Create an Easter Tree with your kids to help walk them through the significance of the Resurrection.
Easter can come and go without much thought if we’re not careful. Christmas seems to start in October and we know it’s coming for months. It seems easier to be more intentional with teaching our kids Biblical truth throughout the Christmas season.
What can we do to shepherd our children’s hearts through Easter as well?
With a four year old in our house this year, I know that I need to gently remind her (and all of us) about the grand narrative of the Bible. Simply announcing that Easter is when Jesus rose from the dead is beautiful, but it is far more significant to a child when they have rehearsed God’s redemption plan for the past several weeks. It is giving them the good news of Easter in context.
I am doing that this year with an Easter tree. You don’t have to make an Easter tree to accomplish this same goal, but kids are tactile and it keeps mom on task too to be reminded about the tree each day.
Here’s how we’re using an Easter tree.
Be sure to scroll down to download free printable ornaments and Bible study helps for your own Easter tree AND don’t miss the Spring-themed homeschool round-up at the end of this post done in cooperation with my homeschool blogging friends.
This post contains affiliate links
Decide where to hang ornaments
I brought in some branches from the yard and decided to spray paint them to add some color. You can keep the branches natural or not use branches at all! Create a spring garland to hang the ornaments from or make a paper chain instead.
Create your Easter ornaments
Decide if you will use paper ornaments or hang objects to represent each story. You could read the daily story and have your kids draw and design an ornament each day! Then your Easter tree would be really personal.
If you’d like some help with this, I’ve created a download with 25 paper ornaments with the daily Scripture on each. (Download link is at the end of this post!) You can print these out, punch a hole on the top, and add some ribbon. Put them in a basket near your tree and you are ready to hang a new one each day.
Using the Easter Tree
Figure out when Easter lands this year. Then count back about 25 days and that will be your start date. But really, even if the timing doesn’t line up exactly right, it’s okay. The important thing is that your kids are grasping the whole narrative of the Bible and not just stories in bits and pieces. This will help them see how it’s all connected.
You can read the Scripture with them from the ornament each day. Kids love to act out the stories – grab some costumes and props to make it memorable.
If you’d love a great resource for reading to them, I highly recommend The Jesus Storybook Bible or The Gospel Story Bible. The download will also include the pages to read each day from these two Bible resources.
I hope this helps you enjoy Gospel-centered conversations with your kids this Easter season.
Grab your free printable ornaments and Bible study helps below!
More Bible Resources
More Than A Story
Sally Michael has a new series for elementary kids that will faithfully walk you through the Old and New Testaments. Using much of the actual text of Scripture, along with highlighting doctrine and application questions, her books fill a need for more depth in children’s Bible resources. While the Jesus Storybook Bible mentioned above is great for your younger elementary kids, I would say that Sally’s new books are perfect for that upper elementary age.
Listen to my conversation with Sally on episode 143 of the Homeschool with Moxie Podcast: Gospel Centered Bible Resources
Little Fishes Bible Study
Even younger children can learn to study the Bible in context! Little Fishes Bible Studies provide a gentle introduction to the inductive method as kids in K-4 study through key passages in books of the Bible.
Plus, you can download FREE samples of all our inductive studies and try them with your kids first!
More Spring-Themed Homeschool Ideas
In an effort to pull us all out of the winter blues, I’ve teamed up with some of my fellow homeschool bloggers to bring you some fantastic Spring themed tips, resources, and even a few FREEBIES. You’ll find everything from St. Patrick’s Day, Easter Trees, butterflies, scavenger hunts, and so much more! Be sure to check them all out below!
