stories to teach, then we broke into groups and chose parables to study from Matthew 25 or Mark 13. We drew pictures of our parables (next to the kale centerpiece), then took turns teaching the rest of the family about them. Last of all, we watched a Bible video of Christ teaching The Parable of the Ten Virgins, and then (of course) the kids asked to act that parable out.
The next day was Spy Wednesday, the traditional name of the day when Judas agreed to betray Christ to His enemies. We read Matt. 26:14-16, talked about why Judas may have offered to do that, then discussed whether we ever let Jesus down in some way. We didn't watch a video of this story or act it out, but we did talk about the symbolism of Judas betraying Jesus for the ancient price of a slave, inadvertently opening the way for Jesus to free us all from slavery to sin and death. Then we lightened the mood by dyeing Easter eggs. I did that partly because eggs are associated with the new life Christ offers us, but mainly because egg dyeing is a fun Easter tradition. :)
Next came Passover Thursday. The blogger I referenced makes a "kid-friendly" Passover meal, with more emphasis on fun than authenticity. I wanted to do something a little more historically accurate, but after a full morning of Passover feast research I learned that there are almost as many variations on Passover menus as there are Jews. I eventually settled on a menu that worked for me, which included things like pita bread, chopped applesauce, grape juice, and even a jar of horseradish (which none on my kids had ever heard of, or wanted to taste). I also made braised lamb, which was surprisingly easy and well-received. My only regret is that I had an appointment that night and didn't have time to talk with the kids much about what the Passover had to do with Christ, or us. In the future, I think I'll simplify the meal a bit (e.g. no horseradish), talk about its symbolism of Christ saving us from bondage, then read Mark 14:22-25 in which Christ teaches about the sacrament as a new way to remember Him. Then we'll watch a video about the Last Supper and Christ's ordeal in the Garden of Gethsemane.
As the week went on, I found that our activities became less boisterous (and photogenic), and more reverent, which is as it should be. For Good Friday ("good" used to mean "holy" in centuries past, and few things could be more holy than the Son of God giving His life for all humanity), we read parts of John 19, then watched the sobering video about Christ's scourging and crucifixion. We've seen it before, but I think it hit home for us more this time because we've been discussing and watching videos about the Savior all week, so He feels more like someone we know and care about. It was hard to watch him suffer so much, and after the video our kids asked some thoughtful questions. Later, we had hot cross buns for dessert (last night I looked them up on a whim, and learned they are traditional Good Friday treats). It took a few hours to make them (fortunately, the yeast does most of the work), but they were tasty and fun and I'll probably make them again next year.
The blogger calls the next day Spirit World Saturday. The Bible teaches that after Jesus died, He went to the spirit world and taught people who had rejected his commandments or never learned them in mortality. Modern revelation clarifies that He taught and organized His deceased disciples to teach their fellow spirits the principles that would help them progress. This evening we talked about some of our ancestors who might be helping Jesus teach others in the spirit world right now. The blogger also takes her older kids to the temple on this day to do baptisms for the dead, and I look forward to adding that to our Holy Week when my children are old enough.
Happy Easter! At first I thought the kids would think would think the finale of our Easter week was anticlimactic because we didn't act anything out or do some creative activity. We basically went to church this morning, enjoyed a pleasant afternoon together at home, ate a nice dinner this evening, then read John 20:1-18 and watched several videos about the Savior's resurrection and subsequent appearances to His disciples (e.g. the Road to Emmaus, His appearance to His apostles, and Doubting Thomas). The kids really loved watching the videos, and again, I think it was because we have focused so much on the Savior this week that they feel greater love and reverence for Him. This is the kind of Easter I want to have every year.
On final note: The blogger who inspired everything above had the great idea to use a wall of her home as a visual reminder of her family's Holy Week activities. She makes a simple sign for each day, then puts a visual reminder about that day below the sign. Our wall included:
Palm Sunday: Plastic palm leaves from a craft store
Temple Monday: We each chose a favorite picture of a modern temple to print out
Teaching Tuesday: Illustration(s) of the parables we discussed
Spy Wednesday: Picture of broken chains (Christ freed us for the price of a slave)
Passover Thursday: Picture of wine and unleavened bread from Passover/sacrament
Good Friday: We wrote our names on strips of paper and arranged them like a cross, because Christ died for each of us.
Spirit World Saturday: Photos of some of our ancestors who might be spirit world missionaries.
Easter Sunday: Picture of the resurrected Savior, with the words "He Is Risen!" and "Happy Easter!"
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