Easter Jelly Bean Poem

I wrote this Jelly Bean Poem to teach my Chapel kids with some inspiration of other poems online. I called it "An Easter Promise". The kids really understood the colors and loved that there were more colors than just the gospel colors.  The first graders loved practicing their color words too! The loved coloring in the empty jelly beans, but I included the copy of the colored one too!

Resurrection Rolls

Here is a great recipe for teaching the Easter Story...

>Basically you can use any dough recipe.  (a friend's dough recipe at the bottom)
>Dip large marshmellows in melted butter. Roll in cinnamon and sugar.
>Wrap the marshmellows in the dough. Pinch the sides really well to prevent the marshmellow from leaking out.
>Bake ar 400' for about 15 min.

The marshmellow represents Christ---perfect and spotless lamb.
The butter and the spices represent the oils and spices his body was prepared in before burial.
The dough is the tomb his body was placed in. The marshmellow will melt leaving an empty tomb. HE IS RISEN!

Here is a sample bread dough recipe that you can use for making this delicious treat.  If you want to make it simple, you can just use a can of crescent rolls, I just prefer homemade. My friend also uses this recipe for garlic pull-apart bread and cinnamon pull-apart bread.  I tend to use my bread maker, but this is a great way to involve your children too!

Finding Easter in Bunnies and Baskets Article

I just found a great article from Focus on the Family that I want to share with you.

It saddens my heart that children are more excited about a fictitious bunny delivering a basket than the miracle of Christ's resurrection.  This article is a part of a series about helping your children understand the meaning of Easter. This particular article, Finding Easter in Bunnies and Baskets, discusses how to use our culture's common decorations to tell the true meaning of Easter.

Here are the links to the other articles in the series...
Do Your Children Understand Easter?
Easter Traditions that Matter

The Easter Story Activities

Make Resurrection Cookies with your family. 

As you put the ingredients together and make these cookies, you can tell the story of Christ's resurrection.  Check out a detailed recipe here.

Teach them the Easter Egg colors.
The colors of Easter Eggs can also tell the story about Christ conquering the grave.  Check it out here.

Read the Jelly Beans and Jesus Poem.Read this poem while enjoying the truth found in the colors of the jelly beans. If you're using this for a larger group of kids, place the poem and each color of the jelly beans in a plastic egg to take home.

Jelly Bean Treats
I also found this cute craft/treat that goes with the ideas of Jelly beans too.  A blog writer named Jocelyn uses a book called My Easter Basket by Mary Manz Simon. Check out her blog here. She makes these cute ice cream cone treats with the story too. Check out the recipe here.

Open those Resurrection Eggs.
Resurrection Eggs are a common way to tell the story of Easter.  Starting 12 days before Easter, which falls on April 12, 2011, an egg is opened to tell the awesome story of Christ's arrest, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension.  You can buy premade ones in the store or even make your own.

Cooking Patience with Bread & Resurrection Cookies

Cooking is another everyday part of our homes that teaches great patience.  Really you can use any cooking scenerio that you want.  I suggest baking some bread.  During the process you have to allow it to rise several times & then let it bake.  Try some of the dough each time it rises.  Then, try a piece of warm bread & reinforce how important it is to wait.  It is a long process, but worth it!  Here is a recipe that was given to me by a friend.  They are the most delicious rolls I have ever tasted!

You could also read The Little Red Hen to get the point across about waiting & the reward of hard work. 

There are several websites with ideas in using The Little Red Hen:
Lessons for Preschoolers & Kindergartners
The Little Red Hen picture & word story
Literacy ideas

I also suggest making Resurrection Cookies during Easter time.  This recipe not only teaches on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also teaches the idea of patience as you wait to open the "tomb".