20 Creative Ways to Teach the Easter Story to Kids

The Easter story is a pivotal point in the full story of the Gospel, but when you teach the Easter story every year, it can be hard to find fresh, meaningful ways to share such an important message. So here are 20 creative and interactive ideas for teaching the Easter story in your children’s ministry this year! Use these ideas during Sunday services, family events, Easter weekend, or anytime you want to help kids connect with Jesus’ death and resurrection in a hands-on, memorable way. Find all of our Easter resources here!

Interactive Storytelling Ideas

• Resurrection Story Stations – Set up simple stations that walk kids through key moments of Holy Week and Easter (Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the Cross, the Tomb, the Resurrection). Kids move through each station as the story unfolds. This Easter lesson/event turns the stations into a challenge for kids to complete!
• Live Easter Story Remix – Let kids act out the story using simple costumes, paper props, puppets, or even LEGO figures. Kids can rotate roles so everyone gets to participate.
• Easter Story Cube – Use a simple cube craft like this one to invite kids to make their own storytelling tool! You can use the Cube in large group time to teach or use it as a review tool in small groups.
• Easter Escape Room – Create easy puzzles and clues based on the Gospel accounts that help kids discover the good news that Jesus is alive. Each solved clue leads them closer to the empty tomb. We have two options on Deeper KidMin here (for families at home) and here.
• Sound Effects Story – Assign sound effects to different parts of the story and invite kids to make the sound effects as you share. Palm branches swish, crowds shout “Hosanna,” thunder rumbles at the cross, and stones roll away. End with silence at the tomb, then joyful celebration when Jesus is alive.
• Easter Pictionary (With a Twist!) – Using this game, kids have to guess what Easter picture the hand on the screen is drawing before time runs out. Pause the video between rounds to talk about the Easter picture, what it means, and how it relates to the Easter story! If you don’t want to use the video-led version, just invite kids up one at a time, whisper what Easter object they should draw, then let the rest of the room try to guess before pausing to explain its significance!
• Freeze Frame Easter – Tell the story scene by scene and have kids freeze in place to show what’s happening. They could do scenes like Jesus riding into Jerusalem, praying in the garden, the empty tomb, Jesus appearing to His friends, etc.
• Invite kids to discover the story – In this Easter event/special lesson, kids must collect “artifacts” that represent three key teaching points from the Easter Story. With an Indiana Jones, Desert-Jungle Style Theme, it’s easy to transform your kid’s space into an exciting, fun environment kids feel fully immersed in!
• Make It a Game! – In this game, kids must race from the empty tomb to tell others that Jesus is alive! help kids interact with the story in playful ways.

Sensory + Hands-On Experiences

• Touch the Story – Pass around simple objects like palm leaves, a cup, a cross, a stone, and a white cloth as you tell the story. Each object helps kids connect physically to what they’re hearing. This event lets kids and families explore the Easter story in a sensory, hands-on way!
• Engage the senses – Think about how to engage all 5 senses for kids as they learn about the Easter story! What would it have smelled like in the crowd on Palm Sunday? How noisy would it have been? What did the bread and wine (juice) from the Last Supper taste like? This lesson helps kids explore the Easter story with their senses!
• Easter Mystery Eggs – Hide objects related to the story in giant Easter eggs (bread, cup, cross, stone, empty cloth). Kids pull an item out of a bag and guess how it connects to Easter. It’s like a condensed, giant version of resurrection eggs!
• Easter Story Shapes – Give kids Wikki Sticks or Pipe cleaners. At different parts of the lesson, stop and invite kids to shape their sticks into a symbol or part of the Easter story that you’re talking about! Then send home these Easter Story Shape Kits to invite kids to re-tell the Easter story at home!
• Story Stones: Easter Edition – Paint stones with symbols like a cross, heart, stone, crown, and empty tomb. Kids use the stones to retell the story in their own words. You could even adapt this at-home resource for a Sunday morning!
• Magnetic Gospel: Use the simple laws of magnets to display the power of Jesus’ sacrifice for us! Here’s a ready-to-go teaching lesson to help you pull this one off.
• Resurrection Scavenger Hunt – Hide symbols or verses around the room. Each find reveals a piece of the Easter story, leading kids to the final message: Jesus is alive.
• Get crafty! – There are lots of ways to use crafts and art to tell the Easter story. Lay out butcher paper, divide it into specific parts of the story, then let each small group illustrate/draw one part.   This bundle has a few options to help kids re-tell the Easter story, and this family resource invites families to get creative together at home!

Digital Media Ideas

• Guess That Easter Sound – Play sounds like a crowd cheering, footsteps, hammering, a stone rolling, or joyful music. Kids guess which part of the story each sound represents.
• Share a Video – After teaching the story live, reinforce it with a short Easter video or mini-movie to help visual learners engage again.
• Kids Tell the Easter Story – Record kids sharing one part of the story in their own words. Combine the clips into a short video to show on Easter Sunday.
• Emoji Easter Story – Use emojis to tell the Easter story on slides or printouts. Kids guess the scenes, then create their own emoji version to share with their families.

These ideas help kids see, hear, touch, and experience the Easter story in ways that stick while keeping the focus on the good news that changes everything: Jesus is alive.

Find all our Easter resources (including teaching and curriculum options) here!

This blog post is sponsored by Tyndale House Publishers and God’s Colorful Easter. In God’s Colorful Easter, acclaimed biblical scholar Esau McCaulley tells the story of Easter from the unique perspective of Simon of Cyrene, who carried the cross for Jesus. This beautiful picture book, a companion to God’s Colorful Kingdom Storybook Bible, helps young children understand God’s plan of redemption for all people, including themselves. With clear, engaging storytelling, and stunning artwork by Rogério Coelho, the book captivates both children and adults, sharing biblical truths in a way that is easy to understand. Perfect for family reading, church settings, or as a meaningful Easter gift, God’s Colorful Easter is a heartwarming celebration of God’s love for the whole world.