Our Holy Week Activities

Hubby and I did not plan to go anywhere special this Holy Week. In the past years, we usually went with our church to our Family Camp which were done annually. This year, however, going to the usual Family Camp or even going out on an outing is definitely not within our budget. However, we still wanted to commemorate this week and teach our children why this is special. I realized that we had to tell them the Resurrection story of Jesus Christ when both my Guitar Babe and her sister, Artsy Princess, asked me why there is Easter Sunday. Good thing I have downloaded the Free Easter Goodies from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, so this gave me something to work with. I wanted some hands-on activities for them so I started searching online. After a futile search, I realized that I can use the New Testament Activity Pak Lapbook by Homeschool in the Woods that I am currently reviewing. I was so glad to see that it had several hands-on activities that I can have my children do, even for my 4 year old Sunshine Girl. Our whole family read through Matthew 26-28 as this holds a record of Jesus Christ’s last days on Earth, the Last Supper, praying at Gethsemane, being betrayed by Judas and subsequently arrested , being charged with blasphemy, tortured and crucified and finally, the wondrous Resurrection. We had several meaningful discussions with our children, can’t believe they understand so much already! After the discussions, we would do the activities for the lapbook. In the middle of all this, though, we’ve all been suffering from cough and colds. It got to be too much so we decided to take the children back to their pediatrician and also for a two-nights visit to their grandparents. Online casino Ireland. ###

We had a good visit with the grandparents. On Holy Thursday, we all went to the La Mesa Ecopark and spent the morning there. We all had a great time though it was hot and full of people all ready to go swimming. Gary D., Guitar Babe and I tried out the exciting zipline where you zip over the lake while hanging on a cable. Guitar Babe and I played rock-paper-scissors to determine who was jumping first. Guitar Babe lost so she went first and she zipped down the cable fearlessly. Having to jump from a platform that was about 12ft high, I almost changed my mind. But hearing my parents telling me, “If you’re afraid, don’t do it” sealed the decision for me. I thought to myself, “This woman is not afraid of anything”, so off I went and had the time of my life. After watching me do it, Gary D. decided that he wanted to do it,too. Which was a surprise for me because a mere caterpillar roller coaster ride can make his knees wobbly. But he gamely said, “Well I have to conquer this fear”, so off he went and indeed conquered the zipline!

Easter Sunday

⁵The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matt. 28:5-6   On Easter Sunday, we hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for the children in our neighborhood. Hubby and I thought that this would be a good way to get to know our neighbors whom we eventually want to share the Gospel to.

Very early in the morning, the children were already outside our gate waiting for us. When I told them that we’ll start at 8:30, they started counting the minutes, they were so excited. I think they have not yet experienced an egg hunt. At first, there were only a handful of children, but once we opened the gate, more people came, even mothers with small babies. Gladly we welcomed them and invited everyone to search around our house for the eggs.

It was good to see the children and mothers enjoying the search. There were some tears for the ones who did not find a single egg but a little boy was jubilant when he found the jackpot egg. We gave him a few packs of crackers for finding the jackpot.

After all the eggs had been found, Gary D took a few minutes to explain a bit about the reason for the Egg Hunt. He said that the eggs represent a new life which represents the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even if we had gone on several family outings in the past, this year’s Holy Week is one that I will never forget. Though we celebrated it simply, it is more important for us to tell our children about Jesus Christ, His death on the cross and His Resurrection and to share our blessings with others.