This is something I wrote last year when my littles were 2.5. I couldn’t really find what i was looking for in describing Easter to my kids…so I prepared 6 days worth of explanation and activities.
Day 1: Choices and Consequences
We make choices all the time. What do you want for dinner? Or which movie do you want to watch? And all of our choices have consequences. Consequences are what happen after we make our choice.
Good choices have good consequences and bad choices have sad consequences. A good choice/consequence are: if you eat all your supper you might get dessert. A bad choice/consequence are: if you hit someone, you have to sit in time out. When we make a choice to behave badly (do something God, our mom or dad tell us not to), that’s called sin. The Bible tells us everybody sins…even mommies and daddies. (Romans 3:23)
Verse: Romans 3:23
Discussion: Make a chart of choices: what are some good choices and their consequences? What are some bad choices and their consequences? Can you think of any sins? How does it make you feel when there are bad consequences? How does it make mommy/daddy/God feel when we make bad choices? Mommy/Daddy/God love you so much, they want you to experience good consequences for good choices, and not have to have bad consequences for bad choices.
Day 2: Sin, Life, and Death
Yesterday we talked about our choices and about sin. The Bible tells us the consequence for our sins (all the wrong choices we make) is death. (Romans 6:23) Death is when someone is not alive anymore.
They don’t breathe, or talk, or eat, or sleep, or wake up…their body stops working. Since everybody sins…everybody has to die someday. But the Bible also tells us that when someone’s body dies, their spirit still lives. They can live in heaven with God or in hell without God. Heaven is a good place, because God is there.
Hell is a very sad place, because God is not there. The Bible tells us God is love (1 John 4:8) and if God is not in hell, then there is no love there, and there is nothing good in hell…only sad things.
The Bible tells us that if we love God and believe in Him, that when our body dies, our spirit will still live with Him forever in heaven. If we choose not to love God, then our spirit will live forever in hell…without the love and goodness of God.
Verse: Romans 6:23
Discussion: What do you think heaven is like? What about hell?
Craft: draw a picture of what you think each might look like
Day 3: Sacrifice
We have been learning about our choices and about sin…and about the consequences of sin (which is death). Before Jesus came, people made sacrifices for their sin. A sacrifice is something you want to keep, but you give it up for someone or something else. In the early Bible days, most people lived on farms and had sheep and other animals that they got their food and clothes from. Because God said the consequence for sin is death, the people would sacrifice (give up) one of their best sheep as an offering (a gift) to God to show Him that they were sorry for their sins and He would forgive them for their bad choices.
The people had to give lots of sacrifices for all of their sins. God accepted the gift of their sheep in place of the people having to die every time they made bad choices (sins).
Verse: John 1:29
Craft: Cut out a sheep shape and glue on cotton balls. Talk about sacrifice (Anna’s sacrifice in Frozen?) And how sheep were just a temporary covering for sins. We all needed a permanent sacrifice or we would die forever away from God’s love.
Day 4: Jesus
Jesus is God’s son. Jesus was a real person, who walked on this earth and loved people, and hugged them, and ate food with them and laughed and danced. He had a mommy and a daddy. But He was also God’s son, a part of God…perfect just like God is perfect. (And nobody is perfect except for God).
But the Bible says only perfect things can live in heaven. God loves us so much. He didn’t want us to have to die and live apart from Him in hell forever. So He sent His only son, who He loved very much, Jesus to be a sacrifice in our place. He died one time for everybody’s sins. If we believe in Jesus, then when God looks at us, He doesn’t see our sin, He sees Jesus. If we believe that He died for our sins and ask God to forgive us for all of our sins, then the Bible says “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) That means He will forgive us. Forgive means He won’t see our sin anymore. He will not be angry or sad with us anymore. There is nothing you can do that is too bad for God to forgive you. There is nothing you can do that will make Him love you any less.
No person is good enough to get to heaven by themselves. We can only spend eternity (forever) with God, if we love Jesus and accept His forgiveness.
Verse: John 14:6
Craft: Get a white carnation—cut it very short. Place it in a cup of water and add a LOT of red food coloring. Watch the carnation suck up the red dye. This is perfect, pure, white Jesus taking on our sins. Talk about how when God sees us, He doesn’t see the yucky red sin, He sees Jesus’ sacrifice and He forgives us.
OR: Fill a jar ½ full of water…add a couple drops of red food coloring. This is our sin. Then add drops of bleach until the red disappears. This is how God sees us, after Jesus takes on our sin. We are clean again in God’s sight.
Day 5: Jesus’ Death
When Jesus was here on earth, He taught all the people about God. Some people loved Jesus and some people did not, just like today. Some of your friends probably love Jesus…some of them may not. The people who did not like Jesus, killed him on a cross. (Show a cross) They were very mean to Jesus and made Him hang on the cross (go into as much or little detail as you feel appropriate) until He died. Jesus was willing to die for us because He loves us. So he let them kill Him. It was very sad.
When Jesus was on the cross, He took everybody’s sins on Himself. He said that instead of us having to die for our sins, HE would die in our place (just like the lambs they used to sacrifice)(John 1:29) But since Jesus was God’s perfect son, God said…”no more sacrificing animals.
My son has died for everyone, once and for all. Every sin that anyone has ever done is now forgiven. Any sin that you (insert child’s name) will ever make, has already been forgiven by Jesus dying on the cross.” All you have to do is believe that that is true and ask Him to forgive you. If you believe and ask Him to forgive you, then you will be forgiven and when your body dies, your
spirit will live in heaven with God forever.
Verse: Romans 5:8
Craft: Get two popsicle sticks, glue them together and write child’s name on them. Jesus died for you.
Cut a cross out of the center of a piece of paper and lay the outline on a piece of contact paper. Add bits of tissue paper to sticky contact paper. Place another sheet over the top when child is done and hold up to window for a “stained-glass” cross.
Use painter’s tape to form a cross on a canvas or heavy paper. Have child paint the paper. Remove the tape to reveal a cross.
Day 6: Jesus’ Resurrection
BUT the story doesn’t end with Jesus dying. 3 days later, some women went to the place where Jesus’ body was, but when they got there, His body wasn’t there. He was ALIVE. (Matthew 28:6) God showed us that He has power over death. God has power over everything and He made everything (John 1:3). God is perfect. He is Life and He is perfect Love. If we believe in Him, we will have LIFE forever in heaven with Him.
THAT is what Easter is about. We celebrate God’s love for us. We celebrate Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We celebrate Jesus/death and resurrection (coming back to life). And we celebrate the forever
life we can have with Him if we believe in Him.
Verse: John 3:16
Have one empty egg in your child’s Easter basket to
symbolize the empty tomb
Check pinterest for resurrection rolls recipe
Discussion: Talk with your child about why Jesus died and what that means for them. Ask your child if he/she would like to accept Jesus’ forgiveness.
Thanks all and stay tuned for a different variation of the Easter discussion. (Where our focus will be on the Easter story more than the Easter truths).