Every Christian mom can use these simple ideas to engage your kids in the FULL Easter story… for preschoolers!
Why you must share the Easter story for preschoolers
You know that Easter is not really about the spring dresses, colorful eggs, or chocolate bunnies.
… But does your toddler know that?
I’ve got 4 littles, ages 4 and under. We all know that means that our family Bible and prayer time lasts about 2 minutes and includes at least one spilled drink cup. But I know it’s still important!
The fact is, it’s NEVER too early to start sharing the gospel with your children. The Easter story is not just for adults. It’s for every person. The Easter story is for preschoolers too.
So, let’s take a look at some fun and creative ways to share the Easter story with YOUR preschoolers!
Grab my Easter Story Cards here for some helpful visuals in your own home!
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We all need the gospel
We can’t share the Easter story with our preschoolers and little ones if we don’t really understand it ourselves.
But don’t worry – you don’t need to be a pastor to share the Easter story with your kids!
You can learn right along with them.
The Easter story has several main story points, and the creative ideas for engaging your kids that I’m about to share below will walk through the main storyline.
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The Easter story for preschoolers... and all of us!
If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the idea of sharing the Easter story with your toddlers, here are the main “plot points” to be aware of:
- Palm Sunday – Jesus arrives in Jerusalem on a donkey, with the people waving palm branches and shouting “Hosannah!” to praise him.
- Holy Week – Jesus had his final sermons, miracles, and some big moments in Jerusalem.
- The Last Supper – Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, shared Communion for the first time, and ate the Passover meal with his friends
- Jesus was betrayed by Judas and the Jewish leaders
- In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is in agony and prays. He is arrested and his disciples run away.
- Good Friday – Jesus has an unfair trial from Pontious Pilate and is crucified on the cross for the sins of the world. (John 3:16-17)
- Easter Sunday – The tomb is empty and an angel announces Jesus is alive, and He appears to his friends!
Creative ideas for sharing the Easter story with your preschoolers
Let’s walk through the Easter story and look at some ideas for how you can explain the story and engage your kids… without making it all about the chocolate candy.
For starters, make sure you have a Bible that your kids can understand. There are some great children’s Bibles out there!
With each activity, make sure to also talk with your kids about the Easter story! An activity can be fun, but kids won’t always connect the dots like grown ups will.
Act out the Palm Sunday story
Toddlers and preschoolers love to act out stories! You can create costumes or just give everyone roles and lines. Have fun with it.
Gather leaves and make a "road" to Jerusalem
Have your kids gather a bunch of leaves, branches, or other fun items to then create their own road for Jesus and his donkey to walk down!
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Share favorite Bible stories and highlight how they point to Jesus
Every story in the Bible points to Jesus. David and Goliath? Noah’s ark? Jonah and the whale? Yep! If you’re not sure how a story points to Jesus, do a quick google search for ideas.
Spell out "Hosannah" and other big words from the Easter story - with play-doh or glitter glue!
Practice letters and fine motor skills with unusual Bible words. Look them up and talk about what they mean with your kids.
Make a nature-art project designing the Palm Sunday story
Put away the crayons and have your kids grab some leaves, grass, tree bark, and GLUE! They’ll love it. Design a collage of the story… maybe outdoors to avoid some mess.
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Flip some tables (carefully) and act out the story in Matthew 21:12-13
Act this story out (you might want to flip the tables!) and talk about why Jesus wanted people to be able to access God at the Temple – and how we access God today thanks to the Easter story!
Draw a comic strip of some of Jesus' final parables
Jesus shares several parables during Holy Week. Use crayons and paper and have your kids draw a picture for each part of these stories, and connect them to the larger Easter story.
Use some olive oil (or water!) and "anoint" your kids like Mary anointed Jesus
Remember the story of the woman (Mary) who poured perfume on Jesus to prepare for his burial? The disciples got upset about it, but your kids will love acting it out! Talk about how we worship Jesus today.
Make a fancy meal for the "Last Supper" in the Easter story
Every preschoolers loves a special treat! You could re-create a full Jewish passover meal, or make a favorite meal for your kids.
Wash your kids feet... and have them wash your feet too
Toddlers love water activities. So grab a tub of water and a few towels, and wash each other’s feet. What a great conversation starter about how Jesus loves us and serves us.
Find a service activity to do with your family
It’s true that Jesus serves us – and that He wants us to serve others too. Connect with a local nonprofit or find a family to bring a meal or clean up their lawn as a family.
Write notes of encouragement with your kids
Have your kids draw the pictures and you write their words. Send a note to grandparents, teachers, or others.
Share a "communion" snack and discuss what it means
Share a yummy bread or muffin and drink grape juice together… and talk about communion! Jesus’ sacrifice for us is a big part of the Easter story for preschoolers, and for all of us.
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Read Exodus 12 and act it out with your kids
This is the story of how the Passover started, which Jesus was eating with his friends at the Last Supper. It’s a bit of a crazy story! Read it, act it out, and answer questions.
Kneel in confession with your preschoolers
However you might usually pray, the story of Judas betraying Jesus should cause us all to confess, repent, and turn back to God. Make it physical with your kids, kneeling and saying a simple prayer of confession with them.
Read Old Testament prophecies with your kids and have them draw a picture of each one
A little more reading and coloring – but a great way to link the Old and New Testaments for your kids! The Easter story started thousands of years before Jesus.
Try: the story of Jonah and the whale, Abraham sacrificing Isaac in Genesis 22, the suffering in Psalm 22, and the suffering servant in Isaiah 53.
Find a garden and act out Jesus' prayer and the disciples sleeping
Your kid will love “sleeping” outside. You could read the Scripture while they act it out, or act it all out together.
Invite some friends over for a Bible story time
You can read some favorite Bible-related books to the kids (think: library storytime!) and have them act out some Easter story scenes themselves! Especially where Jesus’ friends all run way when He is arrested.
Play "tag"... like Jesus' friends ran away
Get some energy out, and talk about the Easter story with your preschoolers at the same time! Every time someone is tagged, you can pause and ask a question about the story.
Act out Jesus' arrest, the unfair trial, and Peter's denial
There is a lot of action at this point in the Easter story! So act it out. You could do a scene every day, or do one longer sequence. Your kids might want to perform this for Dad or Grandma.
Make a crown of thorns together
You could find some thorny brambles or flowers, but you could also gather some twigs and glue them onto a hat or headband. You may or may not want to wear this “crown” but it’s a good art activity with purpose.
Attend a church Good Friday service together
Many churches hold a special service on Good Friday. It is often a more solemn and serious event, but that’s good exposure for your toddlers to the seriousness of sin – and their need for the gospel!
Dress all in black and spend a day in mourning
Good Friday and the weekend leading up to Easter is a time when Jesus’ friends were very sad. What a great change to dress in black, talk about emotions, and maybe cut some onions to make yourselves cry!
Play a flashlight game to talk about light and dark
There is a lot of symbolism at Good Friday between dark (sin, death) and light (Jesus, life, resurrection). So turn off the lights and turn on the flashlights! You could play flashlight tag, make shadow animals, or simple enjoy the flashlight fun.
Grab some washcloths and wipe away a big dirt spot
You’re invited to try this activity in my kitchen! Or your own might be more convenient. Wherever it is, kids usually really enjoy scrubbing and cleaning… especially with dirt and mud + soap and bubbles. Have fun talking about how Jesus washed away our sin!
Write a book together... the Easter story for preschoolers, in their own words
Let your kids tell you the Easter story, and write it down just like they say it. Have them draw the pictures and create your own book together.
Make resurrection eggs, with Bible verses or pictures inside the colorful Easter eggs
There are a lot of ways that you can do resurrection eggs! My Easter Story Cards can be printed small and cut apart to put inside eggs, and then you can work with your kids to arrange them into the correct order for the full Easter story.
Gather some rocks, grass, and leaves and create your own Resurrection Garden
Another fun art project! Make sure one of the rocks can be “rolled away” just like when Jesus walked out of the tomb!
Play hide and seek and have your kids hide inside things, like Jesus in the tomb
Even if your kids simply hide in bed under the covers, they can still pop out and surprise you – like Jesus surprised everyone when He “popped out” of the tomb on Easter Sunday!
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Bake some resurrection rolls
You know the kind – delicious and filled with a sugary something (marshallow, etc) that dissolves while cooking… leaving an “empty tomb” in the delicious dessert. Yum!
Get dressed up to celebrate new life in Christ
Would an Easter story for preschoolers NOT include dress up clothes?? You could take any dress-up costume and talk about “new life” but your toddler daughters will probably really enjoy a beautiful dress, painting their nails, and getting all dolled up.
The Easter story for preschoolers is still the Easter story
As you enjoy some of these activities, try to make sure you’re always talking about the true story of Easter. You might only share pieces of the story at one time, but that’s okay! It all builds together.
The important thing is to remember the main point: showing your children God’s glory through the true story of Easter.
It’s not a holiday about fun, games, candy, and colors. It’s a holiday celebrating forgiveness and new life. Tell the story – and have fun engaging your child in it this year!
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