This came together last minute, but I've debated about what to do for the typical American "Easter basket" - I'm sure I posted about this last year & you know how I feel about gifts, not wanting anything to take away from why we celebrate Easter. We enjoyed a spring carnival last year, and I wanted to keep any gifts or egg hunts at that - spring fun. I found cute, small gifts in the Target $1/$3 bins that I wanted to give them but I didn't want to just gift them you know? So this is what I came up with for this year if you're like me and need an idea: Easter Treasure Hunt.
They basically had about 7 gifts to open, from bouncy balls, a small wooden bowling set, some little wooden figurines & a book. So I wrapped them all up. Most were for them to share, sometimes there was one for each. I took 7 envelopes and Mr Smith & I came up with 7 Easter/conference related questions, namely:
She could ask us for a hint and we tried to have a little discussion. It was more challenging than I thought to sum up a response for a 4 year old to understand but yet was also accurate. I don't like blanket statements like "Jesus died for our sins" (although great, I'm glad she remembers things from her primary teachers) if she doesn't understand what a sin is or why that matters. But she is also 4. I think it'll be good to compare her responses as the years go on.
Once the question was answered, she could open her next clue for the next gift. I tried a couple of maps, which is not my talent. Other clues were a few words for her to sound out or a photo of a letter in the mailbox.
In typical 4 year old fashion, attention span was very short in the beginning, more excited to find the present then answer questions, but she slowly calmed down and really tried. But unfortunately, I knew these also weren't every day questions so it was a good time for me to try and do a little lesson. I think this counts as FHE this week. Patience is hard, but we got through them in maybe an hour. Next time, less than 7 gifts perhaps. Or if you have older children, they can wait to open the presents later. It's also a challenge when dad takes the opportunity to mow the lawn halfway through or she falls when running over a dip in the concrete & has a meltdown. Such is life. A mother tries.
I tried to get her to answer the first question again when we were all done and before she could play - "Why do we celebrate Easter". Maybe at 4, we just want her to realize that it's important that we celebrate that He lived again, so that we can too. But I hope that one day she realizes that not only did He overcome death so that we can too, but that He overcame OUR sins as well. She is innocent now, but one day she will need to know how real that GIFT - the gift of His Atonement // the gift His mercy & forgiveness - is. His life ultimately showed us how to live BETTER, and it can last forever. We can live forever with Him, if we strive to be like Him & accept His gift of mercy & grace as a blessing in our daily lives. True joy only comes through learning & becoming like Him. I am grateful for Easter. It's a time of re-birth when we think of Spring & we think of General Conference & we think of our renewed efforts to remember HIM always.
They basically had about 7 gifts to open, from bouncy balls, a small wooden bowling set, some little wooden figurines & a book. So I wrapped them all up. Most were for them to share, sometimes there was one for each. I took 7 envelopes and Mr Smith & I came up with 7 Easter/conference related questions, namely:
- Why do we celebrate Easter?
- What does the word Resurrection mean?
- Why did Jesus die for us?
- How many days until he rose again?
- What are some of the books of scriptures or why are scriptures important?
- Who is our new prophet?
- How many apostles are there?
She could ask us for a hint and we tried to have a little discussion. It was more challenging than I thought to sum up a response for a 4 year old to understand but yet was also accurate. I don't like blanket statements like "Jesus died for our sins" (although great, I'm glad she remembers things from her primary teachers) if she doesn't understand what a sin is or why that matters. But she is also 4. I think it'll be good to compare her responses as the years go on.
Once the question was answered, she could open her next clue for the next gift. I tried a couple of maps, which is not my talent. Other clues were a few words for her to sound out or a photo of a letter in the mailbox.
In typical 4 year old fashion, attention span was very short in the beginning, more excited to find the present then answer questions, but she slowly calmed down and really tried. But unfortunately, I knew these also weren't every day questions so it was a good time for me to try and do a little lesson. I think this counts as FHE this week. Patience is hard, but we got through them in maybe an hour. Next time, less than 7 gifts perhaps. Or if you have older children, they can wait to open the presents later. It's also a challenge when dad takes the opportunity to mow the lawn halfway through or she falls when running over a dip in the concrete & has a meltdown. Such is life. A mother tries.
I tried to get her to answer the first question again when we were all done and before she could play - "Why do we celebrate Easter". Maybe at 4, we just want her to realize that it's important that we celebrate that He lived again, so that we can too. But I hope that one day she realizes that not only did He overcome death so that we can too, but that He overcame OUR sins as well. She is innocent now, but one day she will need to know how real that GIFT - the gift of His Atonement // the gift His mercy & forgiveness - is. His life ultimately showed us how to live BETTER, and it can last forever. We can live forever with Him, if we strive to be like Him & accept His gift of mercy & grace as a blessing in our daily lives. True joy only comes through learning & becoming like Him. I am grateful for Easter. It's a time of re-birth when we think of Spring & we think of General Conference & we think of our renewed efforts to remember HIM always.
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