This is what we’re using for an Easter primary school visit, but you could use it for Sunday school, kids’ or youth clubs and for adults too – even grown-ups learn better by doing than by listening – though you might want to change the song!
Sensory Stations
Palm Sunday (and buffer for late arrivals)
What: Music station
Where: At the front
Need: palm crosses, shakers etc, enthusiastic singer
Do: Song (eg Jesus’ Love is Very Wonderful) with instruments and palm crosses at front of church
Need: palm crosses, shakers etc, enthusiastic singer
Do: Song (eg Jesus’ Love is Very Wonderful) with instruments and palm crosses at front of church
Maundy Thursday
What: Foot washing station
Where: By the communion table
Need: bowl of water, towel
Do: Wash a volunteer’s feet and talk about last supper and Jesus caring for his friends while washing feet. For older children you could include bread and ‘wine’ to taste.
Need: bowl of water, towel
Do: Wash a volunteer’s feet and talk about last supper and Jesus caring for his friends while washing feet. For older children you could include bread and ‘wine’ to taste.
Good Friday
What: At the foot of the cross station
Where: Lady chapel
Need: Small cross, basket of stones, felt tip pens
Where: Lady chapel
Need: Small cross, basket of stones, felt tip pens
Do: Children can write their name or the name of someone they would like to pray for, on a stone and put it at the base of the cross.
Easter Saturday
What: Waiting station
Where: Pews
Need: Small holding crosses
Where: Pews
Need: Small holding crosses
Do: Seat children spaced out in pews, witha small cross each. Encourage them to close their eyes and breathe in and out slowly five times. Then to sit and just listen for a few minutes. If they find that difficult, they can use the cross as a fiddle toy
Easter Sunday
What: Imagination station
Where: By the font
Need: spices to smell, salt water to taste (tears), rough stone, cloth to feel, (optional radiant heater)
Do: Tell the story of the first Easter and let the children taste, touch and feel as they imagine they are in the garden on the first day of the week
We finished the story just before Mary meets Jesus in the garden, and covered that in the talk. But if you want to have resurrection in the stations, then a radiant heater or sun lamp could be used for the light, warmth and joy of that encounter.
How we organised it
Younger children will need an adult guide to take them round. 6-8 children per group is preferable, but more groups take more time and more helpers, so you may need larger groups just for practicality. We had three groups of 15.
We all started together and then each group went through the stations carousel- fashion and met up again at the end. Each of these sections was about 5 minutes
Welcome and explanation, divide into groups
- Palm Sunday singing all together
- Stations, in a rota (so they didn’t all do the stations in chronological order)
- Review of events of Holy Week
- Short drama about resurrection and talk and then let the children draw things in the church.
The Reflectionary 
We are doing stations for children at our family service on Good Friday. I’m doing simon of Cyrene and the Roman centurion and I’m struggling for ideas for craft/activities. Many thanks.
LikeLike
Glad to help, Deborah. I hope your event goes really well xx
LikeLike