a more meaningful Easter egg hunt

I got to host our Easter day for our preschool group, and I wanted to do something a little more focused on Christ for our Easter activities, to teach them the actual story of Easter. I came across this fabulous idea to put items and scriptures inside plastic eggs that tell the story of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

I've seen this idea on Pinterest and many other blogs, so I most definitely can't take credit for it. But I adapted it a little bit (there are quite a few different versions) - either for objects that I had available, or ones that I liked better than the ones suggested. I also discovered that some of the scriptures listed didn't really match up with the objects. So I found scriptures that I thought matched better, and made a nice little printable to share!

You'll need 12 plastic eggs, an empty egg carton (optional, but it helps keep the eggs, and the kids, organized), and sharpie to get started. Just number the eggs 1-12, and then number the slots in the carton as well.

Here are the 12 items I used for my eggs:

1. cracker
2. 3 dimes
3. rope/twine
4. red cloth (I used a piece of ribbon)
5. cross (I made mine with two little sticks and some glue)
6. nail
7. dice
8. black paper/cloth
9. strips of white cloth (I used gauze bandage)
10. spices
11. stone
12. empty

For the scriptures that go with each item, click the image below for the printable. I just cut them apart, and folded them up to fit in the eggs with the objects. 

We didn't read the scriptures for our preschool group (I thought that might be a little too long for a group of 3-4 year olds) but I hid the eggs around the house, and had them find them, and when they found one they had to go match it to the right number in the egg carton before they could go find any more. This kept them from wanting to open them all up right away. Then we opened them in order, and I just summarized what each one was for.

I really enjoyed doing this activity. It's a more interactive way to tell the Easter story, gets the kids a bit more involved, but still keeps the focus on Jesus. I definitely think we'll do it again next year!