It's All About Balance
The children roll a marshmallow in "spices" (AKA cinnamon and sugar) as their teacher explains how spices were used when a body was buried "a long time ago".
Egg hunts, bunny crafts and plenty of hopping around brought lots of Easter joy to the Day School teachers and students. There is no way to argue with the presence of the risen Christ in the eyes of a busy, happy child.
But, how is the resurrection message shared with little ones at such a tender age? The strength of the details within the crucifixion story can be too much for the very young to process. That balance is critical in terms of formation, and it is a charge that we constantly discuss as a school staff. An obvious "yes" is given to the bunnies and eggs of course, while the resurrection message takes a little more care and creativity for preschool teaching.
One way is through Mother Lathrop's children's sermon in our Chapel lesson. Another is through carefully chosen preschool books on the subject. Yet another is the teaching tool of the Resurrection Eggs, which uses a set of small toys as visuals as the story is recounted on their level. But the most favorite exercise of all is in the making and baking of Resurrection Rolls.
This lesson is a favorite and takes children through the steps of the story with a sweet reminder of God's love at the end. You can imagine that we love this for many reasons.
I will close with a little video made by one of our teachers. May it bring you Easter joy through the eyes of a child. The Lord is risen indeed!
Caring for Yours,
Miss Katie