Our Easter Lesson/Activity

I have been trying to come up with a way to teach the kids the true meaning of Easter. I am so excited about what we are doing. We already did candy baskets and an egg hunt but we did it the first week of spring. I gave a FHE lesson about the Resurrection from the Sunbeam manual - click here Then I found this in the Friend Magazine. Easter Week Saturday, April 16 An important holiday called Passover was only six days away. Many people were coming to Jerusalem so they could offer sacrifices in the temple on that day. Jesus walked to Bethany, a village near Jerusalem. He would stay there for five nights with His friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Mary anointed His feet with oil. See John 12:1–3. Sunday, April 17 Jesus walked from Bethany to Jerusalem. He rode into the city on a donkey, as a verse in the Old Testament said He would. People recognized Him as their King, shouting, “Hosanna,” and laying down palm leaves in front of the donkey to keep dust from getting on the Savior. Jesus visited the temple and then returned to Bethany. See Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:1–11; Mark 11:1–11. Monday, April 18 Jesus saw people buying and selling things in the temple. Because He wanted the temple to be a “house of prayer,” He made them leave. Then He healed people who were lame or blind. The jealous priests were angry with Him. See Matthew 21:12–17; Mark 11:15–19. Tuesday, April 19 Jesus taught people in the temple and on a nearby hill called the Mount of Olives. The priests plotted to kill Jesus. One of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, agreed to turn Jesus over to the priests in exchange for 30 silver coins. See Matthew 25:31–46; 26:14–16. Wednesday, April 20 The scriptures do not say what Jesus did on this day. He may have spent the day with His disciples. You could read the parable of the ten virgins, a story Jesus taught to His disciples to help them prepare for His Second Coming. See Matthew 25:1–13. Thursday, April 21 Jesus’s disciples got ready for the Passover meal. During the meal, Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray Him. Then, to help them remember Him, He gave them the sacrament for the first time. Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to suffer for our sins and to pray to God. People came with swords and arrested Him. The disciples ran away in fear. See Matthew 26:17–29, 36–56. Friday, April 22 Jesus was taken to the high priest, Caiaphas. Jesus’s disciple Peter denied that he knew Him. Jesus was questioned by the governor, Pilate, and by the king, Herod. He was condemned to die on the cross. Jesus was crucified. A rich man named Joseph laid Jesus in his tomb. Jesus’s mother, Mary, and Mary Magdalene visited the tomb. See Matthew 26:57–72; 27:1–2, 27–37; Luke 23:44–46, 50–56. Saturday, April 23 Jesus’s body lay in the tomb. A large stone was put in front of the door. The wicked priests asked Pilate to have guards stand outside the tomb to make sure no one went inside. See Matthew 27:57–66. Easter Sunday, April 24 Jesus was resurrected! He had risen from the tomb. An angel descended from heaven and rolled away the stone. Jesus told His disciples to teach and baptize others and promised to always be with them. See Matthew 28. I printed them up and put each day along with a few pieces of candy into a balloon and blew it up. Now every day we can pop a balloon and see what Jesus was doing the 8 days before his Resurrection. I am so excited to share with the kids the true meaning of Easter.