Each year we indulge in the lovely part of the Passover meal where an adult hides the afikomen, the broken middle matzah (which represents the lamb killed at Passover) and the children have to hunt for it. When they return, they get a prize. To help the dynamics of the hunt, I’ve used colour spot stickers and given each child a different colour to search for, meaning we can leave the red spots for the two year clearly in view, and properly hide the ones for the teenagers.
This year we have three girls are 6-8 and a teenage young man at our meal. My husband has bought a cool fire starter kit for the young man, so I’ve devised a treasure hunt for the girls. Previously I’ve bought them each a book, but this year I thought it would be good to a) use things I have in the house already to keep costs down b) give them things to stimulate their thinking about the links between Passover and Easter.
I wanted some of them to be little gifts they’ll want to keep, some to be a mini craft activity for them to do and others to be things which give them a chance to express their response to the stories they’re heard at the table (Exodus and Easter).
I’ve collected a little pile of items, and written some words to go with each, and I’m hiding them inside Kinder Egg plastic inners which I’ve hoarded, um, I mean collected. Here’s my list:
Once I packed the little eggs, I put coloured stickers on them so that I could send the children to search together for 3 red sticker eggs and so on. By the way, if you’re planning to do this for more than 5 or 10 children, I’d recommend recruiting a packing team and doing it over cake and drinks!
(I’ve used Bible verses from the NIrV because it’s good for early readers.)
Click here to download a print version of this text.
Egg 1
a black balloon (left over as no one tends to choose the black one to blow up!)
Where do you see darkness in both the Exodus and Easter stories?
Clues:
“Complete darkness covered Egypt for three days.” Exodus 10 v 22
“From noon until three o’clock, the whole land was covered with darkness.” Matthew 27 v 45
Can you blow up a balloon with your eyes shut?
Egg 2
a baby Play Mobil person (I get these second had / preloved)
Is there a baby in both the Exodus and Easter stories?
Clues:
“Pharaoh said, “You must throw every Hebrew baby boy into the Nile River.” Exodus 1 v 22
“Herod ordered all the boys two years old and under to be killed.” Matthew 2 v 16
What will you do with your baby?
Egg 3
a piece of matzah (flat, dry, Passover bread)
Where can you see bread in the Easter and Exodus stories?
Clues:
“Eat bread made without yeast. It is the Lord’s Passover.” Exodus 12 v 8 & 11
“Jesus took bread… and said, “Take this and eat it. This is my body.”” Matthew 26 v 26
How would you describe this bread?
Egg 4
five wooden beads, 3 tiny wooden pegs, a pipe cleaner and a piece of red embroidery thread
Where do you see blood on wood in the Exodus and Easter stories?
Clues:
“The blood on your houses will be a sign for you. When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Exodus 12 v 13
“God made peace through Christ’s blood, by his death on the cross.” Colossians 1 v 20
What would you like to make to help you remember the story? You could make a cross or a bracelet or something else completely!
Egg 5
two small pieces of blue and gold modelling wax, a small roll of paper and a roll of washi tape
How does each story end? Are there any links?
What would you like to say to God about these stories? Is there something you could make to tell God this?
You could add other Bible verses for further discussion, especially if you do this as an all-age activity. Here are some other mentions of darkness in the Bible. How do they relate to the darkness in the Easter and Exodus stories? (Use biblegateway.com to search for other passages on the other topics.)
“In the beginning… there was darkness over the surface of the waves.” Genesis 1 v 1 – 2
God called the light “day.” He called the darkness “night.” Genesis 1v5
As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. A thick and scary darkness covered him. Gensis 15v12
All through the night the cloud brought darkness to one side and light to the other. Exodus 14v20
Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20v21
You bring light into my darkness. 2 Samuel 22v29
Suppose I were to say, “I’m sure the darkness will hide me. The light around me will become as dark as night. Even that darkness would not be dark to you. The night would shine like the day, because darkness is like light to you. Psalm 139v11-12.
For more about Passover, you might like the GodVenture online Passover Workshop.
