Easter Story Sensory Box!

I’m so stinkin’ excited to share this Easter story sensory box with you all! I started looking for something new to put in my daughter’s sensory box (or what I call her indoor sandbox) for the Easter season, but alas, when I searched online for inspiration, all I found were bins stuffed full of bunnies, eggs, chicks and pastel rice. Not that there’s anything wrong with that stuff, per se, but in my house, Easter ain’t about a bunny!!!

So I set out to create a box that could be used as a tool to teach young children about the Easter story. Sweet Pea could play with her indoor sandbox for hours…I’m so excited to have so many inroads for sharing truth with her as she plays!

Here’s what I came up with:

-white rice as a base. This represents how Jesus’ death and resurrection cleanses us from our sins.

“’Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’”

Isaiah 1:18
Tip: If your toddler is still mouthing everything, use cotton balls!

-a small lamb

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

-two cups and a small plastic loaf of bread (which I borrowed from Sweet Pea’s kitchen) to represent the Last Supper

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’  In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’” Luke 22:19-20

-a plastic hammer and homemade cross to represent Jesus being nailed to the cross--along with our sins

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14

-red beads to represent the shed blood of Christ

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13

            Tip: Knot those beads on a string if you're worried about choking!

-a large rock. I made it heavy on purpose, because the stone that was rolled away from Jesus’ tomb was no pebble!

“They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” Luke 24:2

-a small handkerchief to represent the burial cloths that were left behind in the tomb

“Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” Luke 24: 12

-foam caterpillars and butterflies to represent the reality of new life in Christ and the hope of resurrection!

“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:3-5

-the ­verses listed above, printed out and taped to the back of the box lid. 

When we open it up to play, these words will literally be at my fingertips, so I’ll be ready to speak them into her life. And just for you, dear readers, I am providing a free downloadable list of these scriptures so if you make your own Easter story sensory box, you’ll have the applicable verses ready. 

I hope everyone finds this a useful tool for teaching the Easter story…If you liked it, you might also like this Parable of the Hidden Treasures Sensory Box!

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