Well, this Easter is going to look very different from what it usually does. Thankfully due to technology, I will be able to attend a Good Friday service and an Easter Sunday service via Facebook! I’m feeling very grateful for the technology we have access to.
However, with children at home and no one going away on holidays it will be time to plan some family Easter activities to do at home. The great thing is that fun activities can help children develop quite a few skills. They will have plenty of time to play so that will equal plenty of time to master some skills. Providing activities and getting involved with the children helps them to grow and do new things they could not do before. So don’t jump straight in when they struggle to do something but encourage them to try again and show them (model) what to do. If they try something and struggle to get it right tell them “that’s OK our brain grows bigger when we make mistakes because we are practicing things that we haven’t learned yet” (growth mindset). “Keep trying and let’s see what you can do!”
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Egg and Spoon Race
The egg and spoon race will help children develop balance, coordination and concentration skills. In case you have never done this activity the idea is that you hard boil an egg (or use a chocolate one) and balance it on a large spoon while you race from one spot to another. The idea is to see who can get to the end first without dropping the egg. If there is only an adult and child in the household you may want to make this activity a little less competitive and create an obstacle course to go around. When you finish the course with the egg still on the spoon then you get to eat the egg. Have fun making up your own rules. For young kids, it may be alright to pick up the egg and put it back on the spoon and keep going if it is dropped. For older kids, they may need to return to the start and try again it’s up to you just have some fun with it.
Read an Easter Story
Reading and sharing stories with your child helps develops vocabulary, language and literacy skills. As you read to enjoy the story together add in sound effects and expression. After reading go back through the story and discuss the pictures, characters while using the new vocabulary so your child can access the meaning. Hopefully, you will be able to enjoy the story many times like this to help your child really come to grips with the language.
If you don’t have any Easter stories available to you the below video from Andrew McDonough has him reading the story of Dave the Donkey and showing you how to draw some of the characters.
Also Andrew has a printable activity to go with the story.
Speech and Language
Celebrations are always good times to expand a child’s vocabulary. If you think about it there are words that we use only around certain celebrations and they are rarely heard through the rest of the year. For example, we use the word bauble at Christmas but when else would you use that word unless you are talking about decorating a Christmas tree. Some words you may use at Easter might be, hot cross bun, Easter egg, basket, chick, bunny, chocolate, new life, cross, resurrection, tomb, ascension.
The below links are some games that you may be able to use to help build vocabulary.
Create an Easter Bonnet
I still remember a beautiful Easter day when we had a picnic in the park with my family. My Grandmother always liked to create some fun, whether it was with craft or games. This day she brought supplies for us all to create our own Easter bonnets as we enjoyed the sunshine as we paraded our hats to each other. Creating an item like an Easter bonnet will help a child use some planning skills and visual-spatial skills to produce their creation. You might like to make an Easter bonnet with your family and have some laughs. All you need is an old hat or make a cardboard hat and then decorate it with things from spring. Youtube Easter bonnet if you are struggling for ideas but I think it is best to just use your own creativity so that you are not chasing the perfect bonnet but just having fun with the activity and your loved ones. Get the kids to connect with others by sending some fun Easter Bonnet photos to extended family.
Palm Leaf Crosses
This is a great activity for older kids and adults alike. If you don’t have any palm fronds then you can use strips of paper. Crafts like this are excellent for honing fine motor skills and developing visual spacial skills. Last time I made these some of the adults struggled more with the visual-spatial skills that the kids did! These are not hard but just take some patience. The video below is the best one that I have found to clearly demonstrate how they are made.
Happy Easter
Naomi (more about me)