Easter Fun: Resurrection Garden

Join us this week, as we explore memorable and edifying ways to celebrate Easter. We encourage you to take some of the ideas you find and make them your own. Feel free to share your thoughts on each of these projects and join in the fun!

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As long as I can remember, I have always enjoyed gardening. There is something relaxing about being in the outdoors, enjoying the sunshine and helping things grow. When being out-of-doors isn’t an option, it helps to bring the outdoors, in!

Adults aren’t the only ones who enjoy greenery and horticulture; children like to get in on the fun too! For Easter week, why not spend an afternoon doing a little gardening and sharing the gospel with your children?

A fun activity our family has been recreating each year during Easter week is a Resurrection Garden. With only a few materials (which you might have on hand), your children can craft a miniature garden which will help retell the story of the resurrection.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• a shallow bowl or pot, approximately 9″ round
• a small flower-pot, approximately 4″ at the opening
• potting soil
• grass seed
• 6 popsicle sticks
• gravel or small rocks
• water, in spray bottle
• one large rock, approximately the size of your child’s closed fist

Place the shallow bowl on a flat surface; place the small flower-pot on its side in the center. Surround the flower-pot with potting soil, making sure to thoroughly cover the top and back of the pot so that it resembles a hill, but leaving the front of the flower-pot exposed. (See picture below for reference.) Cover the space in front of the flower-pot with gravel or small rocks to create a pathway. Gently place your large rock slightly off the side of flower-pot’s opening. Add grass seed to the potting soil and water well with spray bottle. Craft your popsicle sticks to represent crosses and place them on your ‘hill’ of soil and seed. Place your ‘garden’ in a sunny spot; continue to water and watch your garden grow! (Note: If you would like your garden to be green for resurrection week, plan to do this activity a few weeks in advance so that grass will have ample time to come in.)

The garden is a wonderful way to share the gospel with visiting guests and a constant reminder to the children what this holiday is for. The crosses remind us of Christ’s sacrifice, while the empty ‘tomb’ reminds us of how He conquered death and rose from the dead. The miracle of Easter is not only in Christ’s willingness to die for our sin, but in His defeat of death and His everlasting power.

This activity is something our children look forward to each year! They take great care with how their crosses are crafted and making sure they water the garden each day.

This year, our son had the honor of making our Resurrection Garden on his own, with Pop’s help. His Contenders group had all the fellas together one morning, each young man constructing their own garden. He returned home with his finished project and we have it proudly on display in the front room.

Resurrection week is almost over! Good Friday is here and Easter Sunday is just around the corner. This week is passing by much too quickly!

Have you ever made a Resurrection Garden? Share your stories and pictures with us! We’d love to see how you took this project and made it ‘your own’.

“He is not here; he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was in Galilee:  “The Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, be crucified, and three days later rise to life.’ “ – Luke 24:6-7