Holy Week

I am always trying to find ways to help my kids feel the true meaning of Christmas and Easter.  I found some really great ideas online this year, and so last night for family home evening, I started one.  It is a little countdown from Palm Sunday to The Last Supper.  I don't know why it didn't go all the way to Easter, so I am having to fill in Friday Saturday and Sunday with other ideas I found.  Anyway, it is cute for kids, and they went bonkers for it.  Since I started on Monday, we did two days last night.

Here's the gist of it:  I printed out a countdown calendar.  Then I printed out little images, cut them out, and stuck them in plastic easter eggs.  It was a palm tree for Palm Sunday.  Then the kids crack it open, tape the icon to the calendar, we tell the story (I have pictures from the Gospel Art Picture kit to illustrate the story while we tell it), read a scripture, and sometimes there is a snack.  Palm Sunday's snack, stuck in another Easter egg, was Whoppers - since they look like palm nuts.  Well, who knows if they look like palm nuts - not my kids and that's the point.  They are brown so I told them they look like pine nuts.  We talked about what we do with our own palms to worship Christ.

Monday's egg had a picture of a temple.  The story was Jesus cleansing the temple.  The treat egg was chocolate coins.  We talked about how God is more important than money.  Then we talked about how to keep our own temples, our bodies, clean (spiritually and physically).  Plus, since it was family home evening, we sang Primary songs that went along with the theme.  Incidentally, when I explained that before Christ's sacrifice, the Jews sacrificed animals in the temple, Charlotte covered her face with her hands and started crying.  I don't think she would have made it with the children of Israel.

Tonight's egg picture is of an alabaster jar to go along with the story of the woman anointing Christ.  No treat involved.  I'll still give them a Hershey's miniature.  That's my sophisticated, psychological maneuver to keep them loving this activity :)

Skipping ahead to Thursday, let's talk about a Passover dinner.  I've done it before, and they really liked it.  We'll have grape juice, grapes, olives, flatbread, salad with vinaigrette dressing, and possibly lamb.  I like lamb, and I think I can handle it.  We'll sit on the floor and eat by candlelight.  Really, by sunlight since it is still light outside at dinnertime, but I'll still light candles.

I'm pretty excited about this week.  I love Easter.  I like the baskets and dying eggs, but I really love the spiritual feeling of this holiday.  I love reading the scriptures about it.  I feel connected to the people in Christ's time for some reason when I read, as if centuries haven't passed, and we are celebrating the same things together.  I love that my kids are enthusiastic about this, too.