A simple Easter activity booklet that supports the telling of the Easter Story. Originally made for activity bag for Easter Sunday, but has many uses and I'm sharing here so others can use it for Easter this year.
This activity could also be used during the Lent period, a page a day maybe as you tell the story.
I'm linking this activity to Wonderful in an Easter kind of way and Explore and Expresswith the Lenten Link - Up Party
Another great idea! Thanks for spreading the wealth!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting idea to link the events of Holy Week with awareness of emotions. I know how important it is to help children to recognize their own emotions and the emotions of those around them. I have little experience doing this myself yet, so I'm hesitant to offer suggestions, and yet...
ReplyDeleteMight I gently wonder whether the last page demands a particular emotional response which not all children might honestly feel every year? I also wonder whether it would work to add more emotions rather than relying so heavily on "happy" and "sad". I love the disciples feeling "sleepy" at the garden! Could people be described as "excited" on Palm Sunday, for example, or could the Foot-Washing page try to incorporate Peter's conflicting (or at least, changing) emotions?
I offer these thoughts only as food for thought! Thanks for the dialogue, and sharing your work!
Hi Storyteller
ReplyDeleteI haven't responded to this before simply because I haven't had time to sit down to do so. When I originally created this it was for the Easter Activity Bags, and I as I dislike colouring for colourings sake I felt I had to allow children to or at least encourage parents to acknowledge a response or at least not complete passivity in the activity. I felt the best way to do this was through feelings as this was something we heavily relied on in the youngest sunday group, this group included children who had special needs and children for whom English was not their first language, and all were 6 or under. So the emotions we focussed on were happy, sad and cross (being the most obvious) we would sign these, and use symbols to support this. On top of this we would extend to the more expressive/ complicated emotions in a light way. I therefore decided in the context of this activity to simply use this as a blue print, except for the garden page which I felt could not be happy or sad! I actually did not use this booklet at all this Easter and I am saving the object story till next year so I'm pretty sure that I will change this to include more emotions, thanks for comment.
With regard to the last page I had not intended this to be a neccecarly deep reflective response, as I agree they may not feel that each year and additionally in the context of a "busy bag" during a church service I doubt this would be easily illicited. However I felt some children may go deeper and it would be wise to allow deeper reflection and should they not be in that position they would be able to draw them selves and acknowledge their feeling in relation or not to the Easter story e.g. cross (because I really want to go and find eggs) happy (because I loved that song we just sung). Thanks again for taking the time to look at the post. Can't wait to do my object story in 12 months!!!! :)