Easter Resurrection Eggs

 *This post was originally published on 3/11/13.  Enjoy!

I've been thinking a lot about how to make Easter meaningful to my children this year.  They're getting older and I want to make sure the deeper Easter meaning doesn't get lost in the rush for chocolate.  But  making things meaningful times and forethought.  So here I am planning.

We've been making lots of cross and flower crafts.  And I'm planning the menu to include Resurrection Rolls as part of our Easter breakfast.  While we're at it, it's time to pull out the Easter eggs and make our Resurrection Eggs.  Resurrection Eggs are a twelve day countdown to Easter using symbols and verses that recap the significance of the holiday.  It's a great activity for hands-on learning as the kids can touch, taste, and smell each symbol hiding in the Easter eggs.

With that in mind, these are the symbols and verses included in our Resurrection Eggs:

Day One:
Symbol: Leaves
Verse: So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out "Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" (John 12:12-13)

Day Two:
Symbol: Sample of perfume
Verse: For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. (Matt. 26:12)

Day Three
Symbol: Cracker
Verse: As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it.  Then he broke it into pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying "Take it, for this is my body."  (Mark 14:22)

Day Four
Symbol: Small flowers
Verse: Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told the disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." (Matt 26:36)

Day Five
Symbol: 3 dimes
Verse: Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. (Matt 27:3)

Day Six
Symbol: Gold pipe cleaner crown
Verse: So Pilate asked Him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"  Jesus replied, "You have said it." (Luke 23:3)

Day Seven
Symbol: 3 nails
Verse: Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. (Mark 15:24)

Day Eight
Symbol: Dice
Verse: They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing. (Psalm 22:18)

Day Nine
Symbol: Sponge soaked in vinegar
Verse: Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture He said, "I am thirsty."  A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips.  When Jesus had tasted it, He said, "It is finished.  Then he bowed His head and released His spirit.  (John 19:28-30)

Day Ten
Symbol: Linen cloth
Verse: When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.  He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.  And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud (cloth) and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock.  And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.  (Matthew 27:57-60)

Day Eleven
Symbol: Rock
Verse: (And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.  And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men (Matthew 28:2-4)

Day Twelve
Symbol: Empty
Verse: (But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here, for He has risen, as He said.  come, see the place where He lay." (Matthew 28:5-6)

What family traditions do you have at Easter?

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2026 Homeschool Goals ll February Check-In

 Happy March!  It's time for my monthly check-in for our 2026 Homeschool Resolutions.  I'm trying to keep these resolutions at the top of my mind so I can keep making progress.  I felt so convicted about at the beginning of the year., but I'm afraid February might have gotten away from me.  Two months in and life is already distracting. :-)  

So I'm doing a check-in to keep myself accountable.  I've copyied my resolutions here and I'll put my February updated thoughts in bold,  just to help keep things at the top of my mind.

Our 2026 Homeschool Resolutions:

1. Reading Scripture together--While my kids each have their own devotional and Bible study times, I would like for us to incorporate some Bible reading together.  I'm hoping this will open up some dialogue about what we're reading together and start our day on a good note.--We're continuing to read through Mark.  It's probably the shortest gospel, but the chapters are long.  So some days we only get through a half chapter, and we're only reading on school days.  We should finish halfway through March and then I'm not sure where we're going.  Any suggestions?  The nice thing is that this has really become an automatic habit. It's nice to find that we're just rolling into our reading without it feeling like a chore.

2. Praying together each morning--I realized our prayer times together have become route.  The idea is that having this prayer time in the morning will open up an opportunity for us to share a little more freely.  And practicing public prayer will make it less intimidating to pray with a group.--This goal continues to be a struggle.  First of all, I don't even remember to put it into my morning routine so we'll go for multiple days without praying.  Ugh... now that I'm thinking about it, I'm going to put a note in my planner right now.  Trying to find more organic ways of praying with my teens, but it's still feels very foreign.

3. 12 Read Alouds in the Year--We love our read alouds. And I love that reading good books together gives us a chance to adventure together... even on a limited budget.  As the kids have gotten older and the books longer, 12 books feels like a good goal for the year.--We read Jennifer A. Nielsen's new book, Magnitude this month, bringing our read aloud total to 3 books so far for 2026.  We love this author, and were excited to be a part of her launch team.  Read alouds continue to be one of my favorite parts of the day.

4. Go on 12 Hikes this year-- Ok, we've made hiking goals before and failed miserably..  So I'm keeping it really simple this year.  Only 12.. should be doable.--This month we hiked Chamise Peak.  Our homeschool group met and hiked this one today.  It was just long enough to feel like a challenge without being too overwhelming.  

5. Celebrate Lydia's graduation--I can't believe I'm graduating my second kid.  Unbelievable!  I have a feeling the way we celebrate this one will be very different from the way we celebrated the first.  But I want to make it just as special so it's time to start planning now.--I sent out the date to friends and family, and started working on a graduation announcement. I can't believe we're only a few months away at this point.  Feels so unreal.  I'm hoping to get that announcement done this month so I can send them out in April.

6. One on One Dates--Yes, this is parenting.  But with homeschool, parenting and education bleed into each other.  Having strong relationships and time to listen can only allow for more openness and connection during our homeschool days.--We didn't get any one on ones in February, but my daughter has been driving with my husband on the weekends.  That counts right? :-)

7. Plan 6+ homeschool field trips--Having one kid graduated and two in high school, I realize more every day just how small this window of time really is.  So field trips mean so much.  Making time to enjoy learning, experience new opportunities, expand their horizons... I have 2 in the works right now, with multiple tabs open for potential learning over the next year.--This month I organized a group of homeschoolers and we went to the symphony.  This year's focus was on American composers and I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  But with 40+ people in tow, we had a great time.  I was absolutely floored by the music that was familiar, but I didn't know who to attribute it to.  We had a great time.

8. Stay invested in our homeschool group--Our high school home group has been a lifeline this year.  Giving my kids an opportunity to make likeminded friends AND be mentored by other quality parents... WIN/WIN!  I'm definitely making time in our schedule to keep this going.--This was the group we went hiking with and we also played disc golf.  We also hosted a home group time at our house once in February.

As you can see, my theme this year is CONNECTION, CONNECTION, CONNECTION!  Now more than ever, I'm well aware of how important relationship is in our homeschool.  Everything flows from that starting point.  So happy to be raising my very best friends.

Are you making homeschool resolutions this year?

Christ Centered Easter Basket Ideas

 *This post was originally published on 3/12/19.  Enjoy!

As Easter approaches, I've been thinking about what I want to put in the kids' Easter baskets.  It's a fun opportunity for me to treat the kids a little bit and purchase them a few fun surprises.  While I've always leaned toward filling their baskets with practical items, the past couple of years, I've also looked for opportunities to point my kids toward Christ. 

But building a Christ Centered Easter Basket requires forethought and intentionality.  It's so easy to get lost in the pastels of bunnies, chicks, and jelly beans.  As I've brainstormed the contents of our baskets this year, I thought I'd share with you a few ideas for building your own Christ Centered Easter Baskets.

Bibles--I like to gift Bibles when my children are transitioning from one life stage to another: entering elementary school, Jr. High, or graduation.  Or when my little ones are transitioning from storybook Bibles to developing quiet times.  These are a few of our favorites:

The First Message Bible
The Adventure Bible
The Action Bible
Teen Life Application Bible

Books--Books are always a favorite in our house.  There is rarely a holiday that goes by that I'm not gifting my children some sort of book.  And again there are so many wonderful characters and stories to pass on good morals to our children.  There are just a few:

Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story
Easter in the Garden
God gave us Easter
Berenstain Bears Easter Sunday
The Story of Jesus (Little Golden Book)
The Parable of the Lily
The First Easter
The Tale of Three Trees
Amon's Adventure
Our Favorite Easter Picture Books
The Mandie Books
The Sugar Creek Gang

Devotionals--I've been trying to lead my kids in a deep quiet time this year and help them develop the habit while they're still young.  In earlier years, we've gone through devotionals together as a family, and now as they're growing we leaning more toward personal quiet times.  These are a few of the tools we've used and continue to use:

3-Minute Devotions
The Names of Christ
Prayer Journal
Gratitude Journal
Bible Study (to complete with mom or dad)

Jewelry

Fancy cross necklace
Nail cross necklace
Cross bracelet


Toys and Crafts

Easter activity book
Stained glass coloring book
Stuffed lamb
Bible Pictionary

What items do you add to your child's Easter basket?

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