The Easter Story by a 5 year old
It appears that with the approach of Easter comes the time when schools are teaching children about the Easter Story. I’ve heard a few parents saying that their children have been asking a lot about God and Easter, and that includes N.
At the moment he seems obsessed about God. For a couple of weeks he’s been mentioning him. While I used to go to church as a child and would still class myself as religious, we only really go to church now at Christmas. So school is how N will learn.
We’ve had 3 detailed conversations about God so far, but he has been making his way into other conversations briefly too.
‘I’ve seen God’
The school had their Easter church service the other week and N told me
‘I saw God in church’
‘Are you sure it wasn’t the vicar?’
‘No, he was there but God was around us and I saw him’
‘What did he look like?’
‘A beard’. Hmm, I wasn’t getting much else out of him. I’m still convinced it was probably the vicar, or at least just something he said to prompt the imagination or belief.
God rode on a donkey
In the car (we always have our most interesting conversations in the car) N came out with the fact
‘I know, God rode on a donkey like Jesus did’.
‘Really? What for? Are you sure you don’t mean Joseph and Mary?’
‘No God. He had a beard and rode on the donkey . Like Joseph did – but Joseph had an angel come and tell him what to do’. Slight story mix up here I think.
‘Ok, I’m not sure you’re right but let’s go with that then’. Once he’d got that agreement, N wasn’t fussed about hearing any more.
The alternative Easter Story
At 5.30 one morning (after I’d only got back in from dancing at 2am)…
‘Mummy, Easter is when God is hung on the cross and dies, and then on Easter day it’s when he came back to life’
‘Er, don’t you mean Jesus?’
‘No, it was God. Mr H told us it was God’.
‘I don’t think that’s right but carry on’.
‘It everyone was put on a cross, they’d all be able to come back to life’
‘Probably not a good idea. A cross isn’t a nice way to die. It would hurt too much’
‘Why, what happens?’
‘Well Jesus was nailed by his hands to the cross and they bled, it was really painful. So it wouldn’t be good for everyone to have that. And Jesus is the only one to have risen because he was Jesus, and God helped him’.
‘That’s not good then’. Disappointment that he couldn’t bring people back to life was obviously preying on his mind.
‘Well it was God who came alive, Mr H said’.
Oh dear. I think I’ve some work to do on his listening and story telling skills’.
What do your children know or say about the Easter Story?