New Life and New Beginnings by Sarah Clark

What happens at Easter? According to most children, we just stuff our faces with chocolate and have two weeks off school! But that is not what Easter is really all about, and there are plenty of ways to help your children have fun and learn about the season's treats and traditions at the same time.

EGGS

Eggs feature in many spring festivals worldwide, not all based in religion, and are seen as the symbol of new life. An egg hunt in the garden is a great family tradition, as the winter ice melts and we see the first green shoots of spring. To make the eggs, hard-boil a dozen, cool, then dip them in warm water mixed with food colouring (and vinegar to help the colour stick). Another fun thing to do is cutting out white paper egg shapes and letting the kids decorate them with their own designs. Stick them onto coloured cards, sign the insides and deliver them with daffodils to the neighbours.

BUNNIES

Rabbits hop into many spring festivals as a symbol of fertility, because they have so many babies all at once! There are lots of activities to try at home around the cute Easter bunny theme, although the age of your children will rather influence your choice. If nappies are still around (or in the not too distant memory), your kids will love wearing long ears and a fluffy tail at tea time. You could make and paint ‘papier-mache' rabbits with older children. There are dozens of breeds of rabbit, but do you know a Dutch from a Lop, a Chinchilla from a Dwarf? You can help your kids search for pictures online, print, cut them out and stick them in a homemade rabbit book.

NEW BEGINNINGS In the Christian calendar, Easter officially lasts a week - from Palm Sunday (when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey), until Easter Sunday (the day of the resurrection). Whatever you decide to tell your children about that, the message of a new beginning is a powerful one. Perhaps they will begin tidying their rooms? Or begin a new hobby? Or begin making a chocolate egg last a couple of days rather than wolfing it down in 20 minutes?

So this year, delicious as it is deciding between Crème Eggs, Maltesers or Flake, don't just stock up on Easter eggs! There is so much more to it than that.