Now I know why the resurrection story is essential to the Christian faith.  Without it, our faith is false.  That’s why it is so important to me to teach my children all about the Easter story.  I’ve made some simple cards that I use to teach young children about the resurrection story.  These cards break the story up into six small parts that make it easy to remember.

Don’t miss the giveaway at the bottom of this post!

Games to Play with Resurrection Story Cards

These games are so simple, but young children thrive on simplicity.  Add a few Easter treats or other rewards and they’ll be begging to play over and over.  

You could play these games in lieu of an Easter Egg hunt.  Before playing, make sure you read the resurrection story from a Bible and tell the children to listen carefully so they can play a game afterward.  

I shared this free printable with my subscribers before this post, so make sure you’re on our mailing list to get updated on all our freebies! Sign up below to download the cards for free!

All Mixed Up

If you want to play this game with lots of children, print off a set of cards for each or enough for pairs.  To play, simply mix all the cards up and have the children put the story in order from left to right.  If you’re playing with a big group, whoever can sort them first, wins!  

You could mix this game up by blindfolding one child or yourself!  You would mix the cards up and put them in front of the blindfolded person.  The person with the blindfold is the only one who can touch the cards.  Their partner would tell them what is on the card and help them put the cards in order by giving them verbal directions.

Hide and Seek

Another easy one; just hid the cards and have the children find them and put them in order.  If you are playing in a big group, simply print the cards off on different colored paper.  Give each child or team a color to find.  First team to put their cards in order, wins!

Can You Read My Mind?

Go over each of the cards with the children and talk about each event.  Then write down in a secret place which card you are thinking about.  The children have to read your mind by asking yes or no questions about which resurrection card they think you wrote down.

Whatever activity you play with them, may the hope of Risen Lord be with you!

Happy Easter!

Praying hands clip art from http://www.clipartbest.com/clipart-nTEnp5zTA

The post Free Easter Resurrection Story Cards! first appeared on True Aim.

How amazing is it to know that no matter what you are going through, God has already taken care of it. He has demonstrated His love by dying for us even when we hated Him, and revealed His power to conquer all evil by rising from the dead. That’s how you can be sure He will take care of any trial you are facing.

You can be confident that your faith will bring you great joy and the truth of that faith is all in one word:

Welcome to Mom’s Library

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Easter Fun for the Kids…

How to Dye Easter Eggs with Kool-aid

Easter Party Ideas

Easter Story for Young Children

Easter Egg Letter Puzzles

35 Free Easter Printables

Marbled Easter Eggs

More Easter Activities for Kids

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The post What Does Easter Mean? Mom’s Library #131 first appeared on True Aim.

E is for empty tomb.  Where did the body go?  People began preaching about the resurrection in the same city where people had seen him die.  No one would have believed them if the body was still in the tomb.  Even more, Jesus’s enemies would have done anything to produce the body, but they couldn’t.  There are many theories that attack the empty tomb, but all of them can be refuted.

A is for appearances.  Many people saw Jesus after his resurrection.  They were either lying or all hallucinated.  Both of these suggestions are highly unlikely.

S is for skeptics converted.  Paul, Constantine, and Dr. Simon Greenleaf are just a few famous converts to Christianity.

T is for transformed apostles.  From publicly denying Jesus to boldly preaching to thousands in Jerusalem, the disciples were changed forever.  They preformed miracles in the name of Jesus and continued to preach about the resurrection until all but one were brutally killed for it.

E is for the existence of the church.  No one can explain the existence of the millions of Christians without the resurrection.  Christianity was a totally new and radical idea not influenced by anything other than the resurrection of Jesus.

R is for the rite of baptism.  Before the resurrection this act was not used as a means of salvation or the forgiveness of sins.  This is a totally new concept that did not begin until Jesus commanded it in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Peter also gave the condition, “Peter said to them, “Repent, each of you and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”” Acts 2:38.

These facts are important because a belief in the resurrection is essential to the Christian faith.  “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain” 1 Corinthians 15:13-14.

If you still have questions about the resurrection, here are some helpful links for more research:

Did the Resurrection Really Happen?

9 Ways to know the Gospel of Christ is true.

Historical Evidence for the resurrection.

Jesus wasn’t just a good person.  He really did rise from the dead!  He is the living God.  Happy Easter!

The post What Does E.A.S.T.E.R. Stand For? first appeared on True Aim.

Welcome to Mom’s Library!

Filled with parenting tips, activities for young children, crafts, devotionals, recipes, and more!

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This Week’s Featured Posts…

Palm Sunday Crafts and Activities

This is a big part of the Easter story.  Get free printables and lots of ideas here!

Resurrection Stone

This free printable shows the resurrection taking place around the stone that covered the tomb.  This would be great for a lap book!

The Lord is My Shepherd Themed Activities

Combine learning with these Easter themed activities.  Just looking at this puzzle brings me peace.

Resurrection Craft

Roll away the stone, see the glory of God!  This craft is simple and kids love rolling the stone away!

Easter Story Trivia Game

Check out this free printable Jeopardy-style trivia game for some Christ-centered family fun!

Easter Activities for the Family

Great ideas for celebrating Easter together!

Resurrection Garden with a Great Twist!

I love the way this garden is done, with an activity for 4 days that goes with the death and resurrection of Jesus.

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The post Easter Story Activities for Kids and Mom’s Library #90 first appeared on True Aim.

In the midst of this event, it is littered with betrayal, torture, hatred, murder, suicide, and other elements that I don’t desire to dangle out in front of little ones. When considering how to present the Easter story to young children, you may wonder what to really focus on and what to leave for later, more mature ears and hearts. There are certainly aspects of Jesus’ death and resurrection that are incredibly important, but that does not always mean that young children are quite ready to hear about all the gore and heinous details.

Year after year, I have taught the Easter story to preschoolers, and through time, I have come up with what I have found to be the concepts that little ones can most relate to.  I even use a super fun and inviting little game to incorporate these elements. There’s more on that below.  Here are four topics that I feel make Easter meaningful for young children:

1. Love

When I teach about Easter, love is our foundational concept. Jesus loved the world so much that He laid down His life for us. He would not have come to Earth unless he loved us so much. While we may do things that make His heart sad, there is nothing we can do to lose His love. His love is greater than any other love we know, and He even loves us more than anyone else.

2. Sacrifice

While Jesus could have come to Earth to live as a king, he took on a simple life.  He came as a baby, and He didn’t even have clothes.  The entire reason that Jesus came here is for us.  He came to die on the cross for us because He loved us so much.

3. Friendship

Jesus was the ultimate friend. He loved his own friends even when they were horribly mean to Him.  When they lied about Him and hurt Him, He still loved them. Jesus also spent lots of time with them.  Before Jesus died on the cross, one of the most important things He did was eat with His special group of friends called the disciples.

4. Redemption

The purpose of Jesus coming to die on the cross for us is so that we could live with Him in heaven.  He didn’t have to come.  He didn’t have to die.  He did it because He loves us and wants to spend eternity with us.

One of my favorite ways to help children understand the story of Easter is through hands on learning.  A tool that I use to do this is called Resurrection Eggs.  Family Life Today makes these, and I will show you how I modify them to make them more appropriate for young children.  These are easy enough to make on your own, so it’s not even something that you would need to go out and buy.  We actually only use four of the original items in the eggs.

How to Make Easter Story Resurrection Eggs

To make your own meaningful Easter eggs, you will need an egg carton, plastic Easter eggs, and items to put inside of them to symbolize the Easter story.

Here are my 12 items:

1) Sponge sprayed with perfume- I love to start here and talk about the woman who came and cleaned Jesus’ feet. I like to introduce to children that it was a very special act of love. We discuss how the woman poured perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped them clean with her hair and tears. A cloth could also be used instead.

2) Donkey (original piece)–

Jesus came in to town during the Triumphal Entry, and I retell about how He was riding in his super cool mustang.  Just kidding!  It was a very special donkey with a very important job. If you do not have a small donkey, you could print a picture and cut it out.

3) Block with leaf–

This represents the palm branches that the people waved when they saw Jesus during the Triumphal Entry.  They waved them and shouted “Hallelujah.”  At times we have been known to reenact this part too.  If you have real leaves around, those would be great as well.

4) Cup (original piece)–

This signifies the Last Supper.  I explain how Jesus wanted to be with all his close friends and have a special meal with them before He died.  A picture of a meal would work, or a crouton could represent bread.

5) Praying Hands (original piece)-

We talk about when Jesus was in the garden praying before he was taken away.  I tell them how Jesus was incredibly upset during this time, so He spent it talking with God.  Feel free to put in something that would represent a garden such as a flower or some greenery.

6) Rooster-

I explain how this was a time where Jesus had a friend who was very scared.  He said that he didn’t know Jesus because he thought people may want to hurt him.  When he did this three times, the rooster crowed.  I found this rooster in a Melissa and Doug magnetic set.  As suggested previously, it would be easy to print out a picture of a rooster.

7) Hearts-

Since I feel that love is the most important part of the story, I put hearts in this egg. Heart stickers or foam pieces are perfect, and these small red shapes always amaze me with their incredible impact.

8) Cross-

We talk about how Jesus died on a cross for our sins. I explain that people put Him up there, even though He didn’t deserve it. He died for us. I got this particular cross from a necklace kit, or a cross could easily be made with a piece of cardboard.

9) Block with the number 3-

The number three is significant because Jesus was in the tomb for three days. I think it’s fun to lead into the next event by counting to three together and discovering the surprise in the next egg. A magnetic number would also work perfectly or even a puzzle piece.

10) Stone (original piece)–

I love telling this part of the story! I say, “After three days…(then in a whisper voice) something amazing happened. The giant stone that covered the grave had been moved!!!” Any round stone would be easy to find for this.

11) Empty (original idea)–

We then talk about how they went inside of the tomb and found that it was empty! I explain how Jesus was no longer there, and that is called a miracle. Everyone should easily be able to find an empty tomb for this one :).

12) Golden strip-

This represents Heaven. I conclude by explaining that Jesus did all of this, so that we could go to Heaven with Him. I just took a strip from a golden paper crown for this. Any golden object such as a bead or even a piece of paper with gold glitter glue would work as well.

Alternative ideas:

A black object could represent sin, which is why we needed Jesus to die on the cross.

You could use a small white cloth or piece of paper to signify that our sin was made clean when Jesus died for us.

A small pillow or cotton ball could represent when the disciples fell asleep at the garden.

I encourage you to put anything in that your child finds to be of deep significance in the story of Easter.  I especially love when my children retell the story to me.  The entire time I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what they found to be important. It is my hope that you find inspiration through this and a great way to connect with young children about Easter.

Katie has been an Early Childhood Teacher for 12 years, and she is the mother to two delightful children who are three and five years old. Her passion is teaching, which she currently does in a small, private preschool inside of her home in Colorado. You can find ideas and inspiration on her blog at Preschool Inspirations. You can also follow her on the Preschool Inspirations’ facebook page or find preschool resources on her pinterest page.

The post Make Easter Meaningful for Young Children first appeared on True Aim.

Supplies for a Resurrection Craft

You’ll need: Scissors, a brad, coloring supplies, and this handy template.  Just click the image below.

You have two choices:

1.  You can use colored construction paper like I did below or,

2.  You can print it out on white paper and allow your children to color a scene around the tomb.  My oldest daughter likes to do this because she can draw animals and people that have come to see Jesus.

To make our “tomb”, we first painted our picture of Jesus.

I helped the children cut out the hole in the middle of the tomb.  Then, we cut Jesus’ picture out and taped it to the back.  Remember to score your paper for the brad so you can “roll away the stone”.

Place the extra circle over the hole of the tomb and fasten it with a brad.

After our craft we talked about the importance of Jesus rising from the dead.  Apart from Jesus’ being born, it is the most important event in the history of Christianity.

There are so many fun ways to introduce your children to the resurrection.  More importantly, don’t let them forget it!  If you don’t talk about it with them, then they won’t know why they are Christian!

What’s your favorite way to remember the resurrection?

The post Resurrection Craft for Easter first appeared on True Aim.