All About Jesus Easter Craft

And just like that, Easter is upon us! Before having kids, I never thought I’d be into doing things like Easter crafts and Easter egg hunts. As a non-parent, I felt like those things took away from the power of the Cross and Resurrection. But now that I’m actually a mom, I can’t help it – we’re doing all the non-religious Easter activities! However, I still feel very strongly about not letting those things take place of what “Resurrection Sunday” is really about: Jesus.

My primary mission in being a mom is to teach my children about Jesus – whether it’s Christmas, Easter or the middle of June. We talk about Jesus all of the time, but Easter is a particularly special time to emphasize what Jesus has done for us.

So today we did a Jesus-centered Easter craft that was super simple and fun, and we also used that time to talk about God’s sacrifice of His Son and how much He loves us.

What you’ll need:

• Construction paper/cardstock (the thicker the better)
• Painter’s tape
• Paint (2-3 different colors)
• Paintbrush
• Gallon zip lock bag (optional)
• Scissors (optional)

To start, put the painter’s tape on the paper in the shape of a cross. If you’d like to have your child paint in a bag (less messy!) you may have to trim down the paper a bit to get it to fit. If you’re having your child paint in the bag, you can squirt a few drops of paint all over the paper and then (carefully) put the paper + paint inside the zip lock bag. Close it up, and let them have at it!

My niece, Sophia (15 months), painted her cross in the bag while Finn (3.5 years) painted his with a few paintbrushes. Finn requested 6 different colors of paint and 4 paintbrushes…and despite my efforts, he did get paint all over the chair, and the table, and Sophia. Next time, we’ll be painting in the bag!!

While the kiddos painted, we talked about who Jesus is (the Son of God) and the fact that God sent His Son here so that we could know about God. I told Finn that Jesus died on a cross, like the one that was on his paper, but that Jesus rose from the dead. We read one of our favorite books, The Story of Easter. (Although to be honest, it took a few attempts – we tried to read during the craft, but then things got messy…so we tried again during lunch and we finally finished before nap time!)

A few tips:

• Fold the painter’s tape over the edge of the paper onto the back of the paper. This way it’s easier to grab without tearing the paper.
• Take the painter’s tape off while the paint is still drying. If you wait until it’s all the way dry, it will tear the page. This is especially true if painting in the bag – we made this mistake with Sophia’s craft and her paint dried onto the plastic bag and tore the page.

Hope you enjoy this craft! If you do this craft with your kiddos, make sure to tag me @themommyofmayhem and show me your finished product! Feel free to check out some more crafts and activities to do with your kids here:

Happy Easter!