Easter is one of my favorite holidays. I have a HUGE binder full of Easter activities and regularly do neat activities with the kids each year. Favorites include making Resurrection Rolls, Easter Story cookies, Resurrection Eggs (that I made with the young women from my church about 14 years ago--I still use the same set each year!), and a 7 day "walk" leading up to Easter. Here is a round up of some nature based Easter activities we have done in the past, as well as links to additional ideas. How do you celebrate nature and Easter? Feel free to comment below!
1. Natural Dyed Eggs -- This is a fun approach to a traditional activity at Easter time. Using natural items to create our dyes is a perfect way to explore nature while still doing some of our time honored traditions.
2. Easter Garden -- Growing an Easter Garden helps us focus on the spiritual side of what happened during Easter. We represent the tomb, made a cross and a hill, and grew wheat grass as well, watching as Spring makes changes in the natural world.
3. Easter Nature Walk -- This neat scavenger hunt combines scriptures to look up, along with specific items to find in nature, such as an example of death, a thorn, and more! I find that in our area, we need to wait as close to Easter as we can to find the variety of colors and other items on the walk. See our local Easter Nature Walk at Wellfield Botanic Gardens here.
4. Nature Easter Basket Ideas -- While candy is great, we can only eat so much! Our children typically receive a couple of small presents, like small toy animals, a field guide, or tool to help them explore nature more. Then we can use these on our nature explorations as well! Go Explore Nature has great ideas here. Find some ideas for items and activities to learn about animals, on my post 16 Ideas for Animal Play. These suggestions would be great to include in an Easter Basket.
5. Visit a local garden or petting zoo. One of the garden centers near us (Linton's) offers special activities at Easter, which include an egg hunt, viewing ducklings and chicks, a visit to their petting zoo, and more.
6. Enjoy a sunrise! Many churches offer a sunrise service. You can also head out on your own. Take time to reflect and be outside early in the morning.
A word of caution . . . some people are tempted to buy a rabbit or chick to experience Easter. I would truly consider the long term effect of adding a pet to a home just to celebrate a holiday. Try visiting a petting zoo or such instead.
For additional ideas, I found the following:
Easter Science Ideas--This is a long list with ideas for egg experiments, carrots, and Easter candy.
Good Friday Nature Walk--I like that this has spaces to sketch what you find.
An Easter Scavenger Hunt--Nice way to look for symbols of the holiday.
The Legend of the Dogwood--Explore the spiritual side of these great blossoms.
Shared with Outdoor Play Party! Check out their fun adventures!
