KIDS HOPE AUS THEMED MENTOR HOUR

EASTER AND THE KIDS HOPE MENTOR HOUR

With our role as a Kids Hope mentor being a secular one, it is important that we take a neutral position on this topic. Understandably this can be quite challenging! It is probably best to start with a brainstorming session, in which the child can share his/her knowledge of . There is a sheet in the “Language Activities “section on which these ideas can be recorded. This is followed by a sheet on which the child’s questions about Easter can be recorded. Some of the questions in the following sections may be useful in this process.

BACKGROUND ON EASTER TRADITIONS

When is Easter?

Easter Day is always on a Sunday but the date varies unlike Christmas, which is always on 25 December. Many years ago Christians decided that Easter Day always be on the Sunday following the first full moon after the first day of Spring, around 21 March. This means that Easter can be as early as 22 March or as late as 25 April.

In fact not only is Easter a movable feast but it happens on different dates depending on where in the world you live. The reason for this is that in western churches such as in the UK, America and Australia, we use the Gregorian calendar rather than the Julian calendar used in eastern churches.

What is Easter?

Easter is the most important Christian festival. Christians are followers of Christ who lived about 2000 years ago in a country called Palestine. They believe that Jesus was the son of God. At Easter time Christians remember the last week of Jesus' life.

How did Easter get its name?

Long before Jesus was born some people in Europe worshipped the Goddess of Spring, who had the name ''. They thought that the sun died in winter and was born again in Spring. They thought the goddess brought the spring and with it the sun would get stronger. Some believe that Easter got its name from her.

Easter Bunny

Rabbits have been associated with springtime since ancient times. It is believed that the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring, Eostre had a hare as her companion. The hare symbolises fertility and rebirth. Later Christians changed the symbol of the hare to the .

The tradition is that the Easter bunny leaves Easter on Easter Sunday. Eggs are hidden in the garden and the children go on an hunt to find them.

The idea of an egg-laying rabbit was taken to America in the 1700's German immigrants. They told their children to make 'nests' with their caps and bonnets, and if they were good the Easter bunny would leave them coloured eggs.

Easter Eggs

The custom of giving eggs at Easter celebrates new life. Christians remember that Jesus, after dying on the cross, rose from the dead. This miracle showed that life could win over death.

For Christians the egg is a symbol of Jesus' resurrection, as when they are cracked open they stand for the empty tomb. No-one actually knows when eggs were first used as symbols at festival times but it was long before Jesus' time. Eggs were always thought to be special because although they do not seem alive, they have life within them especially at springtime when chicks hatch out.

Long ago people gave gifts of eggs carved from wood or precious stones. The first sweet eggs that were eaten were made in the last 100 years from sugar or marzipan. Since then chocolate eggs have become popular and these are given on Easter Sunday.

In some countries children race round the house or garden to find hidden chocolate eggs. Children in other countries decorate hard-boiled eggs at Easter time by painting or dyeing them.

In some countries, such as the United States, egg rolling is a popular Easter game. This is usually done with coloured eggs. One of the most well known events is held in America on the lawn. Children and parents push the eggs along through the grass with wooden spoons. LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES

WHAT I KNOW ABOUT EASTER:

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN ABOUT EASTER:

ART AND CRAFT

MAKE AN EASTER CHICK CARD

How about making this cute Easter Chick card? It’s so simple and quick to make. Follow our instructions and see how easy it is.

You will need: - A4 green card - A5 yellow card or paper - Pink card - Orange paper for beak - Black felt tip pen - Mug to draw around - Pencil - Glue - Scissors

Instructions: 1. Draw a circle on one end of your yellow card by drawing around a mug with a pencil. You may find it easier if you turn your mug upside down. Cut carefully around the circle. This will be your chick’s body.

2. Draw another circle the same size in the same way on pink card for the egg shell. Fold this circle exactly in half and cut along the fold. Starting at the top corner of the shell, cut some zig-zag cuts in to the egg shell to look like a broken shell. Be careful to start and end your zig-zag cuts at the top corner. You may prefer to draw guidelines before you begin cutting.

3. Fold the rest of the yellow paper into two and draw a wing shape. Cut through both layers together to give you two wings the same size and shape. Remember to make the wing a bit longer than can be seen in the finished chick because it needs to be stuck behind the body. Draw the feathers smaller than the wings – you will only need to cut one feather shape out.

4. Make sure you turn the egg shell and chick body over so the pencil lines cannot be seen. Glue the shell onto the body, taking care to match the edges so the chick fits into the shell.

5. Carefully glue the wings and feathers to the back of the body. The wings should go at the sides, just above the shell. Attach the feathers in the centre at the top.

6. Draw two eyes on the chick with a black felt tip pen. Cut out an orange beak and stick it on your chick.

7. Write your Easter greeting either at the top or bottom of your Easter card. Spread glue on the back of your chick and glue it in place, being careful not to cover your writing.

CARDBOARD BUNNY MASK

You will need: - Small paper plate - Pink card - Scissors - Elastic - Craft glue - White card - Large fawn pompom - 3 x white pipe-cleaners - Pink texta

Step 1 Put plate up to face and mark holes for eyes and holes at the sides for the elastic. Cut out eye holes and little holes (if you are too little for scissors an adult can help you with this). Thread and tie the elastic.

Step 2 Cut out ears from the white card and glue to the top of the mask. Cut smaller ears from pink card and glue in the centre of the white ears.

Step 3 Twist the three pipe-cleaners together in the centre and glue to the mask for whiskers. Glue the pompom nose on top. Draw a mouth using the pink texta. Now have fun wearing your mask!

DYEING EASTER EGGS

Dyeing eggs naturally is as much a science experiment for the kids as an art and craft activity. By experimenting with different foods, you can create a rainbow of colours with which to dye your Easter eggs.

Hard boil your eggs first, and the kids can draw on the eggs with crayons before you dye them. The patterns will appear once they are coloured.

If you want to keep your dyed eggs for a long time, you will need to blow out the egg. This can be tricky, so perhaps it's easier to simply make a basket full of colourful, hard-boiled eggs that will last as long as a chocolate stash from the Easter bunny.

You will need: - different colour crepe paper - hot water - small bowls or cups - slotted spoon - cooking oil - soft cloth

Soak crepe paper in hot water in individual bowls or cups for each colour. Add eggs and allow to sit in water until the desired colour is achieved. Remove with slotted spoon and allow to dry. Polish with small amount of cooking oil and soft cloth. PINATA

These Easter egg 'pinatas' make a sweet Easter gift idea. Simply fill a decorated hand-blown egg with tiny M&Ms and watch the delight on your receivers face when they crack the shell! Pop the eggs into a pretty bag and tie with a ribbon for a cute gift wrap idea.

What you need:

 Blown eggs - follow instructions here  A scalpel  M&M mini’s  small stickers  Scissors  Baking paper

Step 1 Hold one of the blown eggs and gently enlarge the hole you used to blow it by softly tapping the edge of the hole with the scalpel. The egg shell around the hole should break away in little pieces, slowly enlarging the hole. Make it big enough to slip the M&Ms through.

Step 2 Carefully put the M&Ms into the egg.

Step 3 Place the stickers onto the smooth side of a sheet of baking paper so that they are easy for your kids to unpeel and stick onto the egg.

Step 4 Cover the large hole with the tape.

Step 5 Let your kids carefully stick the stickers all over the egg to decorate it! They could also paint the egg instead of using stickers.

Step 6 Place the eggs into a small bag and have the recipient smash the egg shell to get their prize.

EASTER BASKET

You will need: - cardboard box - yellow paint and paint brush - craft glue - coloured matchsticks - A4 coloured cardboard - Scissors

Step 1 Paint the inside of the box yellow. Cut a strip of cardboard 3cm x 20cm with pinking shears.

Step 2 Glue the strip to the inside of the cardboard box lengthways. This will make the handle for your basket.

Step 3 Glue the matchsticks all around the outside of the box using craft glue.

MATHS ACTIVITY

Can I use information from a table to answer questions?

The corner shop has been very busy this week selling lots of Easter eggs. They have kept a record of how many of each different type have been sold. This is the table they produced.

Name of Easter egg How many sold My Class Favourites

Cadbury’s Crème egg 27

Nestle Milkybar egg 11

Lindt Gold bunny 32

Galaxy Caramel egg 8

Nestle Rolo egg 16

Answer these questions… 1. Which egg sold the most? 2. How many people bought the Galaxy Caramel egg? 3. How many people bought an egg made by Nestle? 4. How many Lindt Gold bunnies and Galaxy Caramel eggs were sold?

Can you do a tally chart for people’s favourites in your class? Record their answers on the table.

SCIENCE ACTIVITIES

EGG IN A BOTTLE

Can you get a milk bottle to suck an egg in without you touching it? Kids never cease to be amazed by this little trick, no matter how many times you show it to them. What you'll need: one hard , peeled; boiling water; a bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg.

The eggsperiment: 1. Set the egg on the neck of the bottle to demonstrate that the egg simply won't fit in the bottle. Tell the child that you know a trick to make that egg go down into the bottle without breaking it.

2. Remove the egg from the bottle and pour the boiling water into the bottle. Carefully roll the water around in the bottle and then pour it out.

3. Quickly put the egg back on the neck of the bottle and wait for it to get sucked down into the bottle.

The eggsplanation: When you put the hot water into the bottle and then poured it out, the hot water left steam behind in the bottle. The steam forces out some of the air that was already in the bottle. As the steam in the bottle cools down, it converts into tiny droplets of water. The drops of water require less space and this reduces the amount of air pressure in the bottle. The pressure on the outside of the bottle is greater than the pressure on the inside of the bottle and that is what forces the egg into the bottle.

CAN YOU MAKE AN EGG FLOAT?

The idea is to demonstrate buoyancy and how the density of water affects it.

What you'll need: - three clear drinking glasses (identical ones are best) - three eggs - a tablespoon - a straw, popsicle stick, or stir stick - water - salt

The eggsperiment: 1. Fill each of the glasses halfway up with water. Put one egg in each glass. Choose one of the glasses to be the control glass (Glass 1). That means that you won't do anything to it and it will give the child something to compare the other glass to.

2. Now, begin adding salt to one of the non-control glasses (Glass 2). Start by adding three tablespoons of salt to Glass 2 and gently mixing it up in the water with a stir stick. Get the kids to tell you what happens…

3. Add ten tablespoons of salt to the other non-control glass (Glass 3) and gently stir it up. Slowly pour water into the glass until it is full, but don't stir it, so that you try to keep as much of the salty water at the bottom as you can.

What you should observe: Glass 1: This glass simulates a fresh water environment. The egg will sink to the bottom in fresh water.

Glass 2: This glass simulates a salt water environment. The egg should rise to the top of the water and float in this glass.

Glass 3: This glass shows what happens when you add fresh water to salty water. The egg should be suspended in the middle.

The eggsplanation: The more dense a liquid is, the greater its buoyancy and the easier it is to float. Salt makes water more dense. When you add fresh water to the denser salt water, it will float also. In fact you can tell exactly where the salt water and the fresh water meet in the glass by where the egg is floating.

HARDBOILED OR RAW?

What you'll need: two eggs, one hardboiled and one raw; a flat surface.

The eggsperiment: Can't remember which egg is which? The answer is only a spin away. Simply spin the egg and pay close attention to how well it spins. If the egg spins well, it's hardboiled. However, if the egg wobbles and spins slowly, it's raw. A hardboiled egg is solid inside whereas a raw egg is fluid. When you spin the raw egg, it’s centre of gravity changes as the fluid inside the egg moves around. This results in the wobbling motion you noticed in the raw egg. As soon as the raw egg starts spinning, touch it briefly with your finger just long enough to stop it. When you take your finger away, the egg will continue to spin for just a quick second.

The eggsplanation: This is due to the inertia of the fluid inside the egg. When the hardboiled egg is spun, the solid centre immediately moves with the shell, causing little resistance to the spinning motion.

COOKING

EASTER NESTS RECIPE

This activity can become a reading activity too. Print off the recipe, enlarging it for younger students. Let them read the directions as they make the recipe.

To make 10 Easter Nests you will need:

 225g (8oz) milk chocolate  50g (2oz) butter  2 tablespoons of golden syrup  100g (4oz) cornflakes  Packet of candy-coated mini eggs  Paper baking cases  A baking tray  A large saucepan

What you do:

1. Place ten of the paper baking cases into the hollows of the baking tray.

2. Break the chocolate into pieces and place these into a large saucepan.

3. Add the butter into the pan. Dip a tablespoon into hot water to warm it up before using it to add the golden syrup into the pan.

4. Heat the pan stirring the mixture all the time until the chocolate and the butter have melted.

5. Turn off the heat. Add the cornflakes to the mixture gently stirring them until they are covered with the chocolate. Be careful not to crush the cornflakes too much.

6. Put the cornflake mixture into each of the paper baking cases. Make a small hollow in the centre of each nest with the back of a teaspoon.

7. Place a few eggs in each nest and then place the tray into the fridge to allow the nests to set. Remove after about an hour.

8. Either keep on or remove paper baking cases and arrange on a plate when you are ready to serve them. They are best stored in an airtight container in the fridge but need to be eaten within three days.