Holy Week: Sunday

Palm Sunday: Jesus's Triumphal Entry
Jesus walked from Bethany to Jerusalem. He rode into the city on a donkey, as a verse in the Old Testament said He would. People recognized Him as their King, shouting, "Hosanna," and laying down palm leaves in front of the donkey to keep dust from getting on the Savior. Jesus visited the temple and then returned to Bethany. (The Friend, April 2011)

Here are a few very simple ideas you can draw from to enrich your Palm Sunday. The article I'm using above this week from The Friend magazine has daily scriptures and songs for young children, although the concepts don't necessarily correspond with events of Holy Week.

All Bible videos I've used are from the excellent "The Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos" website, which depicts scenes of the life of Christ taken exactly from the scriptures.

Click "read more" for activity ideas...

For little ones:
Talk about how Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be born on earth.

• Read Luke 2:4–7.
• Sing “He Sent His Son” (Children’s Songbook, 34).

For everyone:
This week I'm sharing some ideas of my own as many well as from a book I highly recommend, A Christ-Centered Easter, by Janet and Joe Hales.

• Read Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, John 12:12-36.
• Talk about the meaning of the word "hosanna" and the significance of the palm branches.
• Think/journal about: How has Jesus helped you live a better life?
• Learn and sing a sacrament hymn this week that focuses on the resurrection and atonement.
• Each day add a picture in a special place to illustrate the events of the last week of Christ's life. 
• Create a love-notes jar. Have slips of paper nearby that the family can use to write kind notes to each other, and read them at the end of the week.
• This week, display a Christmas nativity along with an empty Easter egg to represent Christ's empty tomb. Sometime this week, read "What Was in Jeremy's Egg?", a sweet story of a boy who understood that the empty tomb was the best gift of all.

#becauseofHim