We did a mix of activities. The lighthearted and fun (albeit very messy) egg dying was quite a hit. Ivy and Flora were quite artistic with the sponges. However, the dye for sponge painting was quite a bit stronger then that of the egg dunking.

Flora came out looking like an Easter egg herself!

Lance preferred the dunking method (perhaps he had more patience?) and stuck with the green dye the entire time.

Apparently this dye is pretty strong too under prolonged contact. Lance shows us his “scary” hands! This coloring remained for several days.

We also enjoyed an egg hunt at a nearby church. Ivy was the first to figure out what was inside the eggs.

Lance was much more selective in his hunting and found the bigger ones to be to his liking.

Here’s the happy hunters! We thought we would miss the hunt due to Eden’s birth but since she came early we were able to enjoy the festivities.

In the weeks preceding Easter we did little projects that corresponded with the Resurrection eggs. Brian read a book each evening that followed the events of the Easter story as seen by a little boy and also went along with the Resurrection eggs. The kids loved it!

Using a dice to count and cross off palm branches for the triumphal entry. (minimal success with the counting)

We also played with 30 pieces of sliver (pennies). Several weeks later we over heard Ivy say excitedly to Lance “Judas, you want to betray Jesus?! And Lance responded with an enthusiastic “yes!”

Made a crown of thorns with playdough and toothpicks. The kids enjoyed putting this on my head and talked about crucifying me. This had me somewhat worried about teaching such awful truths at such a young age. Reading this post encouraged me that God picked the elements of the story and I’m just responsible to pass it on.

To illustrate how sin makes us yucky I taped clear wrap over a picture of a girl and boy. Each child scribbled “yucky” colors over their person as we talked about bad things we had done.

Using a rag dipped in water dyed red, we let the blood of Jesus wash our sins away.

This activity was very fun and repeated many times. Not sure if that was theologically correct put I hear repetition drives home a point.

We made these cute little resurrection rolls. A marshmallow represented Jesus and they rolled it in butter and cinnamon (oil and spices) then wrapped in a crescent roll (sealing it in the tomb).

The rolls were baked and when Ivy bit into hers she discovered that the marshmallow was gone!

We also had a cross cake (tradition from my family) and if you have cake, you might as well have candles, right?

Our last learning experience was an “Easter Path” put up by a nearby church. This had different stations with activities to do as a family. We’ve done this before and really enjoyed the experience.(sorry about photo quality, they were taken on Brian’s phone)

Waving palm branches and expressing thanks.

Daddy washing feet.

Nailing our sins on the cross.

In the tomb.

Pinning a flower on the empty cross – Jesus is alive!

Climbed up ladders to be like a tall giraffe…

…and picked leaves to “eat”

Climbed in a tree like a monkey

And made monkey faces.

If things weren’t wild enough, we invited half a dozen kids over one day so their mom could rest with her new baby.

The Art:

Finger print spots on the giraffe

Marbles rolled through black paint to make stripes on the tigers and zebras.

Macaroni mane for the lion.

Stickers to make a safari scene.

The Project:

We purchased a set of safari animals to play with. Throughout the week we worked on a playscape for the animals.

My Dad spent quite a bit of time securing several cans to the board to act as caves. All we did was ask if he thought caulk would make them stick and he took over, giving an indestructible quality to the project.

We then used a spray foam to cover the caves and form the base of the mountain. Next, a layer of paper mache pulp was used to add texture and form a lake.

It took a long time to dry. 

When all but the mountain was dry, the board was given a primer coat of paint and then spray painted. Rocks, trees and other foliage were added.

The finished board was quite popular!

Close up of cave and animals.

The End:

When the week was over, we reluctantly returned home, bringing all our souvenirs with us. We hung up all our pictures to remind us of all our adventures on the Safari!!

Thanks Grammy!!!

The Gear:

Our beautiful Flora models the official camp t-shirt.

All the kids have one, I just couldn’t get them to stand still.

Eden’s “Auntie” wanted to make sure everyone matched and thoughtfully bought this outfit.

The food:

Safari-scape – animal chicken nuggets, cheese stick tree and cheese sun. Tragically, a volcano erupted and covered the animals in lava (ketchup).

Animal pancakes – monkey face, elephant and giraffe. I’ll let you decide which pancake looks like which animal.

Monkey sandwiches and bananas – this calls for monkey faces too!

And popcorn. Yes, not particularly animal themed, but it fed a dozen small people and was quite popular.

The Animals:

It can’t be an African safari without seeing some wildlife!

A “vicious” ‘possum was trapped and later released to the wild (to serve as target practice for Uncle Dude – conservation is only for endangered species I guess.)

“Poison dart frogs” were in abundance and Lance became quite adept at catching them. Ivy liked them too but didn’t have a good record with being careful because when she begged Lance for one of his, he handed it to her with the admonition “don’t dead him”. (again the conservation issue, maybe that should be next year’s theme?)

An unsuccessful attempt to find “monkey vines” was redeemed by a rare sighting of a wild hare. By quick wit and even quicker legs, this little rabbit escaped with its life. The kittens (not pictured) also managed to make it through the week alive (survival of the fittest?) and have now been thoroughly gentled for future owners.

This post has now become long so I’ll finish in another post tomorrow….stayed tuned!!

First event of the day was reading books – this lays the foundation for all projects that follow. Grammy read while I Googled elephant activities.

We went on an elephant walk, doing things that elephants might do – like “eating” leaves, picking up “heavy” logs, helping the baby elephant (Flora) and listening for other elephants in the jungle (you should have seen the surprise on their face when they heard another elephant – Aunt Katie – trumpeting from a distance). We also decided that elephants probably throw rocks in the pond and catch tiny frogs.

We read a book about elephants that paint. We mimicked this by taping a paint brush on the back of  their hand.

A table on its side made a great easel!

Ivy, my artistic child, worked on her masterpiece long after the others were finished.

After cleaning up a bit, Grammy found some videos of elephants on Youtube while I made biscuit dough. They watched baby elephants playing and swimming.

Elephant biscuits were made and enjoyed as a yummy treat at lunch (after finishing your sandwich of course!)

After naps, Dad and I rigged the gray van to look like an elephant (Katie’s idea). Ivy was the one that remembered an elephant needed tusks!

We briefly rode the elephant…

Then gave it a good bath!

This was a big task so a few big people joined in.

Papa (my Dad) put away the cleaning supplies and hit upon some elephant trunks. Wish you could have heard the elephant calls – I think it would have started a stampede!

Aunt Katie makes the trunk spray water! Flora harkens back to Pirate camp and swabs the deck.

After bath time and a good dinner, we finished off the day by picking up toys with our “trunks” (socks on the arm).

And dancing to Saint-Saens “L’Elephant” while wearing our elephant masks.

The kids LOVE going to see Dad at work, and can even pick out his building on the horizon as we drive around town (it’s a tall building).

We crossed the sky bridge from the parking garage to the building, avoided the escalator (I decided too many kids to make it safely) rode the elevator, visited with the receptionist, found Daddy, showed off the baby to a few co-workers, got Daddy’s lunch and went outside to eat. A strong wind picked up as we sat down, just to make things interesting.

After eating, Daddy helped the kids explore the horse statues.

This is so much fun!!

The kids traverse the plaza while mom and dad follow and chat about the day so far.

Ivy peeks up from her hiding place.

Lance and Flora test the water.

A fun, windy time with Dad. I’m glad the kids can visit and get a glimpse of the way their Dad works. He does such a good job providing for us and loving us. Thanks Daddy!!