How-To Guide | The Easter Tree

The Easter Tree is a 50-day journey through the Bible, culminating on Easter.

It is designed to correspond to the traditional period of Lent.

Readers may begin on Ash Wednesday and follow the daily calendar through Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Readers may also use the book as a year-long study of the Bible, spending time with one story per week.

For each day:

Read the Scripture from a Bible
- When our children were young, we used children’s Bibles, but as their reading levels increased, we read together from the English Standard Version. I always love hearing my children’s voices sounding out the big words as they read scripture. It’s precious to me.

A parent or volunteer can lead a discussion about the passage. A 10-15 minute video teaching tool for each day can be viewed in the daily guide.

Use the ornament or video to trigger responses to questions like, “what is your favorite part of this story?” or “what did you learn that you never saw before?”

Get comfortable with the pregnant pauses. Give people time to think and ponder. It takes time, and sometimes courage, to share openly. This is often my favorite part. I love hearing how my kids are feeling. This is when I get to hear about where they are in their faith journey with God. No clichés are allowed. You gotta keep it real at my house. It’s safe to admit when you’re not in a good place and you need prayer too. (Be aware of the ‘home culture’ you are creating, your tone from the top is important.)