Celebrate Easter this year with a fun classroom colouring competition. By clicking on the link below you can download an Easter picture for children to colour in. Offer a chocolate Easter egg or book token as a prize to the winning child.
To conduct the competition, follow these easy stages:
Click here for KS1 Easter themed classroom resources
Easter traditions are common throughout Europe, and would make an interesting topic of study for children.
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In the U.K. and in much of Europe, Easter is traditionally associated with Easter eggs and Easter bunnies. This association dates back to pre-Christian times when eggs were linked with Spring, fertility and new life. Early Christians later adopted eggs as a symbol of rebirth and renewal. On Easter Day, painted, boiled eggs are still rolled down hills in large, disorganised egg races as a reminder of this Easter theme. Easter egg hunts are also popular; although these days the hidden eggs are likely to be chocolate rather than real ones! Rabbits and lambs are also common Easter symbols in the U.K. and America - both representing the fertility of Spring.
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In Greece, hard boiled eggs are painted red to represent the blood of Christ and exchanged as gifts during the Easter period. Children tap the eggs together - one child says "Christ is risen." The other repeats "Truly he is risen." In Germany and Austria, green eggs are exchanged - usually on Maundy Thursday. In Eastern Europe, eggs are often decorated with gold and silver.
In Sweden, Easter is traditionally associated with witches! In more superstitious times, it was believed that witches were particularly active during Easter. Today, Swedish children dress up as hags and visit their neighbours, leaving small decorated Easter letters to be discovered. Hard boiled eggs are traditionally eaten on the evening before Easter Sunday, but are generally not decorated as in the rest of Europe.
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Most children, especially younger ones, will associate Easter with fun - a time for eggs, cards, gifts and games. The story of the origins of Easter are however interesting and could form the basis for in-depth work on celebrations and traditions within the community.
In some parts of the world Easter is called Pascha, which comes from the Hebrew word for the Passover. The New Testament tells the story of how Jesus was celebrating Passover at the time of his arrest.
In the Christian calendar, Easter is one of the most important festivals of the year, celebrating the resurrection of Christ after his crucifixion. Easter takes place on the first Sunday after the first full moon of Spring. The date of Easter changes every year, but generally falls between March 22nd and April 25th.
For Christians, Easter is traditionally seen as a period of penance and contemplation, punctuated by a series of important spiritual events:
The final week of Lent when Christians recall the events leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus.
When Christians celebrate the story of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.
When Christians remember Jesus' last meal and his arrest.
On this day, many Christian churches hold solemn services (from noon to
3p.m.) to symbolise the three hours of darkness that Jesus endured on the cross, as told in The New Testament.
Traditionally a day when newly converted Christians are baptised.
When Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. This is traditionally a time of great celebration, gifts are often exchanged.
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The roots of the word Easter are fairly obscure (possibly from the early English word 'eastre', which was the name of a pagan Spring goddess) but would make an interesting starting point to a discussion on the origins of words. How many words in the English language have their root in another language? From old Viking words (many of which are still in common use in the North East) to words adapted from Latin, French and German. Many words from the Asian sub-continent testify Britain's colonial past.
Eggs and Easter go hand-in-hand in most children's minds, and some fun word work could be undertaken substituting 'eggs' in words that start with 'ex': (eggs-cited; eggs-traordinary, etc.).
Children may also enjoy devising Easter word searches and/or crosswords (perhaps with mini eggs as prizes) using words associated with Easter.
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There are many fun books available on the Easter theme:
"Disney's Can You Find the Easter Eggs, Pooh?" by Kathleen Weider Zoehfeld & Margaret Milnes, pub. Disney Press.
"The Great Eggs Hunt" by Maggie Kneen, pub. Chronicle Books.
"The Easter Egg Farm" by Mary Jane Auch, pub. Holiday House.
"A Dozen Easter Eggs" by Melissa Sweet, pub. Grosset/Putnam.
"The Best Easter Hunt Ever" by John Speirs, pub. Cartwheel Books.
"The Easter Egg Hunt" by Tom Stone, pub. Bantam Books.
Easter egg decorating is fun, and something which even the youngest children can enjoy. Eggs can be dyed, painted, blown and even etched. The resources in this site contain some ideas - but there are also many, many more resources available via the internet to inspire fun craft work in the home or class.
Click here for some great eggy craft ideas:
www.globalgang.org.uk/games/diy/painted_eggs.html
The Easter theme can be carried through to your science lessons by using eggs as the basis for scientific investigation. The internet contains a wealth of lesson plans from practising teachers, including these excellent egg-related exercises:
This is a simple experiment; ideal for younger children. Begin by placing a raw egg in a glass of vinegar. This should take 3 or 4 days. Children should be able to keep a journal of their observations as the calcium in the shell slowly dissolves. Once the shell has dissolved, the remaining egg should then bounce!
This experiment can be undertaken with older children (Key Stage 2 and upwards). The shell of the egg is dissolved to reveal the semi permeable membrane. Children then examine the effect of different fluids permeating the membrane and the effect of the weight of the egg.
See:
www.lapeer.lib.mi.us/Chem/Bio1Docs/Diffusion2.html
for complete details.
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25g/1oz butter
4 spring onions, sliced
6 large Lion Quality eggs
30ml/2tbsp milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (85g) pack watercress, roughly chopped
brown toast to serve
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Melt the butter in a medium non-stick pan. Add the spring onions and sauté for 1 min. Beat the eggs and milk together with salt and pepper.
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Add the eggs to the pan and cook over a medium heat for 2-3mins, stirring until the eggs are almost set. Stir in the watercress and continue to cook until the eggs are cooked to your liking. Serve hot with toast.
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2 large Lion Quality eggs
1 muffin, split horizontally
1 tomato sliced
50g/2oz cheddar cheese, sliced
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Fill a frying pan with water so that it is 5cm deep. Place on the hob and slowly bring to the boil.
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Meanwhile, place the muffins under a hot grill and lightly toast. Top with the sliced tomatoes and cheese, then pop back under the grill and cook for 2 mins or until the cheese has melted. Divide between two plates and keep warm.
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Carefully crack the eggs and drop them into the simmering water. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and set the timer for 3-4 mins, depending how runny you like your egg yolk. Remove the pan from the heat.
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Then use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the eggs from the water; let any water drain off the eggs, then place an egg on top of each half of muffin. Serve straight away.
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8 slices white bread with added fibre
a little butter for spreading
4 slices of ham
50g/2oz cheddar, sliced
5 large Lion Quality eggs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp oil for frying
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Spread the slices of bread on one side with a little butter, then make four ham and cheese sandwiches in the normal way. Beat the eggs with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dip two sandwiches in the egg, letting it soak in a little.
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Heat half the oil in a large non-stick frying pan, then add the sandwiches to the hot frying pan.
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Cook for 3 mins until the base is golden, then carefully turn over with a spatula. Cook for a further 3 mins or until golden on the base.
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Transfer to a plate and keep warm. Repeat to make the remaining sandwiches in the same way. Serve cut in half with a few cherry tomatoes if liked.
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150g/5oz mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
6 large Lion Quality eggs
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4-6 tbsp ready made tomato and herb pasta sauce
1 (195g) pack mozzarella cheese, drained and diced
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Heat half the oil in a frying pan, add the mushrooms and sauté for 3-4mins or until golden. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
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Beat the eggs together with the oregano and salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan, add the eggs and cook, over a medium heat for 2-3 mins. During this time, use a spatula to push the cooked egg into the centre of the omelette, then tip the pan so that the raw egg fills the gap – repeat until no runny egg remains and the base is golden.
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Place the omelette under a hot grill and cook for 1-2 mins or until the top has set. Spoon over the tomato sauce, top with the cheese and mushrooms. Season with more black pepper and a little salt if liked. Pop back under the grill and cook for 2 mins or until the cheese is pale golden. Serve in wedges with salad.
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If the tomato sauce you are using seems a little runny, drain off the excess liquid in a sieve before spooning on top of the pizza. If you like, add 1 tsp of dried chilli flakes to the eggs before beating. You can vary the topping to suit your taste, all the usual pizza toppings such as pepperoni, peppers and olive work well on this yummy supper dish.
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