Easter Week Activity

This year, I really wanted to focus on the Savior and His resurrection as a part of our Easter celebration. Each night, after dinner (starting the Sunday before Easter), we gathered together and learned about what happened to the Savior on that particular day. I am not a scripturian (so I am not claiming perfect accuracy), but I think we all had fun and learned a lot. I used a big stack of pictures from the Gospel Art Kit (purchased from the LDS Distribution center).  Each night, after the lesson, the children searched through the pile and pulled out the picture for that day. We hung one on the wall to represent that day. The pictures were really helpful to me, because I got most of my facts from the info on the back. Here is the rundown of our activities. It took a little work, but really paid in huge dividends!

Sunday (before Easter) : Palm Sunday

We talked about the triumphal entry. We discussed why Jesus was going to Jerusalem (passover).We talked about what "Hosanna" means (using the Bible Dictionary). For our activity, we acted out the triumphal entry (using simple costumes like blankets and bathrobes, palm leaves made from paper, and reading from Mark 11:1-10).

Monday: Jesus Cleansing the Temple

After I taught about Jesus' visit to the temple, we asked what Jesus would "cleanse" from our house if He came to visit. I gave each of the children little pieces of paper to write their answers on. They wrote things like-- teasing, saying "hate", whining, critisizing, etc.. We crumpled up the papers and swept them out of our house.

Tuesday: Teaching with Parables

I talked with the children about why Jesus used parables to teach. Earlier in the day, I asked some of my children to become familiar with a particular parable each. For our activity, we rotated to different stations, and learned some parables.

-The Parable of the 10 Virgins: I taught the parable (making sure to emphasize that the 10 virgins represent members of the church), then for our activity we took a preparedness quiz. It had 9 questions. They were things like, *Did you say your prayers this morning? *Did you come to family scripture study today? *Did you serve someone today? *What did we learn about at FHE last week? For each question they did what was right, they got a drop of oil (I used vitamin E pills). At the end of the quiz, I reminded them that in the parable, it took a very long time for the bridegroom to come. I asked for 5 oil drops back. I then told them that if they had any drops left-- they made it to the wedding with the wise virgins, but if they did not-- they needed to start working harder to put "oil" in their spiritual lamps.

- The Wise Man Built His House Upon The Rock: My son taught the parable, explaining the difference between building on Christ's teachings and example as opposed to placing our house on Satan's values (things like wealth, appearance, etc.). He placed a house he had built out of building blocks on a rock. We each took turns spraying it with a water bottle. He then put the house on a sandy foundation (or in this case packed flour). We took turns spraying with the bottle-- and it didnt take long for the foundation to crumble.

- The Good Samaritan: My daughter taught the parable, using the picture from the Gospel Art Kit. She had us each draw names of a family member, and asked us to do something kind for them before the night was over. We also brought some treats to our neighbors.

Wednesday: Rest in Bethany

I made sure that I emphasized that the scriptures don't reference exactly what happened on this day, but that many historians think Jesus rested in Bethany. We talked about Mary anointing Jesus with expensive oils, and what that represented. For our activity, I gave the children foot massages with "expensive lotion" while they rested.

Thursday: The Last Supper and Jesus' Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane

A lot happened this 5th day. Jesus had the last supper and instituted the sacrament, he washed the apostles feet, he preformed the atonement in the garden, and he was taken captive by the guards. For our activity: we had a special Jerusalem dinner. We ate olives, cheeses, crackers, bagels, sausage, yogurt, nuts, fruit, romaine lettuce (bitter herbs) and grape juice. I challenged the children to pray for help to know how they can more fully partake of the sacrament and gift of the atonement.

Friday: Trial and Crucifixion

I really tried to emphasize a reverent tone with this lesson. After talking about the trial and Crucifixion, we watched this short video about the atonement.
It ended up being the most spiritual night of the week.

Saturday: Jewish Sabbath

This is the only picture that I didn't find in the Gospel Art Kit

Tonight we talked a little about the Jewish Sabbath (day of rest). I also taught about Joseph of Arimethea, and the reason Pilate stationed guards outside of Christ's tomb.
Sunday: Christ's Resurrection

We started this day off by blasting Handel's Hallelujah Choir throughout the house. I told of Jesus appearing to Mary at the tomb, appearing as a stranger on the road to Emmaus, and later, showing himself to his apostles. My son studied 3 Nephi 11, and talked to us a little about Christ's visit to the Nephites. We had a special dinner, later in the day. I really wanted it to feel like a day of celebration.

I got a few of my ideas from the book "A Christ Centered Easter" by Janet and Joe Hales