Creative Classroom Expressions About Easter
April 5, 2009

I’m a big proponent of interactive learning, where the teacher gets the students involved in the learning process. It’s the kind of learning my 4-H motto from years ago described as “Learn by Doing.” Long gone are the days where kids sit dutifully before a teacher who spoke words of wisdom, confident something was oozing into the little brains between the wiggles. Now, kids actively participate in hands on learning and discovery.

I’m learning to become an interactive teacher. It would be so easy to study my lesson and let the words of the curriculum ooze into the pores of my tired brain so I could then repeat them by rote to my dutiful students. I’m a better teacher when I practice what I preach and learn to do something in my own life with the material I’m teaching.

Today, I decided to give my junior church students an overview of the week before Jesus’ Resurrection. We wrote out the days of the week from Sunday to Sunday, then lay them on the floor. We stepped on each paper and talked about what happened on each day of Holy Week. We played a game so we could name ways to praise God for Palm Sunday. I gave them each a journal for this week, so each day, they could draw pictures or write about their responses to this special week. Then we started the project I spoke of several weeks ago in this column. We started to create art work of things in this world that remind us of Christ’s Resurrection.

I came home pondering what I had taught. How would I express my wonder at the miracle of this Holy Week? I’m by no means an artist so I won’t drive anyone to tears of frustration over my feeble artistic attempts. I don’t claim to be a very good poet either, but I do want to share with you my creative expression of how I feel about this week.

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HOLY WEEK

On Sunday, they sang;
On Monday, they swang
To a different opinion of Jesus,
The one to redeem them from their sin.

For two days, He taught;
For two days, they sought
To find a way they could still
The voice of salvation to all men.

On Thursday, He broke the bread;
On Friday, He broke His body,
So his blood could remove
The stain of our errant ways.

On Friday, He died;
On Saturday, his disciples cried
So wretchedly for the one
They thought would restore their land.

On Sunday, He rose;
From then on, they chose
Whether to believe the gift of Love
Enabling them to stand
Before God, spotless and pure
For the rest of their days

And Eternity.

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Now it’s your turn. How can you express your reaction to what Jesus did for you during this Holy Week?

Have a blessed week!