Easter was late this year, but somehow, it snuck up on me anyway. As I entered Holy Week, I hadn’t organized a single Easter craft for Annalyn, figured out what to wear on Easter Sunday, bought more than one CD for Annalyn’s Easter basket or asked my mom to bring a ham for lunch!
One thing I did have planned was a snacktivity. (Isn’t that a great word? I read it on a blog but can’t remember which one. If that’s your term, please take credit in the comments!) Jen and Amanda both wrote about making Resurrection Rolls with their kids, and I couldn’t wait to do it with Annalyn.
The basic premise is that you wrap seasoned marshmallows with a crescent roll and bake them. The marshmallow represents Jesus, the butter and seasoning represents the oil and spices used to prepare His body, and the crescent roll is the tomb. After baking, the marshmallow is supposed to melt – leaving an empty “tomb.”
[Ingredients: one can crescent rolls, eight large marshmallows, 1/4 cup melted butter, cinnamon sugar.]
I just knew that making these with Annalyn would be a magical, meaningful experience. Not quite.
As we dipped the marshmallows in butter and rolled them in cinnamon sugar (and tried to convince a certain three-year-old not to lick her fingers), I explained the significance to Annalyn. We’d been talking about Easter for a couple weeks, so she (kind of) had a basic understanding of Jesus dying and then being alive again. I was sure that this tasty illustration would bring the story to life (um, no pun intended) for her.
I’d read the warnings about sealing the crescent rolls tightly, so we did. But apparently not tight enough. Because Marshmallow Jesus did not melt!
Nope.Those big marshmallows burst out of the rolls and puffed up, big and brown. So much for our Easter lesson!
Scrambling, I came up with an alternative explanation and told Annalyn, “Just like the tomb couldn’t hold Jesus, these rolls couldn’t hold the marshmallows!”
It was not exactly magical. Or, sadly, meaningful. (But I tell you what – those rolls were tasty! As Annalyn later told my mom, “We ate Pretend God!”)
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We made our rolls on Wednesday night. The next day was choir practice, and Annalyn went along for the ride. Together, we packed a bag of books and toys, and I hoped for the best. Sitting quietly for 90 minutes is not exactly a preschooler’s idea of a fun time, you know. (To be fair, trying to keep a preschooler quiet while also rehearsing for what our pastor calls “The Christian Superbowl” for 90 minutes is not my idea of a fun time.)
Something interesting happened, though. In between “Shhhh!” and “You have to go to the bathroom again? Really?” Annalyn took a break from scribbling on an old bulletin with a red pencil to ask a few questions. And being the persistent child she is, the questions didn’t stop no matter how many times I demanded that she asked her to quiet down – or when we got in the car to drive home. We ended the slightly stressful evening sitting in the car in our driveway as she asked:
“What is a bathtism?”
“What does that mean?”
“Is Grandma Marilyn in heaven with Jesus?”
“Where IS God?”
“Why did Grandma Marilyn have to die?”
“Can we die now and go to heaven to see Jesus?”
“But I love Jesus! Where IS Jesus?”
“When is Grandma Marilyn coming alive again like Jesus?”
Her questions caught me off guard, and I can’t guarantee I answered them exactly right. (I’d like to know why Grandma Marilyn had to die, too, if you want to know the truth.) But I think the important thing is that she asked them. And I answered.
It turns out that the Easter lesson came unexpectedly that night. (A little bit like the original Easter lesson, I suppose.)
I laughed about our failed resurrection rolls, but I really was disappointed. I should’ve given God – and my sweet, inquisitive little girl – more credit. Planning activities and lessons is a vital part of teaching my daughter, and I’m not about to stop trying. But this whole situation has reminded me to leave room for the moments that come up naturally.
(Of course, I’m already planning to buy resurrection eggs and make a paint chip Easter garland for next year. But I’m praying for many more car conversations between now and then!)
How did you teach your kids about Easter this year? Did you make resurrection rolls – or any other Easter snacktivities?
Affiliate links are included in this post. This post will be linked to Mouthwatering Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, 33 Shades of Green, Foodie Friday, Friday Firsts and Food on Fridays.
What a wonderful time you were able to share with Analyn. Those moments are too precious to pass up.
We make Resurrection Buns every year–my 19-year-old insists on it! In fact, she made them by herself this year. (I call that progress!) :)
Definitely progress. ;)
Our kids really enjoyed the Resurrection Eggs this year. We’ve done it two previous years, but with our oldest being 7, second being 4, and our third being 2 this year, they really ate it up! The story was powerful for my oldest while my two middle children LOVED opening the eggs and playing with the symbols. Our nearly 3 month old baby girl also sat in her little high chair at the table and watched all of the action. It was a beautiful end to our Easter Sunday. :) (on another note, I got to eat one of my sister’s resurrection rolls they had made that morning, and MAN were they delicious! ;))
I can’t wait to try those resurrection eggs next year. I’ve heard such great things about them!
I had grand plans of making those same rolls – they sound delicious, too! We didn’t get to them, but we did get to enjoy Easter service, lunch with out of town family, time in our mountains and a lovely trip to the duck pond – all decked out in Easter gear. We played through the Holy week with old timey flannelgraph lessons, colored “new life” eggs and had several ‘hunts.’ We read Easter books and enjoyed garden time. It was wonderful all around!
Oh, and my three-year old seems to have the Passion a bit mixed up when he explained, “They put Jesus in the rock to keep him safe from being killed by the bad guys.”
Ha! This cracked me up. They do get things mixed up, don’t they?!
Her questions are priceless. We had questions to – the biggest one being I’m not sure if there is a God and I’m scared, the second being – If Judas was part of executing God’s plan for Jesus to die, did he go to heaven.
Hard question about Judas. Our pastor mentioned that – and what he believes – a couple weeks ago, and it made ME think!
We made those last year, and the kiddos loved them! It was fun to have Ethan help while I told the story, and his surprise when the marshmallows were gone!
Well, maybe next year…I was so looking forward to her surprise!
Sorry I didn’t post mine earlier ( http://4tunate.net/2011/04/easter-traditions-making-resurrection-rolls/ ) but this post (and the visuals) were worth the flop! =)
I love the way that kids “chew” on things later and you’re able to impress things upon them long after the “snacktivity” is over.
“Snacktivity” that’s the genius kinda stuff you are made of, Mary.
That’s a good way to put it – chewing on things. That’s exactly what my kiddo does!
Oh my! “Just like the tomb couldn’t hold Jesus, these rolls couldn’t hold the marshmallows!”
I love it!
Sometimes you just have to punt. ;)
We made resurrection rolls too! How funny that your marshmellow Jesus didn’t melt out…I loved this activity and plan to do it in future years too…they’re actually really good!
They WERE tasty! But yeah – those marshmallows were heat-resistant or something!
hey Mar…you might try quartering the marshmallows….I looked at my recipe to see what it called for and it said 6 mini marshmallows (i sort of mashed mine together before dipping in butter).
I will definitely do that next time. I’ll also use fresh (never opened) marshmallows. Mine had been sealed up, but I still wonder if they were a little stale and therefore, not melt-able. ?