Easter Week: Day 1

I've raided Pinterest and other great websites for ideas of crafts and activities to do with Grace Louise during this week leading up to Easter Sunday. I want each holiday to be meaningful and well-focused and certainly don't underestimate her ability to pick up on the most celebrated themes... which we hope in our house is the story of our risen Savior!

Along with other spring time books, we've been reading, Easter Surprise, a great lift-flap board book. Grace Louise is familiar with each part of the story and can even explain the meaning of each symbol in the Resurrection Eggs. The eggs and the book were both surprises in her Easter Basket last year. I'm so glad to have these on hand for teaching her this Easter season!

Our first day of Easter Celebration we did a craft and an activity. We made these adorable hand print Easter lily bouquets and talked simply about Jesus offering new life. We also watered our plants and transplanted two of our potted veggies into the ground. Simple illustrations of new life, growth, the joy of springtime.

Excited to give away her handprint Easter lily bouquets!

Our second activity may seem a little strange, especially to our neighbor who surely heard Grace Louise screaming, "Jesus is coming! Here comes Jesus on the donkey!"

Palm Sunday. The waving of the palm branches in Praise as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the donkey. I thought, we have lots of palm branches... and our driveway kind of looks like city gates. So, here are some pics of our imaginative retelling of Palm Sunday...

Looking for Jesus... (at this point, she had not caught on to the imaginative part... she really thought he was coming!)

Laying our palm branches down as Jesus passed by.

And finally, she gets it and takes the lead, yelling "Jesus is coming!" She was serious about our reenactment, telling daddy about Jesus on the donkey, and waving her palm branch, saying "Hosanna"... so simple, but so powerful. I think this really made an impression on her!

We are geared up for a meaningful and great Easter week!