By Kristy MacKaben
For the Mirror
There's no denying Easter is fun. Dressing up little ones in pastel outfits to hunt for eggs and sit on a big, furry bunny's lap - all the non-Christian traditions - are darn right adorable.
Article Photos
(Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski) Lauren Simpson, 9, of Duncansville opens a plastic egg which reveals a cross during a class about Easter at Hicks Memorial United Methodist Church in Duncansville.
But what do colored eggs and baskets filled with chocolates and toys have to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus? How can you teach children about the true meaning of Easter?
Teaching about Christmas and the birth of Christ is much easier than delving into the topic of the Crucifixion. How do you explain to young children that Jesus was beaten and crucified in a meaningful, yet nonthreatening way?
Concrete ideas and tangible learning are the best ways to teach difficult topics to children, Rebecca Zeek, pastor of Twenty-Eighth Street Church of the Brethren in Altoona, said.
"I was a teacher for 19 years. It has to be something you can touch or see or smell," Zeek said. "The idea is that you tell stories in ways they can connect."
Death is something children deal with even at a young age, whether it is the death of a pet or family member.
"Children have experience with death," Zeek said. "Our conversations about Jesus' death on the cross really don't revolve around the gruesomeness of it, but on the fact that it happened and that out of death comes life. Your life lives on even after your body is gone."
Pastor Rich Morris of Hicks United Methodist Church agreed that children need to learn about life and death.
"Jesus Christ makes it possible that we can be with God," Morris said.
One of the ways the Resurrection is taught to young children at Zeek's church is by talking about the metamorphosis of a butterfly.
A caterpillar forms a cocoon and becomes a butterfly, just as Jesus was human, died and came back to life.
Some children may have trouble understanding why Jesus had to die. This can be an opportunity to talk about sacrifice, Zeek said.
"Because Christ died as a sinless being, then we too have the opportunity to have sins forgiven. It's the idea that he did something for us," Zeek said.
Cindy Miller, Altoona Bible Church preschool teacher, tells the story of Easter by using a felt board to depict the scenes.
"I try to be as honest as I can. It's a sad story, but it has a happy ending. I tell them although he went through all of this, he could have changed things if he chose to. With all that negative, I give it a positive ending as I present it," Miller said.
"The ultimate is he died and he rose again for them. I always tell them this story starts out happy with all his friends loving him, then it gets sad with his dying, and it's happy again when he's risen."
Suffering is explained at Hicks United Methodist by tailoring the story to the children's levels.
"For little ones, it's more about how people get angry. We don't go into much detail. For older ones, we ask how would you feel if you've been stoned, beaten or if people laughed at you," said Deb Simpson, religious education director at Hicks church.
Children at Hicks are gradually taught the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection by focusing each week leading up to Easter on one day of Holy Week.
"We'll start with Palm Sunday and talk about how people were excited to see Jesus, then we'll go through the week and kind of explain to them that Jesus knew what was going to happen, and he had a special meal with his friends," Simpson said.
Children then learn about how people turned against Jesus, followed by the story of the Crucifixion and Mary going to his grave and finding him gone, and Jesus rising.
"We walk them through each part. We don't cover it all at one time. We break it down," Simpson said.
This is how Simpson taught her own children: Audrey, 14, Andrew, 10 and Lauren, 9. Although the Easter Bunny hides eggs around their house each year, the Simpsons focus less on the commercialism of the holiday, and more on Jesus.
"We talk about Jesus' resurrection and how that gives us new life," Simpson said.
For parents struggling to make the correlation between the Easter bunny and the resurrection of Jesus, Simpson advised talking about new life and spring.
"The best thing to do is to tell children that there's a story to Easter and the reason we celebrate it is it gives us a new beginning. The Easter bunny and Easter eggs can also represent spring and new beginnings," Simpson said.
"What Jesus did for us is the biggest sign God loves us even when we did things wrong," Morris said.
Children at Hicks are gradually taught the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection by focusing each week leading up to Easter on one day of Holy Week.
"We'll start with Palm Sunday and talk about how people were excited to see Jesus, then we'll go through the week and kind of explain to them that Jesus knew what was going to happen, and he had a special meal with his friends," Simpson said.
Children then learn about how people turned against Jesus, followed by the story of the Crucifixion and Mary going to his grave and finding him gone, and Jesus rising.
"We walk them through each part. We don't cover it all at one time. We break it down," Simpson said.
This is how Simpson taught her own children: Audrey, 14, Andrew, 10 and Lauren, 9.
Although the Easter Bunny hides eggs around their house each year, the Simpsons focus less on the commercialism of the holiday, and more on Jesus.
"We talk about Jesus' resurrection and how that gives us new life," she said.
For parents struggling to make the correlation between the Easter bunny and the resurrection of Jesus, Simpson advised talking about new life and spring.
"The best thing to do is to tell children that there's a story to Easter and the reason we celebrate it is it gives us a new beginning. The Easter Bunny and Easter eggs can also represent spring and new beginnings," Simpson said.
"What Jesus did for us is the biggest sign God loves us even when we did things wrong," Morris said.
