Do you dye easter eggs or not?
Just as my husband and I had waded through what the Lord would have for us to teach our children and model for them regarding Halloween, which I write about here, we have also considered Easter, Christmas, and other holidays.
At first I found myself looking for ways to justify doing traditions such as dying eggs with my kids because I loved doing it when I was little. I figured, I did and I didn’t turn out so bad, so why not?
But to be honest, my conscience wouldn’t allow me to leave it at that.
So after much prayer and thoughtful examination, my husband and I felt that if we could find good ways to redeem Easter eggs we should try, to be a light, just as we did by doing the pumpkin gospel with our children, which you can download free here.
Just as there are ways in which we can partner with Christ to Redeem Halloween, or any day really, we can also choose to make Him the greater, and the greatest focus of every holiday. Since He is the reason for which we celebrate Easter Sunday in the first place, it really isn’t that hard to find a beautiful story to teach and focus on. The story of the Cross.
And in the midst of teaching that beautiful love story, there are other stories that we can share to ADD to our child’s learning and for them to learn how faith is lived out in every day lives of ordinary people like you and I. Finding good books that our children can relate to that point to the cross are on our priorities list in raising our children.
So when we came across the timeless classic that soon became one of our children’s favorite Easter books, The Legend of the Easter Egg.
Illustrated By: James Bernardin
Published By: Zondervan Publishing House
Age Group: 4-8 years of age
Purchase the Book here!
About the Book: This book does a wonderful job of showing symbolism for the traditions and symbols of Lent and Easter. In this story, Thomas and his sister, Lucy learn first hand what it means to suffer. One night Lucy catches scarlet fever and Thomas is sent to live with John and Mary Sonneman in their small prairie town.
The symbolism in this book is so significant and worth teaching to children though they might not catch themselves. The first is when Mary wipes the stove ash off Thomas’s face and forehead. Traditionally Protestant Christians have observed what they call Ash Wednesday where they practice smearing ash on their foreheads to remind them of their sins and the need to repent. On Maundy Thursday, sometimes people wash each other’s feet as Jesus did for His disciples during The Last Supper. In this book, Mary does this for Thomas.
Mary also teaches Thomas that the egg symbolizes Jesus breaking free of the tomb of death. Thomas dyes the eggs and prays by himself for the first time, which is a sweet example for children to witness another child praying on his own. It is on Easter Sunday that he is able to reunite with his sister Lucy again and share his new faith.
The symbolism of the Easter Egg has long been a Christian tradition although there are many folklore attached to it as well. I personally struggled, as a young mom, with the battle to focus on the true meaning of each holiday. I thought I had to compete, to battle the cultures wayward ways, if you will, as a good soldier for Christ. And with all the fun activities that the culture had attached to each holiday, it was all becoming stressful.
It wasn’t until I realized I didn’t need to allow the enemy to wear me down competing with his tactics of distraction. That was a distraction of it’s own. Instead, I needed to prayerfully utilize the tools I felt good in my conscience about, as long as I was able to point my children to the true meaning behind the holiday.
Because we believe strongly in making all learning fun, regardless of if it is learning about faith based topics or foundational educational topics, I was determined to find tools that would equip me in being able to accomplish both of my goals, to both teach my children about Jesus and make the learning fun.
So, I am going to share with you a few of the activities we have done to make Easter fun while teaching our children the true meaning is still focused and centered on Christ.
Over the years we have read the Legend of the Easter Egg before dying eggs, we have used the hard boiled eggs in a family Messianic Seder to represent the hardened heart of Pharaoh. And we have saved and reused the shells from the beautiful painted eggs to make other crafts such as this eggs shell cross below, which my mom used to do with us kids when we were little.
Stained Glass Crosses
While the kids are making their crosses for the window I read them books on Easter or we do a devotion reading scripture about the death and resurrection.
What you’ll need:
Contact Paper
Scissors
Tissue Paper (colored)
Brown Construction Paper
You cut stripes of brown construction paper for the exterior of the cross. Depending on the age of the kiddo, either you or he/she can do the cutting. Then have the child place the brown stripes on the contact paper. Have each child cut small shapes out of tissue paper and place in the middle of the cross. To finish, put another piece of contact paper on the back and then cut out the cross. You are all done and can tape it to your window for a stained glass window art effect!
Fun Fact: Farm fresh eggs are often difficult to peel after they have been boiled. Store bought eggs are usually 2 weeks old by the time you bring them home.
Solution: Let your farm eggs age for a week before you boil them and the whites won’t stick to the shell as badly when you crack and peel them.
Another tip is to cool your hard boiled eggs in ice, immediately after boiling.
May God Presence Be Fully Known in Your Home this Easter!
Your Sister in the Journey,
Angie Tolpin
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