Easter Bible Reading Plan for Young Children (Read-to-Me)

This is a Bible reading plan that is designed to involve your young children with all aspects of the Easter message.  With your help, young children will become familiar with such events as Palm Sunday, the prayer in the garden, the betrayal, the trial, the death and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Suggested activities, crafts & videos are also included in the plan.

2016 NOTE:  Starting this the week of Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) will have you reading about the Resurrection the Monday-Friday before Easter and will have you reading about the Great Commission the Monday-Friday after Easter.

If you have older children or teenagers, you can find their plan here.

If you decide to participate in this year’s plan, please join our facebook group for encouragement, accountability, and more ideas:

 If you love the Bible reading plans but want even more for your family,  check out the study I have put together called “The Feast: A 7-Week Easter Study for Families”.  This study includes the entire Bible reading plan, plus much, much more.  Every lesson begins with an appetizer (a way to introduce the reading for the day), continues on to a meal (the Scripture reading and discussion questions) and ends with a dessert (ideas for additional activities to drive the point home).  In addition, there are cross curricular ideas for every single day — ideas for Language Arts, History/Geography, Science & Math, plus at least one outreach idea for each lesson.  To find out more information, click on the picture.

If you work with children or youth in a church or Christian school setting, you might be interested in my Easter plays for children.  Each of these plays were written for use with the children I work with and have all been performed by those kids — a group of about 20 ranging in age from 4-14.  We had fun with them . . . and the message was proclaimed to the congregation as well as retained by the kids.  Maybe you can use them, too!

Finally, I would be THRILLED if you would like my facebook page or follow this blog.  And, if you enjoy the Bible Reading Plan, please share this link with your friends.  Let’s get EVERYONE reading the Bible with their children this Easter season!

Keep scrolling for the printable plan, or find the entire plan right here on this page.

May God Bless you and your family this Easter!

Cheri

Easter Bible Reading Plan — Read to Me

Week One

___ Monday: Luke 19:29-38
When Jesus rode into town, what were the people shouting? Do you know what  “Hosanna” means? It means “Save us, now!” The people were crying out for Jesus to save them! We need Jesus to save us, too! Make your own palm branch and then go through the house shouting, “Hosanna!”

Here’s a cute idea from Oh Amanda:

http://ohamanda.com/2011/04/18/palm-palms-a-giveaway-the-beginning-of-our-resurrection-week/

Or try this super cute hand and foot print craft from Jessie Weaver:

http://www.jessieweaver.net/2012/04/celebrating-holy-week-with-toddlers-and-preschoolers-day-1-palm-sunday/

And a video for you for today:

___ Tuesday: Matthew 21:12-13
What did Jesus do when He got to the temple? Why? Jesus was upset when He saw how the people were treating the temple. It was supposed to be a place to pray, but the people had turned it into a crazy, loud store! Here is a coloring page to go along with today’s reading:

http://www.kidssundayschool.com/1483/preschool/jesus-cleansing-the-temple.php

___ Wednesday: John 12:20-26
Jesus said that whoever serves Him must follow Him! What does it mean to follow someone? It means you do exactly what they do. Play a game of follow the leader to get this point across. Then do a craft. Trace your child’s foot on a piece of cardboard paper. Then write ways that your child can follow Jesus on the foot. Let your child decorate it. You might also choose to trace several feet and write a different way to follow Jesus on each foot. Then put the feet on the ground in a path and “follow” the feet to follow Jesus!

___ Thursday: Matthew 26:6-16
What did the woman do to Jesus? Why? The woman was thankful for all that Jesus had done for her and so she gave Him a very special gift! Spray some perfume on your child’s wrist (or feet). As your child smells the perfume, remind him that we can give a gift to Jesus, too – we can give Him our lives! Our Family For His Glory has some great ideas to go along with these verses. Have your child make the special jar craft today (or use any of the other ideas there):

http://www.ourfamilyforhisglory.com/2012/04/anointed-with-heart-holy-week-day-2/

___ Friday: Mark 14:12-16
What were the disciples and Jesus preparing to eat together? Do you know what the Passover was celebrating? Jesus was soon to become the passover lamb – the perfect lamb who would take away the sins of the world. Make a lamb craft. Here’s one from The Homeschool Village:
http://www.thehomeschoolvillage.com/lamb-craft/

 Week Two

___ Monday: Luke 22:14-23
What did Jesus say about the cup and the bread as He celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples? Jesus was getting ready to die for all of us, and He was giving us a way to remember what He was about to do. Now when we take the cup and the bread, we are reminded of Jesus’s death on the cross for us. Here’s a coloring page for today:

http://coloring-book-pages.com/showimage.asp?Cat=&ImageID=55

Here’s a video that shows what happened in today’s reading, plus a little extra:

___ Tuesday: John 13:5-11
What did Jesus do after supper? Jesus washed His disciples feet! He showed them what it means to be a servant! What do you think it means to be a servant? How can YOU be a servant? Take turns washing each other’s feet today! Have a fun snack together . . . get some teddy grahams (or gummy bears or any other treat that you can use to represent people). Then get a bowl of pudding (or frosting or anything that you can pretend is water). Dip the teddy grahams “feet” in the “water” to represent Jesus washing the disciples feet.

___ Wednesday: John 13:21-28
Jesus knew that one of his disciples was going to betray Him. What does it mean to betray someone? (Explain this concept to your child if you need to). It would be sad to know that one of your friends was going to hurt you, wouldn’t it? It would probably make me cry. Draw a teardrop on a piece of paper and let your child color it in to remind him that Jesus was sad.

___ Thursday: Matthew 26:36-46
What did Jesus do in this passage? Jesus spent time praying! You can pray, too!  When something happens that makes you sad or upset or scared, PRAY about it!  Trace your child’s hands on a piece of paper. Then have your child tell you the different things he wants to pray about. Write one item on each “finger”. Cut out the hands and glue them together to make them look like praying hands. Spend time praying together. If you are ambitious, make your own pretzels to represent praying hands. Here is a recipe for you:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/almost-famous-soft-pretzels-recipe.html

___ Friday: Psalm 69:16-21
This is a prayer by King David several years before Jesus prayed in the garden. Perhaps Jesus prayed a prayer similar to this one. Let’s make another prayer craft today:

http://childrensministry.com/articles/sunshine-prayers/

Here’s a song you can sing today:

Week Three

___ Monday: John 18:1-11
What happened to Jesus in these verses? What did Peter do when the soldiers came near? He drew his sword and ended up cutting off the ear of one of the soldiers – but what did Jesus do? Jesus HEALED it! Even though they were coming to arrest Him, Jesus still healed the man! Jesus is a powerful healer! Take a paper plate and have your child draw a face on it. Then cut out two “ears” from construction paper and tape them on the side of the plate. Let your child pretend to be Peter and “chop” off the ear, then pretend to be Jesus and heal it. Another option is to transform an old sock into Malchus and cut another old sock up to be the ears. Then put velcro strips on the socks so that the ears can attach and unattach easily.

NOTE:  If you want to read the verse where Jesus heals the soldier’s ear, see Luke 22:51.

___ Tuesday: Psalm 41:9-10
This is a Psalm that prophecies something that just happened to Jesus. What is it?  Jesus was betrayed by a close friend, just like this verse says. Talk about what it means to be a good friend. Help your child make friendship necklace kits (or any other gift) to give out to his friends. Follow these instructions from Inner Child Fun.

http://innerchildfun.com/2011/01/friendship-necklace-kits.html

___ Wednesday: Mark 14:55-62
What happened to Jesus in these verses? What did the people say about Jesus?  Some people stood up and lied about Jesus. God wants us to ALWAYS tell the truth.  Is it ever hard for you to tell the truth? When? Play a game to help your kids learn the difference between the truth and a lie. Use some of the ideas here:

http://www.momentsaday.com/teach-children-about-telling-the-truth/

___ Thursday: Matthew 26:69-75
What did Peter do in these verses? Peter lied about knowing Jesus! He was afraid to stand up for Jesus! What happened when the rooster crowed? Make a rooster craft.

http://followpics.me/paper-plate-rooster-kids-craft/

And a video for today:

___ Friday: Matthew 27:3-10
How did Judas feel when he realized what was going to happen to Jesus? Judas felt really bad about what he had done. He was never able to forgive himself. His life was ruined. Do you remember how much money Judas got for betraying Jesus?  Make 30 pieces of silver with your child. Cut circles out of cardboard (or old cereal boxes) and cover them with aluminum foil. Then let him act out Judas throwing the money at the chief priests. You can even have him use toys to act the scene out.

Week Four

___ Monday: John 18:28-32
Who did Jesus appear before in these verses? Jesus was now going to go on “trial”.  He was appearing before different men to see if they thought He had done anything wrong. Let’s pretend to have a trial today. Make a judge’s gavel out of old toilet paper tubes or anything else you have around the house. Dress your child up to make him look like a judge. Have him use the gavel to pound it on the table. Let him pretend to be Pilate, or make up your own “court” case and let him have fun being a judge.

___ Tuesday: Luke 23:6-12
Who did Pilate send Jesus to? Why? How did Herod respond to Jesus? What happened between Pilate and Herod on that day? Here is an online coloring activity to go along with these verses:

http://www.oncoloring.com/arrested-jesus-is-taken-before-the-roman-governor-pontius-pilate-to-hear-the-sentence-coloring-page_5689.html

___ Wednesday: Matthew 27:11-26
Who did the people demand be released instead of Jesus? The people were shouting for Pilate to release    Barabbas – a man who was a known criminal! How do you think Barabbas felt about that? Barabbas was given a second chance! He should have been punished for his crimes, but instead he was being set free. Jesus likes to give us second chances, doesn’t He? Here’s a song about Jonah, another man who was given a second chance:

___ Thursday: John 19:1-7
What did the soldiers put on Jesus? Jesus was now wearing a crown of thorns.  Make a crown of thorns snack today to remind you of the crown of thorns that Jesus wore.

http://www.freefuneaster.com/easter-recipes/crown-of-thorns-snack/

You can also make a crown of thorns using playdough and tooth picks. Discuss with your child how it must have hurt to wear a crown of thorns – but Jesus did it – for US!

___ Friday: Mark 15:16-21
What did the soldiers do to Jesus? When they took him out to be crucified, they needed to find someone to carry the cross for Jesus. Who did they find? How do you think you would have felt if you would have had to carry the cross for Jesus? Make a  cross snack today:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/335307134731899307/

Week Five

___ Monday: Matthew 27:33-37
This was a pretty sad day, wasn’t it? Jesus was dying on the cross for our sins, and He was going through a pretty tough time! Let’s make another cross craft to remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. Take two craft sticks and glue them together in the shape of a cross. Then glue beads, buttons, cereal pieces, or whatever you have on
hand to the craft sticks to decorate the cross. Glue string or yarn on the back so you can hang it somewhere to remind you of what Jesus did for you.

___ Tuesday: Matthew 27:38-44
What did they do with His garments? Who was crucified with Jesus? What are some of the things the people yelled out at Jesus? Jesus COULD have come down from the cross at any point. He didn’t, though, because of His love for us! Make another cross craft to remind you of the sacrifice that Jesus made for YOU. Here are some ideas from Learn, Play, Imagine:

http://www.learnplayimagine.com/2013/03/cross-crafts-for-kids.html

___ Wednesday: Luke 23:39-43
How did the two criminals that were crucified with Jesus react to Him?  How did Jesus respond to the criminal who asked Him to remember him? Jesus forgave him, and I think we will see that man in heaven some day!
Make your own dipped pretzel crosses to represent today’s reading. Here are instructions from Almost Unschoolers:

http://almostunschoolers.blogspot.com/2012/03/sunday-school-easter-snacks.html

___ Thursday: John 19:25-27
Who did Jesus see when He looked down from the cross? What did He say about His mom? Even at the very end, Jesus was obeying the command to “honor your parents”. He was honoring His mom! Make a card for your mom and dad expressing your love for them.

___ Friday: Matthew 27:45-54
What amazing things happened in these verses? First, the veil of the temple was torn in two. (Take a piece of paper and tear it in two – let your child do this, too). Then there was an earthquake. (Act out an earthquake with your child.) Then many people who died came back to life and were seen all over the place. (Pretend to be dead people coming back to life.) Have even more fun with this by setting up some blocks and then causing an earthquake that makes them all fall over.

Week Six

___ Monday: John 19:38-42
Who took the body of Jesus? In this passage, we see two men who were secret followers of Jesus step forward and make their commitment public. God does not want us to be a secret follower of Jesus – He wants us to let everyone know that we love Him. He wants us to let our lights shine!

___ Tuesday: Matthew 27:62-66
Why did they make the grave secure? What were they afraid would happen? So now Jesus is in a tomb, the tomb is sealed, and the tomb is heavily guarded! Things seem impossible, don’t they? But remember, NOTHING is impossible with God! Find a rock and decorate it as a reminder that nothing is impossible with God.

___ Wednesday: Isaiah 53:5-7
This passage is talking about Jesus. He went through all of the suffering for us – so that we could have our sins forgiven! These verses talk about sheep – let’s make a sheep snack. Here are a couple choices:

Healthy fruit snack from Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons:

http://www.kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com/2014/04/sheep-fruit-snack.html

And some sheep cupcakes from The Creative Vault:

http://thecreativevault.blogspot.com/2012/03/shaun-sheep-cupcakes-tutorial.html

___ Thursday: John 20:1-18
And here we are at my favorite part of the Easter message! What happened in these verses? Jesus was no longer dead! He rose from the dead, and He appeared to Mary! This is a fun time, so let’s make a fun snack! Here are two choices:
A snack using donuts and cookies from Catholic Icing:
http://www.catholicicing.com/meaningful-easter-activity-for-kids-empty-tomb-snack/

A snack with crescent rolls from Oh Amanda:
http://ohamanda.com/2009/04/10/good-fridayeaster-food-craft/

You can also make this cool craft for your garden:
http://carlajbehr.hubpages.com/hub/ResurrectionGarden

___ Friday: Matthew 28:11-15
How did the chief priests respond when they heard that Jesus was no longer in the
tomb? Yes, the chief priests PAID the soldiers to lie! We know that Jesus rose from the dead and that there is now an empty tomb.

Make an empty tomb craft today.  Here are some great ideas from Happy Home Fairy:
http://happyhomefairy.com/2011/04/08/2-easy-easter-paper-crafts/

http://happyhomefairy.com/tag/empty-tomb-crafts/

Week Seven

___ Monday: Luke 24:13-35
What happened to the disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus? Here’s a rather fun video about these verses:

Have fun acting out these verses with your child!

___ Tuesday: John 20:19-28
Jesus appeared to his disciples again – only Thomas was missing! How did Thomas respond when he heard that Jesus had been there? How did Thomas respond when he finally saw Jesus? Today, we need to have FAITH and believe in Jesus. Faith is believing in something even though you can’t see it.

Try this fun experiment about faith with your hard boiled Easter eggs:

Fill two glasses half full of water. Dissolve three tablespoons of salt in one of the glasses. This is the glass that represents “faith”. Put one hard boiled egg in the glass with salt (faith) and the other in the glass without. The one in the glass with salt should float. When we have faith, we can do amazing things!

___ Wednesday: John 21:1-11
What did Jesus do for the disciples in these verses? Jesus can do anything, can’t He? Have a snack of goldfish or fishsticks as a reminder of what Jesus did for His disciples. And here’s a coloring page you can do as well:

http://craftingthewordofgod.com/2014/01/13/miraculous-catch-of-fish-coloring-page/

___ Thursday: Matthew 28:16-20
These verses are often referred to as “The Great Commission” and they are for us, too. This should be our job! According to these verses, what should we be doing?  Guess what? YOU can tell people about Jesus, too! It is our job to make sure everyone in the world knows about Jesus! Make your own model of the world todayas a reminder that we are supposed to go into all the world. Here is a fun (and very messy) way you can do it:

http://blog.melissaanddoug.com/2012/07/16/camp-sunny-patch-session-7-splat-painted-earth/

___ Friday: Acts 1:9-11
Where did Jesus go? He went back to heaven where He is preparing a place for us! What do you think heaven is like? If it is nice outside, have your child use sidewalk chalk to draw his own picture of heaven. You can also have him draw out today’s verses on a piece of paper. Have him draw ground and sky. Then have him glue cotton balls in the sky for clouds and then have him draw Jesus going up into the clouds.