Labyrinth In Schools – ‘The Journey of Easter’

120 children from Gorse Ride Junior School, Finchampstead explored the story of Easter by travelling the path of a Labyrinth during Holy Week. Children from years 4 and 5 followed the path of the Labyrinth mapped out on the floor of their school hall from Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday.

They started their journey by writing their name on a footprint and sticking it on the words ‘THE JOURNEY OF EASTER’ written along the bottom of the mat. Teachers and helpers from the school accompanied groups of 5 or 6 children through the 5 zones; Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Garden of Gethsemane, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. In each zone they read a passage from the bible and did an activity related to each stage of Jesus’ journey as well as collecting a bead on a pipe cleaner to make a bracelet to help them remember their journey and tell the story to their friends.

To describe what they did, here are some of the comments from the children’s much appreciated thank you letters.

‘When I first went into the hall what a sight I saw, the hall was transformed into a labyrinth. My heart was pounding – what an excitement I had inside me. I loved following the white paths.’

Palm Sunday

‘Well done Mrs Hayden for spending ages on the best realistic-looking donkey in the world’

‘I really enjoyed making the palm leaves and putting them beside the donkey’

‘I never knew they called it Palm Sunday because they threw palm leaves on the floor for Jesus coming through the streets’

Maundy Thursday

‘The feet washing was a bit different, but it shows that in order to love and care for someone, you should put them before yourself’

‘My favourite activity was when we all sat on the floor around a table and had some really yummy bread with some pretend red wine. I learned how helpful and generous Jesus is to EVERYONE even if he knows them or not’

‘I will always remember that the bread is Jesus’ body and the wine is Jesus’ blood’

Garden of Gethsemane

‘I also liked it when we lit the candle because I understood how Jesus felt’

‘I learnt that the garden where Jesus was betrayed was the garden of Gethsemane’

‘I also loved lighting the candle and saying the lords prayer’

Good Friday

‘I felt sorry for Jesus when we went to the bit where Jesus went on the cross and they put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head (it must of hert)

‘I learned being nailed to a cross was called crucifixion’

‘The zone with the purple bead was interesting because I didn’t know that curtains were torn in half when Jesus died’

Easter Sunday

‘The miniature tomb looked completely life-like’

‘We all enjoyed the marble covered in paint rolling it was really really fun’

‘My favourite part was the bit when we decorated the eggs and put them on the tree’

The End?

‘The chocolate eggs were lovely’

‘We loved the idea of the bracelets especially the five beads for Jesus’

‘Also thank you for the bookmarks, we love them!’

‘I have learned that Easter is not just about the Easter eggs, its about Jesus, and his death.’

‘It’s much more exciting when you are doing it than when you are listening to the story of Easter’

‘I didn’t really understand the story of Easter before, but the Labyrinth changed that’

After their journey they were each given a booklet which contained the bible readings and a variety of puzzles to further explore some of the feelings that Jesus experienced.

This was the fourth labyrinth that we have done in the Gorse Ride schools and we are very grateful for the support and enthusiasm of both the Infant and Junior schools to do what we feel is very worthwhile outreach. It is a privilege to watch the children engaging with the activities and enjoying learning more about Jesus.