Through rainy weather, school schedules, and a super sick kiddo (*sigh*) we finally got our very first Resurrection Garden made! It was so much fun too! This is a wonderful hands-on experience for kids to really get a A Sense of the Resurrection! You can retell the story (or have the kiddos tell you!) of the events leading up to Jesus' death, entombment, and resurrection while putting the garden together.
There are thousands of ideas for this project (just Google "Resurrection Garden"!), but I wanted to keep it very simple (and cheap!) so that my 5 year old could do this himself. I think it turned out beautifully!
You really don't need to spend much money at all on this project, unless you want to get super fancy with the decorating and such. We just made our garden with odds and ends we had around the yard and Grandpa's house and I only spent $1 for the "grass" seeds!
For this project you'll need:
- Container for the base - We chose a pot base thingy that we had in the garden, it's about 14" or so in diameter and about 2" deep. You could use whatever sort of container you like.
- Soil - If you decide to plant "grass" or flower seeds in the garden, you'll need some good soil. We had a huge bag of potting soil left over from when we planted our fruit and vegetable garden a few weeks ago!
- Some type of small container - My dad had a few of these little 6" terracotta flower pots in his greenhouse, but you could use any type of smallish container.
- A handful of small rocks - My boy just loves collecting rocks so we had a plethora of rocks to use. We also grabbed some special ones from Grandpa's gravel driveway! You can find rocks, pretty polished stones, marbles or whatever you like at the craft store if you're feeling ambitious!
- A larger rock - You'll need one big enough that will cover the opening of whatever container you decide to use. We found a really neat one along Grandpa's street!
- Some sort of "grass" seed - I was not wanting to buy a 50 lb. bag of grass seed just for the purpose of this project, but I did find a great idea in using wheat berries! (More on that below!) You could use moss, flower seeds, fresh herbs, etc. The idea is to have new life growing in the garden.
- Sticks - You'll need some craft sticks or twigs for the crosses and something like twine to keep the sticks together.
Start by filling the base container with dirt. We filled ours up about half way.
UPDATE: If you decide to go the wheat berry route, DO NOT PUT ANY SOIL where the rock pathway will go. Wheat grass is very invasive and will overtake the whole container garden pushing the rocks out and completely enveloping them in the massive root ball that forms!
Then position the smaller container in the middle.
Position your rocks however you like! Be sure to tell the story of each and every rock as you go! Oh boy.
Kept him busy for quite a while!
This little lady decided to make her nest in one of my new hanging flower baskets. She sat and watched and cooed as we made our garden and never left us for a minute. Such a wonderful symbol of Spring and the Resurrection to see new life all around you! Just love that!
UPDATE: This beautiful mourning dove family eventually had 2 eggs in their nest. It was truly amazing to see the interaction between the mama and daddy. They took turns building the nest, he sat over her while she laid, and they both took turns incubating the eggs. Sadly, after many days of relentless and vicious attacks by scrub jays, both eggs were lost. We were very sad to watch this all unfold right outside our back door, but it is just another powerful reminder of God's creation and his plan for all.
Okay, so then mound up the soil over the small container to create the hill. If you're doing this with little ones, you may need to help with this part!
For the "grass", I decided to use wheat berries. I had never in my life heard of these things, but you can find them in your local natural foods store in the bulk bins. I found some on sale for $0.99/lb. and I got about 2 cups worth for $1. If you go the wheat berry route, you'll need to soak them for 24 hours or so to get them sprouting quickly.
I forgot about that part, so we had to leave the "planting" for the next day!
So pretty! I love the look of the stones when they're wet!
We searched the yard for some sticks and the boy found this great mahogany colored one long enough to make 3 crosses! Make 2 smaller crosses and a larger one for Jesus. We tied ours with some old kitchen twine from the junk drawer, but something like strips of palm leaves would be really cool too!
We talked about how Jesus got on the cross and who put him there. The boy remembered the "soldiers'" reactions when they found Jesus had risen and how they thought they had made a mistake as he really was the Son of God. Powerful stuff I'm telling ya!
The Tale of Three Trees
is a really good tie-in book to read for this part! Be ready for tears!
is a really good tie-in book to read for this part! Be ready for tears!
"Is this a "good" smile Mama?" *sigh*
So, I went back out the next morning while the boy was at school and planted the wheat berries. This part was sort of tricky as the seeds kept rolling off the dirt mound. *sigh* I probably have way too many on there, but I wanted to be sure they would sprout and grow thick and full, um, like a Chia!
UPDATE: Yes, I had WAY. TOO. MANY. wheat berries planted! After the berries have soaked and been covered with the plastic for a while, they grow crazy fast and strong too! The berries we had around the rocks were able to push the rocks out of the container! After only 5 days, the berries grew to about 3 - 4 inches high and are a lot thicker than regular grass seed. LOL Definitely just sprinkle a few small handfuls on ONLY the "hill" part and be patient for them to sprout. The soil overlay is optional as well (as the berries just pushed that off while growing), but I found it helped to keep the berries in place. It is really beautiful!
You can see they are already starting to sprout a bit after only soaking about 12 hours or so!
The original idea I saw left the wheat berries exposed, but these things just kept rolling off all over the place! So, I went and covered them up with some more potting soil, and then spritzed them with the hose.
I felt bad rearranging the rocks my boy had so painstakingly laid out, but it couldn't be helped. Maybe he won't notice!
I then put a couple plastic baggies loosely over the top like a little greenhouse to get those wheat berries growing! I was a little sad that my boy missed out on the planting part (it's one of his all-time favorite things to do!) but he'd not been feeling well and we had to get 'er done! I think he will be tickled to see the "grass" suddenly growing not knowing that mama planted it!
We have everything set up and ready to grow now, and then on Good Friday we will add the crosses to the garden and seal the tomb with some sort of Jesus figure inside, perhaps a wooden dollhouse family member. On Easter morning, we will open the tomb and see that Jesus is not there! He is Risen indeed!
Will post pictures soon of our growing Resurrection garden!
Here is our Resurrection Garden starting to grow after just 3 days and it's Palm Sunday today!! It looks so cool! The sprouting wheat berries really do look like wild grass growing on the hill!
And here is our Resurrection Garden on Good Friday! Ready to go! My little boy is so excited to get started telling the Easter story this weekend!
Good Friday! We placed "Jesus" on the cross and retold the story of his death. We made booming sounds for the thunder and swirled our arms around for the clouds!
"And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, la'ma sabach-tha'ni?" that is, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "This man is calling Eli'jah." And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Eli'jah will come to save him."
And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
We took Jesus down from the cross, anointed his body with oils, wrapped his body in white linen cloth (cotton medical wrapping), and carried him to the tomb.
"When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathe'a, 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, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. Mary Mag'dalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre."
We placed his body in the tomb, rolled the large stone over the opening, pretended to seal it as the "soldiers" did, and said a little prayer for him.
"Next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, `After three days I will rise again.' Therefore order the sepulchre to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away, and tell the people, `He has risen from the dead,' and the last fraud will be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can." So they went and made the sepulchre secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard."
The tomb has been sealed, and now we wait.
I am thrilled that we took the time to build this little garden this year! We have decided to make our family's Easter celebration more Christ-centered, and I am proud to say that my little boy not once asked when the "bunny" was coming! Plastic filled eggs, hunts, and chocolate bunnies are lots of fun for sure, but nothing could compare to the anticipation (he couldn't sleep Saturday night he was so excited!) and the look of complete amazement when he saw the tomb opened Easter morning. A memory that will stay with him a lot longer than a basket full of candy. Happy Resurrection Day y'all!
Matthew 28:1-8
1 Now after the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Mag'dalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre. 2 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 upon it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you." 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
There are a ton of really fun books that will add to the story telling! Here are a few that you may enjoy:
- "My Very First Easter Story Sticker Book" by Lois Rock & Alex Ayliffe
- "The Road to Easter Day" by Jan Godfrey & Marcin Piwowarski
- "The Amazing Journey" by Susie Poole
- "The Easter Story" by Juliet David & Jo Parry
- "The Tale of Three Trees
- "The Story of Easter: Read and Share"
by Gwen Ellis
You have to try this too! Resurrection Rolls are always a fun and simple way to teach young children about the Resurrection of Christ. We make these yummy rolls several times a year!
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