All posts in Easter

Easter Songs We’re Singing!

By Lindsey | March 22, 2013 | Easter, Holidays and Events, Music, Reviews | No comments

Is your church planning a big Easter Egg Hunt this year?

Last year, we did a station-based event and this year, we’re planning on using an idea from Ministry to Children. With this plan, kids will work together with their parents to complete a resurrection booklet and make their own set of resurrection eggs. To finish off their experience, they will be visiting Miss Lindsey’s Moving Picture and Song Station (that’s me!) where they’ll watch this cool Easter Video and sing some songs before being showered with candy.

Easter Egg Hunt

Here’s what’s on our playlist for the big day!

Hosanna Rock from Yancy’s Little Praise Party

O Happy Day from Radio the World (Tru Curriculum)

I’ve Got The Joy by Go Fish Guys

Ain’t No Rock

Big House by Uncle Charlie

1,2,3 Jesus is Alive by Yancy (found a cool video at Worship House Kids to go along with this)

What’s on YOUR playlist?

Leave me a comment and tell me about it!

PDF

Palm Sunday Preschool Project

By Lindsey | March 21, 2013 | Easter, Holidays and Events | No comments

Easter is just around the corner and we’ve been busy celebrating this important time of the year. Yesterday, we worked on a Palm Sunday project that I’d love to share with you all! Ready to get started?

What You Need:

Kids Bible (we used the Preschooler’s Bible)
Green Construction Paper
Paper Plate
Glue
Scissors

What You Do:

I was inspired by these “Palm” branches over at Impress Your Kids, but alas, I had packed all my popsicle sticks and now they are sitting in a U-haul storage facility across town (did I mention we’re in the middle of a move?)

palm sunday craft

So, we decided to do something a little different.

Begin by reading the Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem out of a kid’s Bible (Matthew 21).

Tell kids you are going to make palm branches like the people had in the story.

Trace the kids hands on green construction paper (or have them trace their own if they are old enough).

My kids love having their hands traced, so we did it a lot. You could also trace one or two hands and fold the paper so you can cut a bunch at once. If you have preschool or older, cutting out their own hands would be good scissor practice too!

Once the hands are all cut out, have the kids glue them onto a paper plate. Make sure they leave a little space so they can hold onto the plate when they are finished.

Glue! Glue! Glue!

Finished Front!

Finished Back!

After we had completed the project, we all practiced shouting “Hosanna! Hosanna! Praise God!”

I also love the Hosanna song from Little Praise Party Happy Day Everyday CD for this occasion. It’s easy, fun and quick for the kids to catch onto! If you’re feeling really adventurous, you could have a kid pretend to be Jesus using one of those Horse Stick Pony toys (just tell kids to pretend it’s a donkey!). Have him walk across the room while the other kids throw their coats on the floor for him to walk on. On second thought, the parents might appreciate you leaving coats out of this exercise. :)

What kind of stuff are YOU doing to celebrate Palm Sunday or Easter? Leave me a comment and tell me all about it!

More Totally Cool Stuff to Check Out:

PDF

What’s in the Bible: Volume 10

By Lindsey | March 6, 2013 | Easter, Holidays and Events, Movies, Resources, Reviews | 5 Comments

Once again, I am astonished by the amount of information Phil Vischer and the crew have packed into this volume of “What’s in the Bible”. The usual cast of Buck Denver, Sunday School lady, the Pirate, and the rest of the gang do a great job of uncovering all kinds of questions and answers about what was going on between the Old Testament and New Testament. Historical background, cultural details, and all kinds of great information is laid out in order to give the viewer a much full picture of the New Testament and Scripture in general. Check out the trailer:

The level of information is pretty intense and in-depth. There was stuff I didn’t even know and I’m a Bible major! The ideal age group for this would probably be age 8 and up, but the younger crew might like some parts of it. Phil and the gang do a great job explaining the information in a way that’s easy to pick up and easy to remember. For example, check out this video snippet about the Four Jewish Groups of Jesus’ day on this page. You can check out a bunch of other video clips too and read the transcript if you want!

Coloring Pages

There are also a TON of coloring pages that accompany this volume. The coloring pages are high quality and are perfect for the Easter season coming up! There are a few specific Easter-themed like crosses, the empty tomb, and Jesus praying in the garden — so check them out!

In conclusion, I’m always impressed with the videos in the series, but this one really took it over the top. It is such a great resource for Sunday School teachers, parents, and Children’s Ministry people everywhere! If you haven’t picked up your series yet, please use the code below and do so today!

Be sure to use this What’s In the Bible coupon code when you do your shopping!

Of course, you could also enter the giveaway on this blog and try to win yourself a volume or two! Susan at What’s in the Bible kindly provided me with a Volume 10 (Life of Jesus) and Volume 1 (In the Beginning) to give away. Just leave a comment below telling me your favorite Bible Story. You can grab a bonus entries by tweeting once a day too (no need to tell me about it as long as the @lrwhitney shows up in the tweet).

Thanks and happy learning!

*UPDATE: CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING! *

PDF

TV Free: Create some family traditions

By Lindsey | April 22, 2011 | Easter, Holidays and Events, Parents | 1 Comment

The holidays are a great time to create some new family traditions (if you don’t have any) or to celebrate with some long-held customs. This week is especially well timed, since you don’t have the the distraction of the television to keep you from deepening the family bonds.

There’s some really good research out there about the benefits of family traditions — including strengthening parent-child relationships, decreasing rebellion, greater ability to resist peer pressure, and a whole lot more. Of course, family traditions are supposed to be fun too!

Here’s some of my favorite ideas:

Celebration of New Life: Visit a pet store or go for a walk and hunt for new life. Record your findings on paper, with a camera, or even video. After the journey, break out some traditional Easter treats (candy eggs, bunnies, etc). Discuss 2 Corinthians 5:17 with the kids (from the book Family Traditions)
Grab a couple ideas from My Sweetheart Moments Blog. There’s a picture of a really cute hand craft, especially for the little ones.
Art Museums: The Passion of Christ is the most-portrayed subject of Western artists. If you live in a metropolitan area, a visit to your local art museum may give your family much to ponder (from Mommy Life Blog)
Foot Washing: This Maundy Thursday event speaks volumes about Jesus’s desire for us to serve. Read John 13. Wrap a towel around your waist, as Jesus did, and wash your children’s feet. Your lives might never be the same (from Mommy Life Blog).
Check out the section on this blog called “Make it Real for Little Ones” for a great craft project for the younger crew.
Now’s a great time to start Family Devotions. Need an Easter devotional? Check out this one on Ministry to Children Blog. While you’re on the site, be sure to browse around for some great Easter video clips and suggested picture books.
Of course, we can’t forget about Egg Decorating. Eggs are a symbol of new life and if you blow out eggs, it can remind you of the empty tomb. For some great egg coloring ideas, check out this post.

Bonus:

Here’s some Earth Day traditions you might want to think about:

PDF

Easter Egg Hunt: Change in Plans

By Lindsey | April 18, 2011 | Easter, Holidays and Events | No comments

Our Easter Egg Hunt was scheduled for Palm Sunday (yesterday). Though we prayed for good weather, we did not get it. (That happens sometimes!). However, our Easter Egg Hunt Organizer came up with a new plan, based on stations. Here’s the letter to our volunteers, explaining how the day would work. I’m happy to report things went great! It might be something to think about it your Easter Egg Hunt gets rained out! (Names may or may not have been changed to protect the innocent).

To All Easter egg Hunt Helpers:

This is an outline of how things will run on Sunday.

Greeters (Sandra, Dennis) will be in place at the entrance to the gym. These are in addition to the regular greeters at front door. They will give everyone a warm welcome and show them to the registration table. The doors will be closed to Easter egg hunt goers until 10:00. Those going to the regular adult Sunday school classes will of course be allowed in. This is to make sure that all of the stations have ample time to set-up.

The registration table (Shakira, and Kaleb) will be set-up in the area between the infant nursery and classroom 108. The registration table team will fill out a registration slip for each family and give the children each a bag to put their eggs in. The bag will also contain an orientation sheet that explains how the Easter Egg Hunt will run and general information about the church.

After that the families will be able to move to the various stations at their convenience. There will be team members (Bonnie, Alan, Makayla, Susan) at each station handing out Easter eggs the stations are as follows:

Refreshments (Rechael, Donner, and Caren with Bonnie in charge of eggs)-Orange juice, coffee, doughnut holes, and whatever else can be found for a reasonable price will be served in the back of the gym near the kitchen. There will be coloring sheets on the tables. Kids earn eggs by coloring the pictures.
Family Photos (Larry and Charlotte with Stephanie in charge of eggs) – Family photos will be taken in the between classrooms 108 and 107. The family name and email address will be entered on the photo record sheet so that each family can receive their photo. Kids earn eggs by smiling nicely for the photo.
Bunnies (Joe and Dan with Andy in charge of eggs) – Live bunnies will be located at the back of the gym near the storage room. The kids will be allowed to pet and perhaps hold the rabbits (depending on how the rabbits feel about it).
Puppet Show- (Peggy and Puppeteers with Mickey in charge of eggs) – the puppet show will be preformed twice. An announcement will be made when the show is to begin so that the audience can gather. Families can choose which performance they wish to watch. Eggs can be distributed before or after the show.
Songs – Songs will be sung for about 7-8 minutes with a 5 minute break in between.

At promptly 11:00 the Easter egg hunt will end, so that the set-up team (Dan, Solomon, Hosea, and Dave) will have time to set-up the Tables and chairs for the dinner.

Here’s our Family Picture from the Event!

PDF

Looking for a Great Easter Skit?

By Lindsey | March 24, 2011 | Easter, Holidays and Events | 4 Comments

For our Easter Event, we’re hosting an Easter Egg Hunt. While one group hunts, the opposite age group (or stragglers) can watch a puppet show and sing some songs. I’ve been scouring the internet looking for some community friendly skits that might be adaptable for all ages. Here’s a few I’ve discovered:

Cymbals of Easter: Two puppets and an adult discuss the different symbols of Easter. Special meaning is found with each symbol: baby animals, an egg, candy, and a cross.

So, What’s Easter All About?: Is Easter really all about the Easter bunny, chocolate and school holidays? Or is there something more?

What is Easter All About? (popular title!): A host interviews three panelists, Miss Know-it-All, Mr. Don’t Know A Lot and Shaun (the sheep) to find out what this holiday really means.

Build Your Faith on the Rock: The tomb rock visits the kids (the one that was rolled away) to tell all about his/her experience that day. We did this one once in our Kids for Christ program. A rolling hit!

Bada-bing-bada-boom! JESUS IS ALIVE!: A couple of monster puppets tell the story of Jesus (about 20 minutes long). Comes with an object lesson, key Bible verse, and review questions!

Coloring Fun

Bonus: Here’s few sites that have coloring pages for Palm Sunday and Easter:

A Glorious Easter

For Toddlers and Preschoolers

PDF