Easter and Sharing Truths through Play

 

    Setting up!

I wanted to share some resources that we’ve used at Church in the run up to Easter. We were able to run our ministry for children and young people with additional needs under covid-19 restrictions as a support group. It was joyous. For three weeks we played and listened to truths about Jesus coming on a donkey as our King and rescuer. We celebrated like the people on Palm Sunday with balloons and bubbles and a sound button which said ‘Hosanna’. We played with dusty flour and soap and water and some of us even washed our feet as we talked about Jesus washing His friends’ feet. Because He loved them and He loves us. We admired an Easter garden and heard about Mary’s joy at meeting her resurrected friend Jesus in the garden.

It had been a long time since we had met together so although I’ve included plans for sensory stories in the resources below our sessions had more of a free-play feel and we didn’t include a structured story time each week. We set up a number of stations related to the events of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. I’ve included below some pointers we used to help us speak truths about the Easter story while the children played at each of these stations. While they played with bubbles or looked at pictures of crowns we talked about Jesus coming as a King to save them. If they chose to squelch foamy soap under their feet we talked about Jesus washing His disciples’ feet because He cares for them, He cares for us too. If they explored our Easter garden tuff tray we talked about how we like Mary can be Jesus’ friends.

On Palm Sunday when the Pharisees wanted the disciples to be quiet Jesus said that if people wouldn’t praise Him then ‘the stones will cry out’ (Luke 19v 40). Elsewhere in the gospels when people shout ‘hosanna’ (meaning ‘God save us’ or ‘God saves’) Jesus reminds the chief priests and scribes of words from Psalm 8 ‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise' (Matthew 21:16 and Psalm 8:2). Jesus’ praise it seems is inevitable. Inevitable even in lockdown 3 in a half empty church that ‘hosanna’ would ring out and Jesus be worshipped with sound buttons, tambourines, bubbles and balloons.

A Sensory Story for Palm Sunday

A Sensory Story for Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday

Prompts for Easter Stations


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