Spring is here and alongside the budding anticipation of blossoms, fresh green grass and bird song, is Easter Sunday. Many Easter celebrations involve children. Together, families create and enjoy traditions or rituals to share the magic of this season of new growth. Parents may pass on to their children beloved activities from their own childhood. These often include egg dyeing, hunting for eggs and discovering goody-filled baskets on Easter morning. Families may also be open to invite new ideas into their Easter festivities. Perhaps one will become a much anticipated tradition through the coming years.
After attending morning church services with our respective families, Easter Sunday Lunch was a tradition both my husband and I enjoyed as children. Although we grew up on opposite hemispheres, Easter Lunch looked quite similar. Both families’ holiday menu included glazed ham, scalloped potatoes and a colorful choice of desserts/pudding. (USA/South Africa) On starting a family of our own, we naturally carried on preparing these familiar, festive foods. New menu items were gradually added through the years, as well. Now, seven-layer salad, cloverleaf rolls and a hummingbird cake are also featured at our Easter family table.
Easter Sunday lunch productions can become a family affair with everyone taking part. It is a gathering no family member misses. Children join in preparing food, decorating, setting the table and helping with the after meal cleanup. Opportunities to assist in the kitchen or arrange the table gift children a sense of accomplishment. It is more fun when every family member, including young children, takes part in a group project or event. Each person understands they are an essential part of the team. Children benefit from having a role to play. The satisfaction of knowing they have contributed to Easter Sunday Lunch makes a lasting impression on the happiness of the day as young and old assemble feasting in the most nourishing of delicacies – tradition and peace of heart.
To support your family’s Easter Sunday festivities, we have created templates for young children to contribute to the family celebrations. Download the templates and follow instructions for a tissue paper bunny garland and lengths of Easter grass. Children can be given the responsibility of decorating the family table and all around the house.
We invite you to visit Golden Days at Home and learn more about making the most of these precious, yet fleeting, golden days with your young children.
Written by Janet Nicole Meyer for Golden Days at Home
YOU WILL NEED: printer paper, scissors, tissue paper in assorted colors, pencil, sticky tape
INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Download and print Easter Bunny and Grass Garland templates.
2. Cut out templates along solid lines.
3.Place templates on folded tissue paper with bunny nose and tail at folds, grass short edges at folds. (same concept as for making paper doll chains)
4.Use pencil to outline template onto folded tissue paper.
5.Cut along lines and gently unfold.
6.To make longer lengths of bunnies and grass, attach lengths with sticky tape.
7.Use lengths to decorate your dinner table, windows, centerpieces, napkins, etc. HAPPY EASTER!!
The founder and author of Golden Days at Home preschool curriculum savors all opportunities to play and travel with her now grown children. She and her husband hike, bike and enjoy living on a stream in Boulder, Colorado with their elderly English Mastiff, Roxy.
