Get ready for Lent

Can you believe that Lent is just around the corner?  Less than two weeks until we enter a season of renewed prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in preparation for the celebrate of Easter.  I know that is is early, but if you are looking for an activity to help explain the meaning of Lent to your kids (the ones you are raising or the ones in your classrooms), here's one you could try:

My take on Resurrection Eggs-  Complete with documents available for you to print (click on the documents below for a link) and easy-to-find items.  Start with an old egg carton and twelve plastic Easter eggs.  This might just be one of the cheapest crafts that actually can be used year after year.

 

 Each egg contains an object related to Holy Week and a slip of paper explaining the item with a corresponding Bible Verse.

 

 

The items included are:
1. Holy Water- for when Jesus washed the feet of the Disciples on Holy Thursday
2. Picture of hands breaking bread- for the institution of the Eucharist
3. A nickel- for the silver coins Judas got for betraying Jesus
4. A Lamb- (lamb picture with fuzzy cotton glued on) because Jesus was our sacrificial Lamb
5. Piece of leather string- for the leather whips used on Jesus at the scourging
6. Picture of crown of thorns- for the crown placed on Jesus, our King of kings
7. Small wooden cross- for the cross Jesus carried on Good Friday
8. Three Nails- for the nails that held Jesus to the cross
9. Picture of a soldier with a spear- for the lance that pierced Jesus' side after His death
10. Small piece of white cloth- for the linen that they wrapped Jesus' body in
11. Small rock- for the stone rolled in front of the tomb
12. Empty Egg- for the empty tomb on Easter morning- Alleluia!  He is risen!

I also created a letter to be sent home to the parents of the kids that do this activity.  The idea was that they would create it in class, listen to the story, and then after going home, be able to use the objects as memory devices to tell the story in their own words.

decoration for the top of the egg cartons

objects with Scripture verses

parent letter

 I have made this with lots of kids, ranging in age from preschool to ... high school actually. The last time that I made this I had several middle & high school helpers, and about half way through, they asked if they could all make one too!  I then heard stories from the parents of the older kids about how they went home and showed off their project and then put it in a safe place so their siblings couldn't hurt it.  Needless to say, I think that this activity appeals to a range of ages!  Enjoy!