Children and the Pearls - games, crafts, and food!

Have fun while teaching younger children about the Pearls of Life! Here are some ideas from Svenska Kyrkan, the Swedish Lutheran church. Use these to get your own creative juices flowing!

EGG GAMES (RESURRECTION PEARL)

The shape of the egg is a symbol of eternity. As is well known, eggs are often eaten at Easter. The Easter resurrection perspective is included in the egg-eating, even if we do not always think about it. Of course, an egg game is in order here! Have participants wear plastic trash bags with holes for the head. The participants are divided into pairs. Each pair is given an egg to throw between them. For each successful throw, they move further apart. The pair that manages the longest distance without the egg breaking wins!

Divide the participants into different teams. Each team gets a spoon and an egg. The teams line up along a starting line. The first person in each stage is ready with the spoon in hand and the egg in the spoon. When the starting whistle is blown, the first person runs a pre-defined course with the egg in the spoon, without touching the egg. Should the runner drop it, have have to stop, pick up the egg again and then run on. Each runner hands to the next in a relay. The winning team is the one that finishes first without breaking the egg!

BAKE A CAKE (NIGHT PEARL AND RESURRECTION PEARL)

Black and White Cake

3 1/2 tbsp butter 2 eggs 1 rounded cup sugar scant 1/2 c milk or cream 1-2 tbsp cocoa 1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp baking powder 1 1/4 c flour

Grease and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf plan or a 9" round cake pan. Whisk sugar and eggs until well-blended and light, preferably with an electric beater. Melt the butter, and stir the milk into the butter.

Mix flour, vanilla, and baking powder in a bowl. Mix the egg and sugar mixture with the butter and milk mixture. Add the dry goods and stir the batter until smooth. Take away a third of the batter and season it with cocoa. You now have two batters, one dark and one light. Start by pouring a layer of the lighter batter into the baking pan, then a layer of the chocolate batter, and then light batter again. Pull a fork through the batters so that it mixes a little. Bake at 350° C for about 40 minutes. Test the cake in the middle to be sure it is done. After removing the cake from the oven, wait a few minutes before turning it over onto a wire rack to cool. Enjoy with the children!

PAPER FORTUNE TELLER GAME (DESERT PEARL)

Adapt the well-known paper fortune teller to help children understand life's difficulties. This video is in Swedish, but it is easy to follow the visual instructions on how to make a paper fortune teller.

Here are some examples of questions to write inside:

• What are you doing when you are bored?

• What do you do when you see that someone is sad?

• How can you feel when someone has been angry with you?

• How does it feel when you are not allowed to participate in the game?

• How does it feel when you long for someone or something?

• What can you do when someone has done something wrong?

• Can you make a heart with your hands?

• How can you be when someone is new to school?

PAINT YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT GOD (GOD PEARL)

Use a large canvas, where several children can work together and paint using finger paint or wide brushes. As you paint, let the children think of the word God. What color / colors does God have?