Easter Week 2012

Aww... I always thought I would be that mom who has holiday decorations up a month in advance and has planned all of these super creative activities for my kids.  I am NOT that mom!  At least not right now.  I learned this at Christmas when I bought a ton of stuff to have all of these meaningful experiences with my kids and didn't get a single one done because each activity took too much prep work or didn't fit into the timing of naps, etc.  I think I learn this lesson each and every holiday, but this is the first one that I just accepted the fact that I needed short, easy, straight-forward activities even if that meant sacrificing creativity and all of the ideas I have saved that are so much cuter!

So instead I planned activities that I had done before with the kids (except for a couple) and what was great about this is that I wasn't stressed and therefore, the kids weren't stressed and I was really able to see how much Finley's ability to understand had grown since last year!  We had a really great Easter week and I am so thankful that God is opening Finley's heart to hear His words of TRUTH!

Here is a glimpse into our week....

Sunday:
At church, Finley made a palm for Palm Sunday and we talked about Hosanna and the waving of the palm branches.  After naps, we also dyed Easter eggs.

This is the first time we have done this and I am glad we waited a little while because Finley seemed to be the perfect age for this activity.  I'm excited to get a book that I saw relating egg dying to Christ, but for this year, we just talked about how the dye changed the egg and how Christ's work on the cross changes us...  The boiling changes the inside, the dye the outside just as Christ changes all of us when we put our faith in Him.  We truly do become a new creation.  I'm curious to see how the book relates the two because I'm sure there are other metaphors!

Monday:

After picking Finley up from school, we went to the zoo!  I had taken her to the zoo for Easter a couple of years ago, but we didn't go last year.  We headed straight for the Children's Zoo which we haven't been to in awhile.  We petted the lambs and talked about how Jesus is our Lamb... our perfect sacrificial lamb!  Then we saw the donkeys and before I could even say anything Finley said "Mommy, donkeys!  Jesus rode on a donkey!"  No explanation needed!  Ha!  This was an easy way to give her (and Jude) a tangible look at some of what we had been reading about leading up to Holy Week.

Tuesday:

We made our handprints and then I read from the Storybook Bible about how Christ had been nailed to the cross.  We then took nails and piereced our handprints.  We have done this every year since Finley was 1 and it is fun to see how her handprint has grown over the years.  Jude's from last year was so tiny! So adorable!  Finley truly seemed to grasp this concept this year.  It is such an easy activity and one that takes no time at all and yet we had some great discussion about how much that would hurt and why "the bad men" would do that to Jesus.  We also talked about the crown of thorns and why Jesus was being mocked.  Finley spent the rest of the week talking about how Christ's head bled from the thorns and that He needed a bandaid!  The best part was after we talked about everything, Finley took Jude's handprint and told him all about it.  She was such a cute little teacher.  Devin and I laugh that she doesn't seem to understand that if we are all in the same room that everyone can hear the same things.  She is constantly saying "Mommy, Daddy said that I could have some yogurt." and I have to say "Finley, I can hear Daddy just like you can!"  But in this instance, it was super wonderful to hear her repeat to her brother the important truths we had just discussed!

Wednesday:

After I picked Finley up from school, we came home and used the Resurrection Eggs to go through the story of Christ's death and resurrection.  We read the Scripture verses and talked about each item hidden in the egg that pertained to that Scripture.  I don't think I was fully prepared for Finley's understanding during this activity, but it was so great to see!  These eggs gave us the opportunity to really talk about each part-- Judas, the whip, the thorns, the purple cloth, the thieves, the empty tomb, etc.  I really enjoyed this activity this year because it went into more detail than other activities that we had done and Finley couldn't wait to see what was in each egg!  Again, it was fun to have Finley show Jude the items and paraphrase what she and I had just talked about.  I love seeing the two of them interact!

Thursday:

I had planned for us to do something a little more "crafty", but at the last minute decided to do an Easter egg hunt with Finley during Jude's naptime.  I hid eggs in the backyard and then let her find them.  As she opened the eggs, I helped her lay out the pieces of paper hidden inside to form the bible verse John 3:16 using her name.  We had a pastor talk to our moms' group a couple of weeks ago about the importance of using this verse with the Easter story and emphasizing God's great love for us because that is what enables the whole story to be fully understood and appreciated.  Finley loves to "find" her name places so since I personalized the verse for her, she was so excited to see "F-i-n-l-e-y" spelled out.  We will definitely do versions of this activity again!!!!

Friday:
As in years past, we went to a walk through Good Friday service at a church in town.  I would have liked to spend a lot longer there, but I knew that with two kids, we would have to make it pretty quick.  The kids did great though and we were able to visit each station and talk about the garden, the torn veil, the spices, etc.  Like the resurrection eggs, I liked how we walked through the whole story from beginning to end and the authentic visuals that this church had displayed for us to touch and smell was very beneficial!  At the end, we could write our sins on a piece of paper and nail them to a huge cross.  Finley is still trying to understand sin.  She knows she doesn't always obey and she knows that she throws fits and is mean and has a bad attitude, but she still isn't quite getting why all of those things are wrong or that they are considered sin.  I helped her come up with a sin and then we nailed it to the cross.

Saturday:

We made our annual resurrection rolls and Finley loved that Jesus was a marshmallow!  She was very interested in the tomb and the big stone so she completely got into it being hollow after it was cooked.  Last year, she understood that Jesus Comes Back Alive! so I think it was fun for her to build on those concepts from a year ago.

Sunday:

Easter Sunday!  Devin and I went to a Good Friday service and even though the kids didn't participate in it with us, I must say that I love the dramatic change in mood that occurs from the Good Friday service and Easter Sunday!  Our church does a great job of setting the somber mood on Friday and the joyous one that occurs on Sunday.  We definitely celebrated our Risen Savior!  Thanks be to God!!!!

As a bonus, on our way out on Sunday, the director of the children's ministry at our church stopped us and said "I didn't have to teach today."  We looked at her and she continued "Finley did it for me.  She knew the whole story of Easter!"  Tears came to my eyes because God is so faithful!  I was feeling a bit alone all week because I wasn't sure how to teach her such important truths and even though I knew that God would honor my obedience and was completely in control of opening her heart to what she was hearing, it was just such a testimony to how amazing our God is!  I am so thankful that my little girl is able through His grace to process the story of Easter in her own way on her own level.  How beautiful that is and how humbling it is to be a part of God's work in the lives of my children!