Easter Story Eggs – Create a New Family Tradition

Today we welcome Natalie Ard, creator of The Easter Story Egg. Natalie’s unique activity helps kids focus on Jesus and stay in the Word as they anticipate Easter. 

Easter, like Christmas, is often a holiday that can be confusing for children. They see so much media and advertisement about Easter basket goodies and the Easter Bunny. Candy floods the grocery store aisles, and visions of Chocolate bunnies dance in their heads!

As an adult and a mother I can look past the jelly beans and Cadbury Eggs, and know that Easter is about the cross and Jesus. It is about resurrection and new life! This isn’t so easy for a kid. So, how would I keep my children’s’ eyes and heart fixed on the true meaning of Easter? How could I get them to look past the yummy chocolate and life sized bunnies?

The Easter story is one of the most beautiful and important stories we will ever teach our kids. Why not make it fun? I decided to create an activity and tradition for families to help them tell the Resurrection story. I wasn’t really sure where to begin when I began the development process. I knew I wanted to make the activity fun, playful, and something children could interact with. I decided an “egg” would be the perfect place to start. Dying eggs and egg hunts are often the first things that come to mind when a child thinks about Easter. The egg is also an ancient symbol of new life, and for Christians the egg resembles Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and resurrection. That was it! I would tell the Easter story through an egg.

We have a stack of children’s Easter books in our home, and many of them talk about new life, or really focus in on the resurrection, but often skip over the crucifixion altogether. I wanted to find a way to tell more of the story and to help children really understand the importance of this amazing holiday. It has always fascinated me how many meaningful events took place during Holy Week. From Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday, there are so many important facts and stories that would be interesting to our kids! Therefore, I decided this Easter tradition would not be limited to the crucifixion and the resurrection, it would include all of Holy Week.

The Story Egg is a tradition that celebrates the true meaning of Easter. This family activity includes a hardcover book and 7 wooden nesting eggs – Palm Sunday Egg, House of Prayer Monday Egg, Teacher of Love Tuesday Egg, Give and Take Wednesday Egg, Last Supper Thursday Egg, Good Friday Egg, and Holy Saturday Egg.

The Story Egg book begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday. Each egg within the set of nesting eggs has a story that relates to a particular day in Holy Week, leading up to Easter Sunday. As the children open each egg they will discover the Easter story and the journey of Jesus through the week of Easter. The book is written in rhyming format, and the illustrations are brightly colored yet simple to encourage a child’s imagination.

The Story Egg has been such a great teaching tool for me to use with my kids. It helps them connect with the true meaning of Easter through hands-on play. They love to open and close the eggs. They line the eggs up, un-nest and re-nest them over and over again! The Story Egg has opened up opportunities for them to ask me more detailed questions about the Easter story and has encouraged them to want to learn more of the stories of Jesus!

I hope the Story Egg offers this same experience to other families as well, and I pray that it helps children understand the significance of the most beautiful story ever told, the story of Easter.

 

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Natalie Ard is the creator, author, and illustrator of The Easter Story Egg. She is a wife and a mother to three children and has built her company on the foundation of creating lasting memories for children and their families. You can connect with her on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.

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