Hiding the Alleluia 2015 Edition

It has been a long time since I have posted on either of my blogs. I have missed it, but life has brought great busyness, with a move in the fall, followed by my oldest daughters wedding, a few days before Christmas. My hope for January was to find our groove again, getting back to a normal routine. Sadly, I lost my dad at the end of the month. Winter has been all about trying to find a new normal. I haven't felt up to doing much of anything but really wanted to get this post out about our scavenger hunt from last Easter, before Holy Week flies by. This was the second time we "found the Alleluia" and it was such a nice twist on an Easter egg hunt. Much more meaningful and engaging.

So here is how we did it last year! This time I used the Parable Pouch in addition to the Resurrection Eggs.

# 1 Egg filled with straw to represent how Jesus came into the world.

 Question/Clue: When Jesus was born they laid Him in a manger in a stable. Do you remember the town He was born? How can we find that town?  The kids realized they needed to go to our globe to find Bethlehem. The globe was where they would find the second egg and next clue.

#2. Wooden Jug from the parable pouch to represent the Wedding Feast of Cana.

Question/Clue:  Jesus performed many miracles when He was on earth. Do you remember His first miracle at Cana? Think about something that would remind you of this and see if you can find your next clue! The kids would then go to our china closet to find an egg in a wine glass.

#3. Wooden fish from the parable pouch to represent the miracle of loaves and fish.

Question/Clue:  Another miracle was when Jesus fed 5000 people. Can you remember what Jesus did during this miracle? What do we eat that may remind you of this?  After some quick discussion about the loaves and fishes The kids would then find their next egg inside a bag of goldfish!

#4. The wooden shell from the parable pouch to represent Jesus’ Baptism.

Question/Clue:  Do you remember when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the river? What do we use to baptize babies when they are born? Where do you think you can find the next clue? The kids found the next egg at our holy water font.

#5. The Donkey from the Resurrection Eggs.

Question/Clue:  When Jesus went back to Jerusalem He came in on a donkey.  What do we have that reminds you of where donkey’s live?  The kids had to find the next egg with their play farm toys.

#6. The Cup from the Resurrection Eggs.

Question/Clue: Think about The Last Supper. What did Jesus give us that night and why? After discussing the Eucharist and that Jesus is the Bread of Life and that the main ingredient in bread is flour, the kids found the next egg in our bag of flour.

#7. The wooden cross from the parable pouch.

Question/Clue:  Jesus was condemned to death. As He walked the long road to Calvary He fell trying to carry His cross THREE times. What do we do when you fall? The next egg was found where we keep our Band-Aids.

#8. The cloth from the Resurrection Eggs to represent the cloth Veronica used to wipe Jesus’ face.

 Question/Clue:  Veronica wiped Jesus’ face during His walk to Calvary. Where do we keep things she may have used? Go there for your next clue. The kids found the next clue in a linen closet.

#9. Nails and rock from the Resurrection Eggs.

Question/Clue:  After Jesus finally made it to the top of the hill they crucified Him and He died. A man named Joseph took him to be buried in a tomb. Where do you think you can find your next clue? The girls found their next clue in the open, empty tomb in the Resurrection Garden we made the day before.

#10. A note in the empty tomb.

Question/Clue:  When the women went to the tomb on Easter morning to anoint the body they found the tomb empty. And angel was there and asked why they were looking for the living among the dead. Do you know what this means? Do you remember what we should say to celebrate that Jesus is Risen?!! What did we use as a “tomb” this morning? Go there to find something special! We used the oven as a “tomb” for our Resurrection rolls in the morning. The girls found the Alleluia banner near the oven!

 Here are some pictures of the girls putting together our Resurrection Garden and the scavenger hunt.

Blessings to you the Holy Week and Easter season,
Jen

Hiding the Alleluia

February 6, 2015

With all the wonderful ideas out there, I always have grand plans to accomplish so many things with the kids, especially during Advent and Lent. I usually have to scale back quite a bit, but that is ok. We just keep trying to focus on something new each season. Last Lent we did enjoy doing many things together, but I wanted to share with you our most favorite thing. I was so excited about the idea of “Hiding the Alleluia” and actually doing that was as awesome as I’d hoped it would be. 

 I created an alleluia banner (Thanks to Lacy for the link to the printable letters! See above link) and had the kids put it in a box the night before Ash Wednesday. We discussed how we would not sing the “Alleluia” at all throughout Lent and that it would be very special to sing it again on Easter morning. The kids thought it was neat and we packed it away in a desk drawer to be taken out again on Easter morning. 

 I wanted to make sure bringing out the banner was special, so I decided that instead of just pulling it out on Easter morning I’d make it a fun event and created a scavenger hunt. The final clue would lead the girls to the Alleluia banner and we'd hang it up together. It turned out to be a really fun way to do an Easter egg hunt. 

 To do this I chose 8 “Resurrection Eggs” and numbered them. They had to find them in order from 1-8. Each egg had an item in it with a clue to lead the kids to the next egg.

 

Once they found the first egg they found the donkey inside. The inside message was this,

Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem. What did the people lay down for Him?

When you figure it out, go find these for your next clue!

When the girls remembered that they laid down palms for Jesus they realized they had to go to our china cabinet where we had some palms, to find the next egg. Sitting on the palms was egg number 2. 

The item inside was a chalice.The message in this egg was,

What did Jesus teach us at The Last Supper? What special food was shared that night? When you figure it out go find this for your next clue!

This led them to bread in the kitchen. Here they found egg number 3 and in it was a set of praying hands.

The note said,

The praying hands remind us that even Jesus prayed when He was afraid. What is one special way we pray? When you figure it out go find your next clue!

The girls realized I meant for them to go to where we keep our Rosaries, in an old antique desk that belonged to my great aunt. In the drawer with the Rosaries was egg number 4. 

In it were nails in the shape of a cross, a crown of thorns and a whip. The message inside said,

These things represent how Jesus suffered for us. Can you find something upstairs that shows us this? You will find your next clue there!

This led them to a Crucifix upstairs. 

Egg number 5 had a lance in it. 

The message was,

When they pierced Jesus’ side what came out? What do we have that reminds us of this? Go downstairs to find this!

They were to go to our picture of The Divine Mercy and find egg number 6 near it. 

In this egg was a die.

The clue said,

When Jesus was on the cross the men gambled to see who would win his clothes. They acted like this was a game. Where do you think you can find your next clue? 

To find the next clue they had to go to our game closet. 

There they’d find egg number 7, containing a stone, and the message,

When Jesus died they laid Him in a tomb and put a stone in front of it. What happened on Easter morning? Go to the kitchen to find your next clue.

On the windowsill in the kitchen they found egg number 8. 

It was empty! The message inside said,

The stone was gone and the tomb was EMPTY!!!! What happened? What do we get to SING today???? Can you remember where we put this special word? Go find it and we will hang it up!

When the girls realized it was time to find the box we put away (so long ago to them!) they were thrilled!!

Here they are unpacking our Alleluia! It was a really fun way to put emphasis on the transition from the quiet, reflective time of Lent to the celebratory morning of Eater. The girls would like to do it again this year. I am hoping I can get creative enough to create new clues!

For more ideas for Lent you can see my past Lenten posts on my Feast Days and Liturgical Seasons page.  

Praying for many blessings for you this Lent,
Jen