For many children, Easter is the day the Easter Bunny takes center stage while the resurrection of Jesus Christ has little or no meaning.

Something has been lost in the translation.

Don’t get me wrong. I love chocolate and jelly beans as much as the next person—probably more. I’ve enjoyed my share of egg hunts, Easter baskets, and nibbling the ears of milk-chocolate bunnies.

But it’s time to lift the resurrection of Jesus Christ above the adventures of the Easter Bunny. The solution may be found in practical steps we can take to ensure that children learn about the living hope we have in Jesus.

A common objection to moving beyond chicks and chocolate is that children—especially younger children—are too impressionable to be exposed to the horrors of crucifixion. Since they do not really understand the concept of death, how can they be expected to understand the concept of resurrection? We reason there is time enough later to teach them the realities of Easter—or so we think.

One of the biggest mistakes we can make, however, is to underestimate what children need and what they are capable of understanding.

In his book, Hope Again (Thomas Nelson, 1996), Charles Swindoll notes that we need hope to take us beyond such things as failure, suffering, temptation, division, and guilt—all of which are experienced by children as well as adults.

The living hope provided by Jesus’ resurrection brings joy, peace (Romans 15:13), endurance, comfort, and confidence (I Thessalonians 4:13). It is a hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5:5).

You may think, “I’m not creative enough to teach these things. Besides, isn’t this the job of Sunday school teachers with their flannel graphs, pictures to color, and clever rhyming songs?”

Creativity isn’t restricted to writing the Hallelujah Chorus or painting the Last Supper. Neither is teaching children about our living hope limited to the realm of Sunday school teachers.

Being creative doesn’t require a particular job title. In Creative Teaching Methods (Cook, 1990), Marlene LeFever notes that creative teaching simply involves making the most of every situation. It includes greeting new opportunities with a healthy curiosity that asks, “What if . . .? What if I asked
. . .? What if we used . . .?”

Communicating the truth about our living hope at Easter is easy when we remember the “Four Rs”—relationship, relevance, repetition, and realization.

Relationship. In Teaching Your Child About God (Regal Books, 1995), Wes Haystead notes that parents who live out their faith year-round for their children to see will more effectively communicate spiritual truth to them at Easter.

Teachable moments occur in the course of daily activities with your child, which then become the basis for learning truth.

Relevance. Even the youngest child has felt sadness when he is separated from those he loves. We can tell the story of Jesus’ death and describe how sad Jesus’ friends were because they thought they would never see him again.

Then we can describe their joy when they discovered he didn’t remain in the tomb. Instead of being overwhelmed by the sadness that accompanies death, the child learns about the confident hope and joy we have because Jesus is alive.

Repetition. Repetition is critical to the learning process, but repetition isn’t restricted to saying or doing the same thing over and over again. One truth (that Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins, for example) can be reinforced in multiple ways. Bible passages, stories, music, finger-plays, and other activities provide the child with a variety of learning experiences. Reinforcement can follow informally throughout the day.

Realization. Since children learn from their own experiences, Haystead suggests that lessons about life and death can be found in illustrations as simple as the life cycle of a plant. In the weeks leading up to Easter, allow your child to plant seeds and watch them grow. Then let them observe a dead plant or flower. Conversations about the death of a pet may also open doors for discussion.

Explaining crucifixion to a child doesn’t need to include harsh details. Depending on the age of the child, it may be enough to say something like, “Jesus loves us so much that he died on the cross to take our punishment for the things we do wrong. Then something very special happened. He did what no one else could do. He didn’t stay dead, and because he is alive we can be friends with God forever.”

Don’t be disappointed if your child is not as impressed with the resurrection as you are. Because they have difficulty processing the finality of death, and frequently expect those who have died to return, resurrection may be less surprising to them than it is to us.

Understanding the developmental differences of children helps us identify appropriate and effective ways to communicate the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Children do not learn the same way as adults. We tend to want things presented in a linear fashion. We expect logic and order when we learn something new. Children, however, learn according to what interests them. They are less concerned with logic than they are with enjoying what they are experiencing. They ask questions about whatever catches their attention at the moment. We need to be sensitive, however, to their level of interest and their level of comprehension when we respond to their questions.

Younger children learn by doing. Fine-motor coordination develops from the natural “wiggles” of two and three-year-olds. Their learning is stimulated through exposure to shapes, textures, colors, sounds, and above all, doing. Their play is learning.

You don’t need a teaching degree to communicate the truth about our living hope. LeFever suggests a variety of activities that can be modified to fit the age of your child and tap into his natural sense of joy and wonder.

Storytelling is more personal than just reading a story. By learning the Bible passage or story prior to telling it, you are free to incorporate a greater degree of eye contact, facial expressions, and body language.

For two and three-year-olds, visual aids are also helpful. Older preschoolers can hold up props to participate in the story time.

Drama, plays, and skits can be modified to be age-appropriate. Adults can act out a scene for the very young. Elementary children can read the scene or act it out. Pre-adolescents can act it out, role-play, or write their own scenes.

Children will enjoy acting out the disciples’ amazement and joy in learning that Jesus is alive and that he made the way for us to live forever with him.

Use picture roles. Show younger children a picture and ask them to tell a story based on what they see. Ask them what they think the subject of the picture is thinking or feeling.

Use pictures of the disciples with Jesus, without him after the crucifixion to show their sadness, and finally, with Jesus after his resurrection to help communicate their joy.

Ask open-ended questions as discussion starters to cause your child to do more than repeat the facts they have heard.

Set activities to music to reinforce the truth about our living hope. Teach children to sing and listen to music, including hymns usually sung by adults—specially if it is music the child will hear in church. Many hymns or praise choruses about the resurrection have refrains that are easy for children to sing.

While there are many excellent Bible story books and children’s resource materials, don’t underestimate the importance of using the Bible itself.

Schedule a daily time with your child to read together, but limit the time based on your child’s age and attention span. You can start with as little as five minutes and increase the time as appropriate.

With a little bit of preparation, we can communicate the truth of our living hope to even young children, providing them with a foundation for greater depths of understanding as they grow older. Jesus said, “Your Father in Heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost” (Matthew 18:14).

Depending on the age of your children, they may not fully understand the events leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But as they learn, they can absorb your joy and hope as you celebrate Easter together. It’s never too soon to begin. |L