Easter - Easter Eggs
AGE: Infants and Juniors |
THEME: Easter Eggs |
AIM: |
| To use Easter eggs as a focus for thinking about the Christian celebration of Easter. |
PREPARATION: |
You will need:
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INTRODUCTION: |
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Place a hard-boiled egg in a bag and an egg-shaped stone in another bag. Invite two children to come out and carefully feel the object in each bag. Each child should feel each bag in turn. Ask the children if the objects felt the same or different (they should feel similar). Ask them to guess what is in each bag. Invite two more children to take the egg and the stone out of the bags. Introduce a third bag containing the cream egg. Ask a child to come out and feel the bag. Is it an egg or a stone? Ask the child to remove the cream egg. Comment that the children will have seen these in the shops for some months. Comment that, like the hard-boiled egg, the cream egg is shaped like a small stone. |
DEVELOPMENT: |
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Bring out a selection of larger round stones and ask the children if these remind them of the hard-boiled egg or the cream egg (not really, they are much bigger). Bring out a selection of bigger chocolate Easter eggs and place them on a table at the front. Ask the children to focus on the larger Easter eggs and the larger stones and to listen carefully to some words from the Bible. Ask an older child to read Luke 24:1-3. Ask the children if they can now think why Easter eggs are given at this time of year. Establish that the egg reminds us of the stone that was rolled away on the first Easter Day. Bring out the 'fresh' egg. Explain to the children that this is not hardboiled. Ask them if anyone has ever been to a farm and seen a hen sitting on eggs and discuss how chicks hatch from these eggs. Re-read the verses from the Bible. Can anyone think of any other reason that Easter eggs are given? Establish that the egg is a symbol of new life and that at Easter Christians remember Jesus died but came back to life again. Sing a traditional Easter hymn or 'Lord of the Dance' (pay particular attention to the final verse). |
PRAYER AND REFLECTION: |
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Draw children's attention to a large stone at the front and ask them to focus on it, thinking about the story of the first Easter Day. Listen to the following prayer: 'Thank you for the fun we have at this time of the year when we give and receive Easter eggs. Thank you for all the signs of new life we see at this time of year - baby animals, birds, leaves and flowers. Help us to remember the story of the first Easter.' |
CONCLUSION: |
| Either sing another traditional Easter song OR Pass round and share pieces of Easter egg. While these are eaten, play some music. |
CURRICULUM LINKS: |
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Easter celebrations around the world: egg rolling, egg cracking, Easter bunnies, Easter egg hunts etc. |