more easter

Easter lasted an extra day for us because we didn't get everything in last week and on Sunday. So today we.... colored Easter eggs

had a Family Home Evening lesson on Christ's Resurrection

and had an Easter cake for our Family Home Evening Treat

I found a really great script to use for our Family Home Evening lesson this year. It ended up being perfect so I'm going to save it for next year. Maybe you'll want to use it too. The girls even wanted to dress up in robes like they would have worn during the Savior's life. So that was kind of fun too! I set everything up in the living room and we started our FHE in the hallway so that I could explain to them what we were doing and set a very reverent tone. It worked and the girls were very quiet and respectful. It really helped to invite the spirit.

Here is the script...

we sat in a little circle on the floor and couches with just the lamp light on. I added some props and a little explanation that was not originally in the script but helped the girls understand and visualize things more.
Why We Rejoice: An Easter Program
By Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen
See Matt. 26–27; Luke 22–24; John 18–21; 3 Ne. 8–11.
Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen, “Why We Rejoice: An Easter Program,” Friend, Mar. 2005, 10Note: You will need three narrators (or you may choose to have many children act as narrators). If possible, use pictures from the Gospel Art Picture Kit (GAK). The songs below are suggestions. You might consider other songs or hymns focusing on the Savior.

SONG: “Beautiful Savior” (Children’s Songbook, 62–63).

{Added prop...palm fronds...I explained that the people who accepted Jesus waved palm fronds as he rode a donkey into Jerusalem for the last time.}

Eliza: Show GAK 227—Jesus Praying in Gethsemane.

Emma Grace: Jesus loves us so much that He gave His life to pay the price for our sins.

Brenna: He said, “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent” (D&C 19:16).

Dad: Jesus’s perfect life, His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, His death on the cross, and His Resurrection are part of the Atonement. The Atonement makes it possible for everyone to live with Him again.

Mom: That is why we rejoice. We are happy, and we show how grateful we are when we rejoice.

Eliza: Show GAK 228—The Betrayal of Jesus.

Dad: Soon after Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, wicked people came with swords and sticks to arrest Him. They took Him to the chief priests, elders, and scribes, who wanted Him to die.

Mom: Then they took Him to a Roman leader named Pilate, who had the authority to kill Him. The people told Pilate that Jesus had committed many crimes and should die.

Brenna: Pilate did not believe them. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent and wanted to let Him go.

{Added prop....bowl/pitcher/small towel...explained that pilate washed his hands}

Dad: The people cried, “Crucify him, crucify him” (Luke 23:21).

Emma Grace: Finally Pilate told his soldiers to crucify Jesus.

Eliza: Show GAK 230—The Crucifixion.

{Added prop....pretend crown of thorns made out of twigs from the tree in our front yard...the twigs bend really easy to shape a crown...explained how they put the crown of thorns on Christ head and how much pain it would have caused and that He would have bleed from it}

{Added prop...rocks with one painted black...explained that the Roman soldiers cast lots}

Mom: Jesus suffered on the cross for many hours. Then Jesus cried in a loud voice, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

Brenna: Jesus died. The sky was dark. A great earthquake shook the earth.

Emma Grace: Jesus’s disciples and friends were very sad.

{Added prop...white sheet...explained that Joseph of Arimithea went to Pilate and begged for Jesus' body and they wrapped him in white linens}

SONG: Begin to hum or softly play “On a Golden Springtime” (Children’s Songbook, 88).

Dad: After three days, Jesus’s spirit returned to His body. He had been resurrected.

Mom: Because of Jesus’s Resurrection, everyone who dies can live again with his or her spirit and body reunited.

SONG: Verse 2 of “On a Golden Springtime” (Children’s Songbook, 88).

Emma Grace: The resurrected Lord appeared to many people.

Eliza: Show GAK 233—Mary and the Resurrected Lord.

Brenna: The first was Mary Magdalene. She loved Jesus very much and rejoiced when she saw Him.

Eliza: Show GAK 234—Jesus Shows His Wounds.

Dad: Later Jesus appeared to His disciples. They touched the wounds in His hands and feet. They saw Him eat. They knew He was alive again, and they rejoiced.

SONG: “Hosanna” (Children’s Songbook, 66–67).

Brenna: Just as there had been a great storm in Jerusalem when Jesus died, there was an even greater storm in the Americas.

Mom: Earthquakes, fires, and floods destroyed many cities. Mountains fell down. The sky blackened. Candles would not light. Fire would not burn. No one could see anything.

Emma Grace: The Nephites were frightened and started to cry. Many of their family members and friends had died.

Brenna: Their homes were destroyed. They wished they had repented of their sins. For three days they cried in the darkness. Then—

Dad:—they heard a quiet voice. It said: “I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. … Whoso repenteth and cometh unto me … , him will I receive. … Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved” (3 Ne. 9:15, 22).

Brenna: When the third day finally ended, light returned to the earth. The Nephites rejoiced and praised their Redeemer.

Mom: Some time later many people gathered near the temple in the land of Bountiful. They talked about the changes that had come to the earth.

Emma Grace: They talked about Jesus.

Dad: Suddenly, another voice began to speak. It was a soft voice. The people listened carefully to the voice of Heavenly Father.

Dad: He said, “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him” (3 Ne. 11:7).

Eliza: Show GAK 315—Christ Appears to the Nephites.

Emma Grace: The Nephites looked up and saw Jesus descending out of heaven.

Mom: Jesus said, “Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world” (3 Ne. 11:14).

Brenna: The Nephites went to Him. They felt the wounds in His hands and feet and side.
“Hosanna!” they cried. “Blessed be the name of the Most High God!” (3 Ne. 11:17).

SONG: “Easter Hosanna” (Children’s Songbook, 68–69).

Eliza: Show GAK 227—Jesus Praying in Gethsemane.

Emma Grace: Jesus loves everyone so much that He paid the price for our sins. He also made it possible for us to live again after death.

Mom: That is why we rejoice when we think of Him. That is why we rejoice at Easter.

SONG:“Jesus Has Risen” (Children’s Songbook, 70).