Multi-Sensory Easter Story Talk and Activity

This talk is suitable for smaller groups of children or even for a larger group as long as you have plenty of resources to go around!  The talk goes through key events of the Easter story and involves touch, taste, sound, sight and smell.  Beware allergies!!

You will need: bread, some stones, salt water in a pot, nails, a piece of wood, salt and vinegar crisps, a bandage, a hollow, chocolate Easter egg, scented candle and lighter

bread- Talk about the last supper.  Jesus gathered his friends around to share a last meal, to prepare them for what would happen and tell them how to remember him.  Share out pieces of the bread

stone- Gethsemane.  After the meal, Jesus went to a garden to pray for strength and that God would help him in the coming days.  Children take a stone and hold onto it.  Think of things in their life that are hard.  Ask God to help them.

Nails- After being arrested, Jesus is led out to be crucified and is nailed to the cross.  Hammer the nails into the wood and talk about the sights and sounds of the crucifixion

Salt and vinegar crisps- People were standing with Jesus while he was on the cross and gave him some sour wine or vinegar to drink. This sourness also helps us to remember the pain Jesus went through on the cross. Pass round the salt and vinegar crisps.

Salt water-Get a couple of children to dip their finger into the water so that they can taste the salt.  This saltwater represents the tears of the people who cried for Jesus when he died on Good Friday.

Bandages- When Jesus was dead, his friends took him down from the cross, wrapped his body and put him in a tomb, putting a stone in front of the entrance. so that it was completely closed.  They couldn't prepare his body because it was their special Holy day and they wanted to keep him safe until it was over and they could come back.

Hollow Easter egg- This represents the closed tomb (Hold the egg to show that it is completely sealed- you might need to hold it if it comes in two separate halves!)

Scented candles-Women arrived on the third day with spices to get the body ready (light the candle so the children can smell it)

But...

Pick up the egg- and break it open to reveal the hollow inside.  Jesus wasn’t there! Like a baby chick breaks out of an egg shell (or a butterfly out of a cocoon) as a sign of the start of new life, Jesus rose to new life out of the tomb. He was no longer dead.  He is alive!  When Jesus died, it seemed as if everything had gone wrong for his friends and followers but God had other plans.  Something amazing happened! Even if we’ve done wrong things or think that things will never get better, God has other plans! If we go to Jesus, say sorry to him and ask him to help us then, because he loves us so much, we have a chance at a new start too.  This is exciting and amazing and is a gift for everyone!

Share out the egg with the children as a symbol of the gift of new life and new starts that Jesus brings us.

Printable Palm Sunday Card Matching Game

Here is a simple game to play at home or at church that will help to introduce the key symbols of the Palm Sunday story- palm leaves, donkey, robes laid down on the floor and a crown to symbolise Jesus' kingship.  

Click here to print out the picture sheet.

Cut out the picture squares and back them with card so that the ink of the pictures doesn't show through the back when they are lying face down!  If you want to keep the cards long term it might be good to laminate them too.

Mix the cards up and lie them all face down.  Children take it in turns to turn over two cards.  If they are a matching pair then children can keep them.  If they don't match, then replace the cards and wait for the next turn.  The winner is the person with most matching pairs at the end of the game.

Use the pictures to either introduce the story or to reinforce the elements of the story and get the children to explain in their own words what the pictures mean or to retell the story.  Use this as a springboard to acting out the story!

Exploring Lent: Quick and Easy Prayer Pretzels

Here is another idea that you could easily do at home as a family Lent activity.  It would also work well in any setting with an oven!

I've always fancied making pretzels but, to be completely honest, I don't have a lot of spare time for bread baking and I find that, if you are working with a children's group, making real pretzels is not going to fit into your time allocation!  These are scone 'pretzels' so not the same but much quicker than the traditional kind!!

Pretzels are traditionally linked with Lent because they are said to resemble arms crossed in prayer.  I can't say that this is a position I have ever prayed in, but I certainly like the link!  Here's how to make them and then ideas to help you include some prayer in the activity...

Ingredients: 
100g self raising flour

30g butter

milk to mix

tablespoon sugar

Pinch of salt

1 Egg

• Preheat the even to 180C
• Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Mix in the sugar and salt.
• Gradually add milk to the mixture until a dough is formed.  Don’t let it get too sticky!
• Split the dough into 6.  Make each piece into a sausage shape and then form it into a pretzel shape (see photo).  

• Place on a greased baking tray.
• whisk an egg and use a pastry brush to ‘wash’ it over the top of each pretzel shape.
• Bake pretzels for 10 mins until golden
• Leave to cool and then eat with butter and jam!

• When the pretzels are baking make a list of (or draw) favourite foods that you want to thank God for.  
• Talk about people in the world and in our own country who don't have enough food and ask God to help them.
• Ask children to make up a short grace to say, thanking God for food.  They might like to get inventive and use a familiar tune such as 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'!
• Say/sing the grace and eat the pretzels!