Shelley Logan reviews this helpful Easter resource for parents to use with primary aged children
As the last few remnants of the Christmas stock are in the seasonal sale aisle, in comes the chocolate eggs and hot cross buns. ‘Happy Easter’ is on bunting, hats, and toys everywhere we look. It can be difficult for Christian parents to navigate yet another consumer-hacked event in the calendar, as the colour pallet in the shops turns to pastel yellow, pink and green and the shelves are filled with chocolate eggs, and fluffy bunnies and chicks. So, how do Christian families manage this time of year as they explain the biblical account of the first Easter to children in a theologically accurate, yet age-appropriate way, especially as eggs, hot cross buns and bunnies can be easier to digest than sin, death and resurrection.
The Garden the Curtain and the Cross to the rescue
Starting with the creation and fall accounts, following the biblical story through the Old Testament, the death and resurrection of Jesus to eternal life in the new creation, ‘The Garden the Curtain and the Cross’ is a family of resources that can helpfully steer families on the journey of the real meaning of Easter in a way that children can clearly understand and be excited about. You can get hold of however many parts of the bundle you want. At the core is the storybook, but there is also a calendar, a devotional, as well as an activity book. The focus is on primary age but there is also a hard back picture book for younger children.
The Calendar
The calendar has been designed to be used in the days up to Easter starting the Sunday before Palm Sunday. The details of the events of Holy Week are not the focus of the story, rather the emphasis is on the reason for the need for Jesus’ sacrifice as the narrative emphasises the seriousness of sin and God’s remedy for this. The story highlights God’s big ‘keep out sign,’ first in the garden with the angels and later with the temple curtain. There is a simple refrain throughout the book, “because of your sin you can’t come in” which reinforces this. The crucifixion account is handled sensitively and looks at how, at the time of Jesus’ death, the curtain is torn, reopening the way to God. The refrain then switches to, “I died on the cross to take your sin…so all my friends CAN now come in!”
The concept of the calendar is similar to an Advent calendar, with a door to open each day and a picture taken from the storybook behind each door. The calendar comes with a 32-page devotional guide which includes everything needed for a 10-minute family time and incorporates the picture which is behind each calendar door. The devotional material follows the themes of the storybook however it could be used by those not familiar with the book, though for those who are there is enough variety to keep everyone engaged.
The devotional
There is no need for preparation, additional resources or knowledge
Each day in the devotional book the same format of Bible reading, questions and answers is used. The Bible text is printed in the devotional and all the answers are written so the adult only needs to read the notes. There is no need for preparation, extra resources or knowledge. There are additional questions for older participants if required though these will need a Bible as the passages are not printed (an online version is suggested for those who may not own one). If there is time and more interaction is needed a colouring and activity book is available to purchase separately which follows the story and includes some of the text from the book. This is a helpful addition to reinforce the message in a fun way.
What do parents say?
“I liked it. I think it’s aimed well for kids - the questions are at the right level of engagement, though would I be able to sit down and do the devotional every day for 2 weeks? Probably not.”
“The devotion was great for a deep dive but quite long and wordy for our kids. Our kids were 5-10 at the time. Had it been normal school/routine, I think we’d have struggled.”
“The hardback picture book is excellent!”
Pros and cons
I love the storybook. I think it is helpful for all ages. It introduces themes such as the temple curtain and the scapegoat which is probably new to many children. It helpfully links the story of the Old and New Testaments including that Jesus visited the temple which may be helpful for some. The calendar is an innovative way to engage the whole family in discovering the truths of the Bible.
Even though everything is provided in the devotional booklet, and it is stated that each session should only last 10 minutes, families say that in reality, they take much longer making it very difficult to fit fifteen consecutive days into a busy family schedule. One parent told me that they split each session into two, as nothing is dated there are no real time/date restrictions.
The colours used in the illustrations help depict the mood of what is happening in the story, for example, the creation and new creation accounts are full of bright colours whereas the crucifixion is greys and blacks. However, I’m not a fan of all the artwork, for example, the images around the resurrection are small and grainy making it difficult to clearly see what is happening. These are not appealing to younger children and are missing from the board book.
Why buy these?
The theology in these resources is rich and deep though completely accessible for children. Author Carl Laferton has done an excellent job in telling the biblical story so clearly.
The calendar is unique as I think there is little else like this available for families at Easter, though probably needs more than fifteen days.
The Good book Company have several accompanying resources; there are items available to purchase including a board book which simplifies the story by picking up on the main points, a six-session Sunday School resource with free downloadable extras, pictures for an Easter story trail and an animated story. This widens the reach of the calendar and storybook making it available for church use.
I would definitely recommend it all this Easter.
