This Sunday we hear the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead- an unforgettable glimpse into what will come on Easter Day. If you're looking at this story, here is a play dough mat to help children to explore a bit deeper. This mat focusses on the emotions of the various people in the story and asks children to use playdough to make facial expressions for different events. There are all sorts of characters they might choose to think about: onlookers, Mary, Martha, the disciples, Jesus, even Lazarus himself. Each character will have a different perspective and it is always fascinating to hear the reasoning behind what children create/ Another useful question to ask is always: I wonder where you are in the story? If you'd like to print out the sheet, click here.
This craft is really easy to make and helps to emphasize the enthusiasm of the crowd's Hosannas as they waved their palms. You will need: White A4 paper, green paper or card, glue, scissors, stapler. Cut a sheet of white A4 paper in half lengthways. On one of the halves, write the word 'Hosanna' and colour in. Start at one end of the paper and make a concertina. Fold an A5 sheet of green card or paper in half and cut out a palm leaf shape. This will give you two leaves. Glue a strip down the middle of each leaf. Stick one end of your concertina to the glued strip on one leaf and glue the other end to the stip on the other leaf. Press down firmly. This makes your Hosanna sandwich. Staple the bottom ends of the leaves together. Make sure you are not also stapling your concertina! Open your palm leaves to see the Hosanna!