Educational Easter Activities

by nicoledean | February 16, 2009 at 03:19 pm

1000 views | 12 Recommendations | 22 comments

Easter is right around the corner. People are preparing for a time spent with family and friends at a big Sunday dinner. Let the children help you prepare for the Easter activities this year and maybe learn a thing or two.

What is Easter all about? At home or in your church, ask the children to read the Easter story. Once they are finished, ask them to tell you in their own words what the true celebration of Easter is all about. In the Christian tradition, the Easter holiday symbolized the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. People all over the world can now live free because he gave his life for all mankind. Sunrise services are held at churches to remember the women who went to Jesus’ tomb early that Sunday morning and found that he was no longer there. If your children have questions about the season, be prepared to answer.

Plan an Easter egg hunt. In preparation, show your children the fine art of dying Easter eggs. To eliminate messy clean-up, give them an apron and let them stand on a chair at the stove to dip the hard-boiled eggs into the dye mixture. Keep the freshly dyed eggs in the refrigerator until time for the egg hunt. Kids may rather help hide the eggs this year and watch the excitement on the faces of the other children as they discover the edible treasures. If the children don’t want to use real eggs, they can fill plastic eggs with tiny treats and hide them for other kids to find.

Give the children a pet. On Easter, the most popular ones are rabbits and baby chicks. Teach them how to care for their new addition to the family. Rabbits and chicks need to be handled gently just like a newborn human baby. Show them how to feed, water, and clean their pets. Let the children know that their pet is not a toy. Giving children a pet helps them learn responsibility for something other than themselves. You may need to assist them until they get the hang of things.

Children can make their own Easter greeting cards this year. They can demonstrate their creativity with glitter, stickers, and cheerful words of love. When they are done, let them hand deliver their Easter well wishes to friends and family members. Homemade cards show that kids have put some time and thought into what they are going to say.

While the kids are on a roll, get them to make some Easter decorations to get everyone in the spirit. Have them write up a list of what supplies they will need to create their decorations. They have to learn to work together and come up with one comprehensive list. Knowing that you trust them to be in charge will thrill the children. Make sure you set up a place for them to work undisturbed. Check on them from time to time to make sure they haven’t glued themselves to the table, but otherwise they will let you know if they need help.

Take the children to an Easter production. Many churches put on plays that tell the story of the Resurrection. Some do live walk-thru productions that showcase different scenes from the Passover Feast to the burial and resurrection on Sunday morning. With the tour type productions, a guide leads you through the various scenes and answers any questions that the group may have about the events. The performances are usually free with the donation of a few canned goods.

Holiday time is not just for you, but also for your children. Easter is about peace and love. They need to learn from you fun ways to celebrate and become a part of the family traditions.

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dani tomlin (not verified)

at 22:46 on March 5th, 2009

i just wanted to tell you that my bunnies cost me £4,000 so far this year in vet bills, last year the one i rescued cost £7,000 due to neglect from previous owners who had given it for easter to a child who had got bored with her (and the bunny still died in the end)...they are not pets for children and they will cost you a fortune. they are not a disposable gift and not a christian thing to buy a child for easter - indeed they are a pagan sexual symbol.

Tina Kells

at 16:12 on February 16th, 2009

Thank you for this post. One caveat, the tip about giving children live animals as a gift is generally not seen as a good one. Animal shelters are overrun with baby chicks (who grow up to be adult chickens, not as cute) and bunnies shortly after Easter.

Also, as these animals get bigger, in the months after Easter, many of them end up in the shelters as well.

The rest of these tips are great but I would caution people against giving a fragile animal as a gift.

Bunnies and chicks aren't good pets for most families.

Sadly most Easter chicks die within weeks and most rabbits end up abandoned in shelters. In fact, after dogs and cats, rabbits are the third most common pet found in shelters.

Children and rabbits don't mix
By nature, rabbits are delicate creatures who easily upset and startled. Despite their cuddly appearance, they don't like being held or squeezed and usually respond to enthusiastic affection by biting or scratching.

Many Easter rabbits get accidentally dropped by children who are startled by this unexpected response. A bunny with a broken leg or back is not exactly the kind of Easter memory you want.

amyhrer

at 17:45 on February 16th, 2009

This picture was taken last year in the summer. The mother rabbit was killed by a lawn mower and we took in the three babies to try and save them and give them a new home.

amyhrer has contributed a photo to this story.

TheEffingPrincess

at 18:12 on February 16th, 2009

Photography by La'Tasha Venable

TheEffingPrincess has contributed a photo to this story.

Beths Bagz

at 18:12 on February 16th, 2009

This bunny rabbit pin cushion is a one-of-a-kind creation designed by me using vintage and new materials! Enjoy!

Beths Bagz has contributed a photo to this story.

pchDomain

at 18:14 on February 16th, 2009

We had a HOPPING Easter Egg Hunt at church last year (2008). I was one of the Easter Bunnies hiding those dyed and painted eggs. It took us half an hour to hide those eggs, but only a few minutes for the kids to found them all...

pchDomain has contributed a photo to this story.

laineyspawtique

at 19:58 on February 16th, 2009

The bunny in the photo will eventually be filled with doggie cookies for some LUCKY Puppy on Easter Morning!! I just thought he was adorable and needed cookies in his belly!! I love to find different and interesting ways for people to pamper their four legged babies with treats on the Holidays.

laineyspawtique has contributed a photo to this story.

Bakko Brats

at 06:39 on February 17th, 2009

I like your story, but having had rabbits as pets, I don't recommend them for children for the reasons others have stated, and because the rabbit is usually more work to clean up after than anyone would enjoy. They poo and pee A LOT, and need to be kept in a large area. They don't do well indoors, and don't last for long outside in heat, or in small areas. I love bunnies, but as cute as they are, they are not for kids.

I always hate to see bunnies in the petstore because so many people pick them up by their delicate ears, and that is as painful for the bunny as it would be for me to do the same thing to you. Rabbits also have a fear of having their feet off the ground, and they need to be able to run and play and hop, like they were created to do in the first place.

Raheela (not verified)

at 07:35 on February 17th, 2009

He is Fifi my baby, he a male and is about a year old. Thank you for choosing this to publish on your story

raheelafs

at 07:42 on February 17th, 2009

Hello there. thank you for choosing my baby's picture for your story

Here is the picture

londusky

at 07:46 on February 17th, 2009

Twin 11 month old boys, Daniel and Dominick attended their first Easter egg hunt. It was an exciting egg hunt with over 50 children. This egg hunt was hosted by a co-worker of the twins mother Linda. The co-worker has hosted this egg hunt for family and friends for many years on their farm in Unadilla, Michigan.

londusky has contributed a photo to this story.

nicoledean

at 09:39 on February 17th, 2009

Awww...he is SO cute!!

c_keoghan

at 10:16 on February 17th, 2009

This is my Angora Bunny Muffin when he was 2 months old.
I live in Spain and took this picture when the sun was
beaming through the window lighting up his beautiful coat.

I like your story very much and thanks for choosing my picture!

c_keoghan has contributed a photo to this story.

mommy_of_three

at 10:26 on February 17th, 2009

Easter 2007 we had an Easter egg hunt with cousins at Golden Gate Park. This was my son at age 2, almost 3. The photo was taken by my husband.

mommy_of_three has contributed a photo to this story.

Theresa S. (not verified)

at 05:08 on February 18th, 2009

Awesome post, Tina! I currently have two rabbits as pets and one foster, and I know from experience the patience and delicate care that these wonderful animals need. A child would be able to easily maim and even kill a rabbit, just by squeezing it in a hug! Definitely not a good mix.

Rabbits are adult pets. www.makeminechocolate.org

Joy Castillo (not verified)

at 17:50 on February 22nd, 2009

I am disappointed that this author would recommend getting a bunny or a chick to your child for Easter. After Easter, hundreds of rabbits are thrown away as if they are trash, b/c the owners are not prepared to take care of them. Cute? Yes, they are, but like any other pets, they need to be take care of. So this Easter, instead of giving your child a real bunny, make it chocolate instead.

Arwen (not verified)

at 10:31 on February 23rd, 2009

Yeah... bunnies and chicks are really not a good idea to get for kids for Easter... If you want to teach them responsibility, talk to and teach them about the responsibilities of pet ownership, and when they are responsible enough to take care of another life, go to a shelter and adopt something. Bunnies aren't good pets for kids-- they require daily care... fresh greens, lots of hay, changing their litter box every day, lots of daily contact (they REALLY should never be stuck in a cage and left there all the time), and they can be voracious chewers, potentially destroying furniture, carpeting, books, etc. if you don't "bunnyproof" the room. They are a *high maintenance* pet, and can live for up to 8 years. Most kids will not or can not tie themselves down to this kind of commitment, and when the parents aren't willing to be caregivers, they get dumped. Many shelters are overflowing with bunnies (and chicks) right after easter for this very reason.

Keep Easter about the celebration of family and church. Make the "responsibility for something other than themselves" lesson an ongoing conversation between you and your kids, not an impulse buy. As the above said, "this Easter, instead of giving your child a real bunny, make it chocolate instead."

Laura Glasser (not verified)

at 11:46 on March 13th, 2009

Please, please do not get your child a bunny for Easter. They only stay little and cute for a few months and then they grow up into adult bunnies with BIG needs. I spend at least 5 hours a day on my two rabbits, cleaning, feeding, cleaning up all the hay that they throw around. Bunny pee is not a pleasant smell at all. If you don't clean them, your whole house will smell HORRIBLE in a day or two. It's a BIG responsibility to have a rabbit and they are really not suited for children. They are very fragile animals and need a mature adult to take care of them. Plus, I spend about $100 per week on food/bedding and I've already spent over $2,000 in vet bills this year, as Dani mentioned, for just one of my buns.
Shelters are overrun every year after Easter with the Easter bunny "dump." Many Easter bunny presents are dumped into the wild to fend for themselves (which they cannot do) or left at a shelter to be euthanized. I know, my two bunnies were rescued from a parking lot. If you want to get your child a bunny - make it chocolate!!!

Denise McQuillen (not verified)

at 09:58 on April 10th, 2009

Eric,

I don't know where you live but you might check into the laws. Where I live it's illegal to sell a rabbit under 8 weeks of age, as any breeder will tell you.

Eric Lorentsen (not verified)

at 10:39 on April 10th, 2009

Do you live in newyork

janetta lindsay (not verified)

at 12:09 on April 10th, 2009

God you really are an inadequate cunt aren't you eric lorentsen? you exploit tiny prey animals and pick on caring women on the internet. BIG MAN. well done you asinine piece of shit.

you make ted bundy look like a gent.

all those little breeding rabbits in cages. my god what would a psychiatrist make of you. is this really the only way you can make a living?

there is a dark hole in hell waiting for you, even darker than the hole inside your mind from which you gather the DESIRE to do this to innocent animals. desire is the word isn't it sicko. surely there is some animal protection organisation and even if there isn't there will be other less legitimate coming for you. the sweet thing about karma is you never know when its coming...

as for you nicoledean this is not meant to be an advertising site for criminals to sell living souls for humans to abuse.

danesller0127

at 15:21 on April 11th, 2009

Filipinos go to church together as soon as sunrise hits on Easter Sunday, and celebrate the life, death and resurection of the savior... It's also a magical time for children to enjoy chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chicks, and jellybean-filled Easter eggs.... (http://my.nowpublic.com/culture/easter-philippines-celebration-faith)

Thanks very much! nicoledean''''''Great! :D