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Easter And Early Years


JJA
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yes I think that's the one I have, though it has a different front cover to the one I have.

Although mine is about 15 years old! Bought it for my daughter.

 

jackie.

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it has a different front cover to the one I have.

Although mine is about 15 years old! Bought it for my daughter.

 

SNAP!! :o

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  • 10 months later...

Does anybody else have any other favourite Easter stories suitable for 3 and 4 year olds?

 

I'm really not confident or sure how to handle telling the story of Easter. It's a tricky one isn't it. Will children this age understand that baby Jesus has grown up, was crucified and resurrected? I would really like to know how to handle this sensitively.

 

In my last setting, the story of Easter was not told we just celebrated the cultural aspects of Easter.

 

Any help appreciated.

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The difficulty with that, Deb, is that many Christians believe that Easter is the key festival of Christianity; without it there is no Christianity!

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It's amazing how this simple fact seems to be missed by lots of people!

 

Every year there's someone who seems shocked when I tell the children that Easter is the most important Christian festival. And I mean grown ups, not children.

 

Sue

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My Grandchildren love the Easter story. Rosie asks for it again and again and this from when she was around 2 years old. I don't think she worries about the gory details, and she does have a Children's Bible with cartoon style pictures so they aren't too horrific. I have found similar with Reception age children, who particularly enjoy the soldiers and swords :o I wouldn't expect them to understand the significance of the story in religious terms, but like anything else they are experiencing something and taking it at their own level.

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I only use a simple children's bible. We have both the Lion Children's Bible and the Beginners Bible. They are very simple versions with cartoon pictures. Usbourne do The Easter Story. I used those silver plastic soldiers outfits, a white sheet and some palms and we did a very simple enactment from Palm Sunday onwards. I'll dig out my Easter Box from the loft as I think I have some other books up there.

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Many thanks for all your replies.

 

I have bought 'My First Story of Easter' Here I liked the reviews so will have to let you know. As a new manager of a setting with responsibility to guide practice I felt I should reflect on a comment made by a parent about other religions seeming to receive more attention in settings. I have an open mind when it comes to religion, but did not feel confident talking about crucifixtion and resurrection to 3 and 4 year olds. I hope the book will help me explain Christian beliefs about Easter to the children.

 

I also like the idea of the Festivals DVD, having just bought the first one, so will look into that. Inge when you say the children wanted to do some of the things they had seen, what were they?

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I think one of the easiest ways to tell the Easter story is to begin with a Children's Bible version and pare that down until you think it is simple enough for your group. I then tell the story without a book but with little notes maybe so that I am looking at them all the time and engaging with the children rather than reading and looking at the book. I remind them of the nativity play we did at Christmas and the birth of Jesus and what a special baby he was..... I seem to remember as a child I couldn't get the "timeline" between baby Jesus and the man, so I go into many many years later when Jesus was as old as me mode............

 

I don't concentrate too much on the crucifixion, but more on the ressurection and how wonderful that was and how spectacular it would have been at that time how happy everyone was ..... and because the stone in front of the tomb was egg shaped that is why we have egg rolling games and Easter eggs ..........(occasionally artistic licence here!!!)

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  • 3 weeks later...

That was interesting LJW - lots of plastic eggs about at the moment so that shouldn't be a problem! It reminded me of the ploy I use at Christmas to tell the story, I wrap up lots of artefacts in tissue and the children take it in turns to unwrap one and discuss its part in the nativity.

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I heard the Easter bunny is a rip off of the Pagan's three hare's (faster than a rabbit not the hair on your head) Because the Hare symbolised growth, love and fertility. Although I could be wrong! I You could get into a huge argument about this one. Not going to mind.

 

Thankfully I knew the eggs represented the stones, me and my dad used to pick up a stone at the bottom of our local hill - walk up the hill and place the stone by the cross. I did this all through my childhood. I am doing an Easter egg hunt my children are only 3 and 5 I want them to enjoy easter but then tell them about the story at the same time. They learn about the First Christmas story so I feel they can learn about the Easter story but also have the fun parts to easter as well. We are also decorating polistarine(cant spell that word) eggs, making Easter cards and looking at baby chicks and that now new life will be brought into the world. I could have rambled there I am sorry!

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