Even first Graders can remember these words:
Crucifixion
Resurrection
Ascension
I’m not saying they’ll fully understand them…after all do we really understand deeply the impact of those three words?
In teaching these ideas to young grades stick with the most basic definitions possible
Crucifixion: Death on a Cross, Jesus died on a cross for us
Resurrection: Rose from the dead, 3 days after Jesus died he rose from the dead we celebrate his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Ascension: Jesus went up to heaven. 40 days after he rose from the dead.
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How far you go beyond the basic will really depend on the amount of time you have for discussion.
As I’ve mentioned in previous postings the story
Benjamin’s Box
and the tool
The Resurrection Eggs
are great resources for teaching the passion story(Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday)
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One page I’ve discovered over my years of teaching is
it contains a wealth of projects and information for Sunday school and religious ed teachers
A favorite activity for this time of year at least in my opinion is “The Jelly Bean Prayer”
Here is a template where you can print and make a bag of jelly beans for each child in your class
(looks like this)
they also have fullsize templates in black and white so the children can color it in:
On their site they also have a bookmark and bracelet of the Jelly Bean Prayer.
Watch for further posts to take you from Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday