Hot Cross Buns
Hold up a hot cross bun and ask the group if they like to eat these buns at Easter. Say that many people all around the world like to eat these buns at Easter time and those that are Christians are reminded of Jesus death on a cross by the cross we find on the top of the bun.
“Let’s think about the ingredients needed to make these buns. What are some of the things you think might be used? Flour? Water? Fruit? One thing that’s very important in making hot cross buns is yeast. What do we use yeast for? It helps the bun to rise otherwise they might be called “flat cross buns”. The yeast also might remind us that Jesus rose from the grave. He didn’t stay dead after he was crucified and put in to the tomb – he rose again. Dried fruits are also added to the mixture in making hot cross buns. These might remind us of the good things that come from Jesus’ death. Without his death on the cross we wouldn’t be able to enjoy new life.
As you pass around some buttered hot cross buns for the children to eat. Invite everyone just to pause for a few moments and silently thank Jesus for being willing to die a slow and painful death so that we might have eternal life with him.
Just in case you wondered about the history of the hot cross bun : We get the word “bun” from the Teutonic equivalent, “boun”, which was an archaic description of a sacrificial ox. The practice of offering animal sacrifices at the vernal equinox became frowned upon. Instead, the goddess in question was honoured with a cake, a sacred ox bun. Imprinted on the cake were the crossed horns of a ox. Christians reinterpreted this as the cross of Christ.
Puppet script from Eliab.com “Hot Cross Buns“

Two Little Boys ~
After a hardy rainstorm filled all the potholes in the streets and alleys, a young mother watched her two little boys playing in the puddle through her kitchen window.

The older of the two, a five year old lad, grabbed his sibling by the back of his head and shoved his face into the water hole.
As the boy recovered and stood laughing and dripping, the mother runs to the yard in a panic.
Why on earth did you do that to your little brother?!' she asks as she shook the older boy in anger.
'We were just playing 'church' mommy, ' he said.
'And I was just baptizing him..... In the name of the Father, the Son and in...the hole-he-goes.'

​Don and his daughter Jude (Judy when aged 7 and Don then a much younger father) sing a bedtime song. It's a time for reflection about fears, security and God's protection over all. This video was made to share with parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties, and perhaps it could be used to talk to children about their night time fears when going to sleep.

Please check out my Tiny Tunes Video.  All the old favourites to listen to and sing along for young children and families.

GRANDMOTHERS
A third-grade girl wrote a report on what a grandmother is. Here's a portion of her essay:
"A grandmother is a lady who has no children of her own. She likes other people's little girls. A grandfather is a man grandmother. He goes for walks with the boys, and then talks about fishing, tractors and things like that.... Grandmothers don't have to do anything but be there. They're old so they shouldn't play hard or run. It is enough if they take us to the market where the pretend horses are and have lots of dimes ready, or if they take us for walks and slow down passing things like pretty leaves or caterpillars. They never say, 'Hurry Up.'
"Usually they are fat, but not too fat to tie your shoes. They wear glasses and funny underwear. They can take their teeth and gums off. They don't have to be smart, but they can answer questions like why dogs hate cats and how come God isn't married. When they read to us, they don't skip words or mind if it is the same story over again and again. Everybody should try to have one, especially if you don't have a television, because grandmothers are the only grownups who got time."
(adapted from Thomas St. Bulletin, Altus, OK)