Resurrection Eggs

My first year teaching at a Christian school, 

after previously being in public school, 

I was excited at the thought of really teaching and celebrating Easter.

Not just the chicks and bunnies,

but the real reason.

Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus!

I had heard or seen somewhere about 'Resurrection Eggs'.

So, for my first class at the Christian school, 

I prepared Easter eggs for a special egg hunt.

I hid the eggs while they were at recess and when they came back in I laid out all the rules for our non-competitive egg hunt.

We looked with our eyes, hands behind our back, and when someone discovered an egg they could place it in my basket, up front.  

The kids did so well with this.
They filled my basket up front with all the eggs they found.
Once they were finished we all sat down so I could open the eggs, one at a time.

The eggs were numbered.
So, I dug through the basket to find the egg with a 'number 1' on it. 

 I opened the egg and pulled out what was inside.
I asked the kids to think about the real meaning of
Easter and the stories they knew in the Bible.

Together, we discerned what each item in the eggs represented.
Then, because the students were in first grade and could read,
I pulled out a scripture that was also hidden
 in the egg and let a student read it aloud.

Together, we went through the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, with the students telling me the stories that they knew from the Bible that aligned with items hidden in the eggs and the scriptures with them.

The kids LOVED this and every year it was one of my favorite activities
because we got to take a little stroll through the
life of Jesus with them telling the stories.

So...

Years later, when Dash came around, 

I formed a simplified version for him.

It's become a tradition that he looks forward to, each year!

Here's what I did...

I hid numbered eggs around our backyard.

I told him that we would be learning something about Jesus with them and when he found them he needed to place them in the basket but not open them.

He did the egg hunt and then we sat down in the shade.
I had him find egg 'number one' and open it.
And, the story of Jesus got shared in a simple activity
 that was just short enough to hold Dash's attention.

I started this tradition when Dash was only three.

And, the egg hunt was very simple with just a few eggs.

This year Dash is five.

Below, I will show you the 14 eggs I have planned for this year.
I think he is still too young for me to read all the verses
(his attention span only lasts so long)
but I will tell the stories as he opens each egg.

Of course, I rarely have to tell the stories anymore because when he opens each egg he yells, "I know this one!" and then he tells ME the story!

Egg Number One

What's inside?

I put an apple in it to represent the fruit on the
'Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil' that Adam and Eve ate.
This apple represents the problem of sin.

I'll remind him of the story of Adam and Eve
and our need for a savior from sin.

And, I'll be sure to ask...

"Who is that savior?"

Egg Number Two

What's inside?

The 'binki' or pacifier reminds us of a special baby that was born.
We will talk about his birth at Christmas.
(Luke 2:6-7)

He definitely knows the story about the baby in the manger!

Egg Number Three

 What's inside?

This one is a golf pencil to emphasize Jesus growing up
and spending time in the Scriptures.
 (Luke 2:46-47)

Egg Number Four

What's inside?

Gold fish crackers to represent the five loaves of bread and two fish that Jesus miraculously used to feed the five thousand.  It amazed me how even at age three he guessed this story when I had asked what came to mind when he thought of fish and Jesus.
(Luke 9:13-147)

Egg Number Five

What's inside?

A bandaid to represent how Jesus healed so many people. 
(Luke 17:11-18)

Egg Number Six

What's inside?

Googly eyes to represent Jesus healing the blind.

Egg Number Seven

What's inside?

Thirty pieces of silver (also known as 'three dimes')
to represent Judas' betrayal.
(Matthew 26:14-16)

Egg Number Eight

What's inside?

Bread to represent the last supper and Jesus as the bread of life.
(Mark 14:22-26)

Egg Number Nine

What's inside?

A toy soldier to represent the soldiers that arrested and beat Jesus.

(And, of course, he wanted to play with the soldier before we moved on).

Egg Number Ten

What's inside?

A mini card of a king to represent the soldiers' mocking  Jesus when they placed a crown of thorns on his head and called him, "King of the Jews".
(Mark 15:16-20)

Egg Number Eleven

What's inside?

A nail to represent Jesus' crucifiction.

Dash knew exactly what was done with that nail when our sins were punished at the cross.  He told me how Jesus took our spot so we would never have to be punished and go to 'the bad place' but could be forgiven.

The nail represents unconditional love when a Father sent His only Son to be punished, despised, and to die so that all we would have to do is accept His grace and forgiveness for any of our evil or sin.  

The nail represents the ultimate gift.

Egg Number Twelve

What's nside?

The rock represents how Jesus' body was wrapped in cloths and placed in a tomb.  A rock was rolled and sealed before it and soldiers posted to guard it.
(Mat. 27:65-66)

Egg Number Thirteen

This is the special egg that Dash couldn't wait to open
the first time I got it and we did this.

What's inside?

The egg is empty!

Just the like the tomb!

The good news is that Jesus did not stay dead.  He took our place but then beat death.  His resurrection is the good news of Easter.  He is alive!


Most resurrection egg hunts end with the empty egg.
They usually start without the apple for sin.
 I added the apple and this last egg to help make it more complete.

Egg Number Fourteen

What's inside?

This heart sticker represents where Jesus lives now.
Dash and I talked about how Jesus lives in our hearts when we ask him
to come in, thank him for dying for us, and ask him to forgive us of our sins.
(John 3:16)

Happy Easter!

(Oh, and for Dash's grandparents and those who know him....below is a video clip of the first time we did this.  He is so stinkin' cute!)

Who Knew?

Who knew that giving Dash a pair of scissors
would allow me so much free time?

It's not like he's never used scissors before.
He's cut many things over the past couple of years.

He's cut the grass...

(I encourage that when Daddy's been on travel
and extra busy and the yard needs a little TLC)

He's cut many art projects at pre-school...

He's even spent a lot of time cutting from two Kumon books I bought him with the goal of strengthening his fine motor skills...

But, lately, he's taken it to a new level!

It began with me working on some project.

It seems I always have some craft or project
that is in progress and never gets finished.

And, Dash would see me cutting out things.
He quickly offered to help.

But, I didn't want MY project helped.
So, I offered to give him some papers to work on.

I printed out random clipart from the computer.
I used grayscale and economy print to save on ink.
I printed out a few sheets and let him get to work.

I had NO idea that he would keep asking and asking and asking for more!

Eventually, I had to get him a shoebox in
order to store all of his finished items. 

This thing is full!!!!

Honestly, I don't know how many pictures he has cut out.

 
But, I do know it has given me HOURS of uninterrupted time
to get my own projects done.

He loves sitting next to me and chatting as he cuts away.

And, he's very proud of his work!

And, I love sitting next to him while I do my projects!
I get to see how much he has improved with
his cutting skills and I get the best company!

So, why write this post about cutting?

Just figured there might be another mom out there with projects they need to work on and a kid out there who likes the challenge of cutting out tons of pictures their mom prints for them.
Who knows?

I never would've guessed Dash would have enjoyed it so much...



 

...and become so good at it!
  

Gold, Frankincense, & Myrrh

For Christmas we travel to my folks' house.

On Christmas morning, Dash opens a ton of presents.

He opens presents from Santa.

He opens presents from his grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.

He used to always open presents from me and my husband, too.

But, not this year.

As I explained in my last post about the 'Jesse Tree', I really want to make sure Dash focuses on the real reason for the season and not just presents and Santa.

Due to our Jesse Tree tradition,
we've been reviewing the Bible stories leading up to Jesus' birth.
We've spent the whole month of December doing this, but...

There are still ALL those gifts to be opened.

We try to emphasize the "giving" and not "receiving" but how
can a four year old not focus on the presents?

I recently read a post on a blog that my friend Danielle had linked to
on her Facebook page.  (You can find that post here). 

Basically, it tells of a great idea for how to focus even the presents your child will open on the real reason for the season.  

We're going to adapt it a bit, but I am excited to start this new tradition!

Don't worry, I'm about to explain what it is...

We're going to start this new tradition on Christmas Eve when it is just our family and before the chaos of Christmas morning.  

Dash is going to get three presents to open.

We will set them out and then discuss why he gets three gifts.

My husband will read the Christmas story and tell how the Magi,
who visited Jesus, brought three gifts.

The first gift:

GOLD

Gold represented Jesus 'kingship' and deity.

It also allowed Mary and Joseph  money and provision.

We know from the scriptures that they were poor.
Maybe it is what helped them with much of the travel they ended up enduring?

It definitely was a BLESSING to them!

Dash, too, will get a 'GOLD' gift.
This gift will be a blessing to him. 
It will be something that he has wanted or will love.
A toy.

The second gift:

FRANKINCENSE

The frankincense represented Jesus' priesthood.

Frankincense was used in the temple as a sacred incense.
(Imagine our prayers rising up with the aroma).
When Jesus, as God, came to the earth, died and rose again, he made it so that we never have to go through a priest in order to
converse or have a relationship with God.
He IS our high priest.
We can talk straight to him.
At his death, the 18 inch thick 'veil' that separated the Holy of Holies,
in the temple, ripped in two.
We are no longer separated from God, in Jesus. 

Frankincense is a reminder that God meets with us.
He loves being with his people.

When Mary and Joseph received the frankincense
they were caring for their child.
But, the frankincense is also a reminder that God was always caring for them.

Dash, too, will get a 'FRANKINCENSE' gift.  
He will receive something that will help him keep his focus on God.

A devotional gift.

Maybe a children's Bible or 'What's in the Bible with Buck Denver?' DVD.
As he gets older, it could be a journal or worship CD, etc.

The third gift:

MYRRH

Myrrh was actually a scented oil used for embalming dead bodies.

What a strange gift to bring to a child!!! 

Except that it was a prophetic gift.

It spoke of how Jesus would ultimately give up his life as the ransom needed to be paid for the punishment of sin for all people.
Since humans can never be pure enough to make their way to God on their own, God would make His way to us, via taking the wrath of all our sin. 

Myrrh spoke of Jesus' future destiny.

Dash, too, will get a 'MYRRH' gift.
It will speak of his 'future'.

My husband and I will write him a letter speaking blessings upon him.
We will write about what characteristics and personality traits we
see in him, now, that God can use in his future.

We will emphasize his skills and talents and tell him how proud we are of him.
We will take this time, before opening his 'myrrh' gift
and speak loving words into him.

Since Dash is only four years old, we probably won't read the letter.
His attention span doesn't last long.
We will just speak the words in audible praise, love, encouragement, and compliments straight to him.
But, I will keep the letters in a box for him.
And, when he is old enough to read them, he can keep them on his own.

But, since he would enjoy opening a present, too...

his 'MYRHH' gift will also be clothes.

They can represent Jesus body 'wrapped in cloth',
both as a baby in a manger and after he died for us, in a tomb.
(Of course, the good news is that three days later the tomb was empty!)

So, back to Christmas Eve...

Dash will get three gifts.

The first, his 'GOLD' gift, will be a toy.

This year it will be the Clifford dog he has been begging
for every time we are at Target.

I think I will try to wrap it in gold paper with a big bow.

The second gift, his 'FRANKINCENSE' gift,
will be something to focus him on God.

This year it will be the Ultimate Read and Share Bible, Volume 2.

We have Volume 1 and he loves it.
It comes with a DVD and he has seen the show many times and then when he flips through the pages of the Bible he can tell us the stories,
almost in exact quotation from the show. 

The third gift, his 'MYRRH' gift, will be a letter of adoration pointing out some of his traits we have witnessed this year.  

His athleticism,

His sense of humor and the way he always makes people laugh,

His patience and precision with drawing, writing, and learning

And, his 'MYRRH' gift will also include a clothing item,
which this year is Spiderman pajamas!

I'm totally looking forward to this new tradition of aligning his three gifts with reminders of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection!!!

I think we'll finish off Christmas Eve by singing 'Happy Birthday' to Jesus and letting Dash blow out the candles on a cupcake or cake.


Hope your family is enjoying many wonderful traditions this holiday season!

Merry Christmas!