Saturday, March 13, 2010

Palm Sunday

Family Home Evening Lesson
Palm Sunday

Opening Song "Easter Hosanna" Children's Songbook # 68

Opening Prayer : Child

Lesson: Mom

Palm Sunday always falls on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The feast commemorates (an event mentioned by all four Gospels Mark 11:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19) the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his Cruxifiction.


According to the Gospels, before entering Jerusalem, Jesus was staying at Bethany and Bethphage, and the Gospel of John adds that he had dinner with Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha. While there, Jesus sent two disciples to the village over against them, in order to retrieve a donkey that had been tied up but never been ridden, and to say, if questioned, that the donkey was needed by the Lord but would be returned. Jesus then rode the donkey into Jerusalem. Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and the people there lay down their cloaks in front of him, and also lay down small branches of trees.

(info found via wikipedia :)


Activity:

If you have access to palm fronds Have the children act out the triumphal entry. (My girls love to do this)

Go Here to see how we reenact with a cardboard donkey and palm leaves

Use these directions to make a Paper Plate Colt

Palm Leaf Fold and Cut Craft

Disciples untying the colt Coloring In Page

Triumphal Entry Coloring In Page

Make a Paper Plate Palm Leaf Wreath with drawings of coats on it (scroll down half way)


Closing Song: "Hosanna" Children's Songbook #66

Closing Prayer: Child


Treat:

Any foods grown on a palm - coconut, date etc
Cupcakes with tinted green coconut
Eat food served on a palm leaf

Monday, March 1, 2010

Easter

Family Home Evening Lesson
Preparing for Easter

Opening Prayer: Dad

Opening Song: "Did Jesus Really Live Again?" Children's Songbook #64

Lesson:
Have a paper easter egg hunt. I purchased a similar thing from a store, but you could easily make yourself. It had paper eggs, basket to put eggs in and arrow signs to point the directions to go.

On the back of the eggs I wrote about something that happened in the lead up to Easter Sunday. You can have the children collect the eggs in order, or you can put them in order once they have all been found around the house.

Just draw an easy picture or write a few words on the back of each egg about the following things:
Palm Sunday
Washing of Disciples Feet
The First Sacrament
Garden of Gethsemene
Cruxifiction
Easter Sunday- He is Risen

Briefly talk about what happened the week leading up to Easter. Not too much, as I plan to use the other two mondays to go over some of the things in closer detail.

Activity:
Make this paper fan palm branch

Road to Easter Cut and Paste Work sheet

Closing Song: "Jesus Has Risen" Children's Songbook #70

Closing Prayer: Child

Treat:
Easter Eggs
Make Egg shaped sugar cookies
Boiled Eggs
Fill some plastic Eggs with small candy