Whole Family

easter
by Meagan Wilson of Whole Family Rhythms

with Featured Contributor

Celine Veenema
 DEDICATION

To my Mother, who from the moment of my birth,

selflessly did everything she could to nourish, support
and love me, and who continues to do the same each and
every day. To my Grandmothers, both fierce and gentle
women, who mothered their children like lionesses, each
in their own unique ways. To each and every mother down
my ancestral lines who courageously brought their
children into this world. There is no doubt in my mind
each and every one loved their children to the depths
of their being and that that love played a part in
who I am and am becoming.

COPYRIGHT
©wholefamilyrhythms 2018. Second Edition. Revised 2019. All rights reserved.

This document can be shared only in its entirety with the permission of Meagan Wilson
of Whole Family Rhythms. It is for the sole use of the original downloader. Please see
Acknowledgement for a list of credits to the original works within.
 Table of Contents

Introduction  4
Incorporating your Family Values into your celebration 5
Worksheet 5
The Importance of Celebrating Festivals with young Children 6
The Easter Spirit: A Deeper Look at this Holiday 7
Easter Figures and Symbols 8

Easter Vision Board 10

Modelling the Essence of Easter  11
Easter Stories 13
Easter Crafts 16
Easter Recipes  27
Weekly Caregiver’s Meditations for the season 31
Caregiver’s Handwork  32

Bonuses:
March + April Calendar 40
Easter Meal Planner 42
Caregiver’s Handwork 43

Easter Book Recommendations 47

Recommended Retailers 48
Parting Words 49

About the Authors 50

whole family easter 3

introduction

This Guide was written to inspire you to create a renewed and meaningful Easter Tradition
in your home. It can be challenging to celebrate a holiday like this in a meaningful way for
those who have inherited Christian traditions but who are also not strictly or philosophically
connected to the Christian religion in any way. Although stories and images of the crucifixion,
death and rebirth provide faith, strength and hope for many, they are not appropriate for
early childhood.

So how do we honour and bring our own authenticity to the values and lessons associated
with Easter? How do we model virtues such as self-sacrifi e for the sake of the whole or
honour new beginnings and the natural cycle of death and rebirth (especially in the natural
world- plants, animals)?

What is most important for our children is not so much

whether we follow a specific religion or not but that if we
choose to celebrate a holiday, that we authentically honour
the festival by drawing on its values consciously.

Each year I revisit these questions:

ff Why do we as a family celebrate at this time?
ff What is this tradition all about and what does it mean to us?
I will lead you through my answers and much more in the pages that follow. I hope that you
find this Guide b th practical and inspiring and that it sparks in your home new and lasting
Easter traditions for years to come.

Meagan.

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Incorporating your Family
Values into your Celebration

Of course what makes the world so beautiful is that no family is the same and no set of
Family Values are the same either.
I encourage you to sit down with plenty of time before the new season to discuss with your
parenting partner what your family beliefs are. I believe it’s important to revisit your beliefs
at least once or twice a year because as human beings on a journey - the truth is some of
our beliefs will likely change along with us.
When we have a clear picture of what our core values are we can then go about creating
and animating rituals, traditions and celebrations that are in alignment with those values
and beliefs.
Use the following worksheet to help you identify your family’s core values and their
connection to the Easter season.

Write down as many values as you can think of associated with

Easter and which you would like to model to your children.
(eg. faith, self-sacrifice, rebirth, blooming, finding treasures)

Where do you think these values come from?

(eg. from our own family heritage, the Biblical story, the seasonal changes in the natural world)

How are these values modelled during Easter by others?

(eg. hunts, charity work, gardening, prayer and worship)

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The Importance of Celebrating
Festivals with young Children

“The original idea of any sacred festival is to make the

human being look upward from his dependence on earthly
things to those things that transcend the Earth.”
– Rudolf Steiner

The Festivals help children mark the passage of time in the same way your daily and weekly
rhythm carries them through their days. But celebrating festivals also connects us with our
larger community as well as connects us with a higher faith whether that faith is rooted in
virtues or values, archetypal figu es or mother nature.
Festivals also allow us to celebrate together in our common humanity.
For children the celebrations involve meaningful and joyful work and preparations. The
festivals should be celebrated as simply and as reverently as possible which is why it’s so
important that adults and carers do the “inner work” needed beforehand to authentically
connect to the essence of the festival and what it means to them.

Freya Jaffke, author of ‘Celebrating the Festivals with Children’ says,

“Doing-Doing-Doing. Never reasoning why something is done in

a certain way, although sometimes children have their own philosophy
about certain things. Our task as kindergarten teachers [and parents]
is to try to transform everything we do, to transform our knowledge into
activities: to make visible that about which we have been thinking.”

Children learn by doing and imitating. Being joyfully involved in crafts, tories, decorations
and food preparation is all the child needs to feel he is at the center of the festival. Save
esoteric language and explanations for a time when the child is much older.

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Easter: A Deeper
Look at this Holiday

“Your outer life mirrors your inner belief system.”

– Dr Shefali Tsabary

There are many different ways people celebrate the Easter season and each family will
choose to embrace some traditions and leave others depending on their values, culture
and beliefs.
We all celebrate these festivals for the same reason- to connect our inner world with our
outer world. I encourage you to start simply and don’t try to do it all. Take symbols, verses,
stories and traditions that resonate with you, create your own and leave the rest!

For those in the Southern Hemisphere:

For those of you who live in a place in which Autumn is arriving when Easter occurs I
encourage you to dive even deeper into your family’s values and question why it is you
celebrate Easter and how you can create a festival that is authentic to you and the place
you live. This may mean that you edit Easter stories so that they feature bunnies who are
readying their cozy dens for Winter. Perhaps the traditional egg hunt turns into a hunt
instead for coloured and painted gum leaves. Perhaps as an outside activity you focus on
collecting seeds as opposed to planting them.
For those in Australia I would also explore local Indigenous calendars, traditions and seasons
if you are more inclined to lean towards creating a tradition that is tune with the natural
world and less inclined to follow the Christian tradition. If you are in New South Wales you
might you might start with the D’harawal stories compiled by Frances Bodkin.

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Easter Figures,
Symbols
and Traditions
Ostara
The history of Ostara, the Dawn Goddess, is grey and heatedly debated. Although some can
trace her roots back to the 2nd century CE, others claim she is a newer invention fir t named
by Jacob Grimm and only heralded recently by Neo-Pagans. The most common belief is
that Ostara’s beginnings are rooted in the tales about Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of
the dawn. Today, Ostara represents renewal and rebirth both literally and figurati ely as she
wakes us up from a deep Winter sleep.

Bulbs
Spring fl wer bulbs are a symbol of eternal hope and rebirth. These fl wers stay deeply
rooted in the earth, asleep all winter and then seemingly rise from a small death and bloom
into new life year after year. Many families choose to plant bulbs in the Autumn and watch
them slowly sprout into life at this time of year. Others bring bulbs into their homes to watch
the magic unfold right before their eyes.

Rabbits/Hares
Some have linked the images of hares and rabbits to Ēostre. The rabbit or hare is one of the
fir t animals out at dawn enjoying the early morning dew and grass. Eostre’s lights are said
to have been carried by hares. Anyone who has heard the expression “breed like rabbits”
is aware of just how quickly these animals can reproduce. This is why rabbits and hares
also represent fertility and birth. The Easter Bunny is a very common contemporary Easter
symbol. This special rabbit is known to bring dyed eggs and/or chocolate to the homes of
children on Easter Sunday.

Nests, Eggs and Chicks

Nests, eggs and chicks are all symbols of new life, fertility and rebirth dating back to
ancient creation myths. Red eggs have been a tradition in the Orthodox church for
hundreds of years symbolising the resurrection of Christ. There is also a practical reason
eggs have become Easter fare- traditionally many Christians abstained from eating any
animal products for the duration of Lent. When Lent ended there would be an excess
number of eggs left ver from the family’s chickens to cook up and enjoy!

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Jesus & The Crucifixion
From a religious point of view, Easter represents the time that Christ rose from the dead and
was born again. His resurrection and our relationship with it as either truth or symbolism
is a very personal inner dialogue. The story is about a Divine Being that passed from this
world to the next, representing the connection between the Earth and something greater
than ourselves. His messages were of love, tolerance and humanity. It is important not to
say too much too soon to young children about this very intense event. I would suggest
instead, modelling the values associated with it (self-sacrifi e, resurrection). Simply living into
the holiday stories, preparations and celebrations as authentically as you can is enough for
younger children.

The Egg Hunt

Many families choose to have a traditional egg hunt on Easter morning in their garden. In
ours, the children discover many hard boiled eggs (they are less breakable) that have been
dyed in secret the evening before. These are from the Easter Bunny or Easter Hare. At the
end of their hunt they usually find a small handmade elt toy or decoration and a small fair-
trade chocolate egg in their easter baskets.

The Spring Nature Table and “Easter Grass”

We have a Nature Table for every season in our home and it is usually adorned with lots of
Easter symbols at this time of year including soft astel silks, pom pom chicks, tulips from
the garden, eggshell candles, wooly lambs and some Easter Grass for the bunny to enjoy
when he/she visits. To make a dish of Easter grass simply put some dirt into a shallow dish
and spread wheat grains (they are brown and look like rice) over the dirt. Add another light
layer of dirt on top of these seeds and water liberally. You will see the grains begin to sprout
within 24 hours. Keep them well watered and within a few days you will see the grass begin
to grow.

The Easter Tree

In the past we have found a beautiful branch in the yard and placed
it in a tall vase. Then we thread and hang blown Easter eggs from
the branches to create an Easter Tree.

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Easter Season
Vision Board

Another way to get really clear about how you would like to celebrate your chosen holiday is
to use a Vision Board like the one below. Within the quarters you can include:
Values: the values you associate with this holiday and that you want to pass onto your
children (eg. rebirth, revival, hope, light, love, forgiveness)
Give Back: how you would like to donate your time, resources and talents to the greater
good (local and international community, friends and family) in honour of the holiday spirit
(eg. donate to a food or coat drive, volunteer, write cards,)
Traditions: rituals and traditions you would like to create or uphold associated with this
holiday (eg. storytelling, egg hunt, making an easter tree, lent )
Creative Celebration: Ideas for creating and celebrating the holiday. (eg. egg dying, baking
easter foods, rabbit crafts, aster grass, planting bulbs)

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Modelling the Essence
of Easter

Children learn through modelling- we can preach and lecture until we are blue in the face
but unless we are embodying the very values we want to pass on to our children, they just
won’t translate. It’s very helpful to contemplate which “virtues” come to mind in association
with the Easter Season. I try to focus on: Birth, Hope and Forgiveness. I wish to show my
authentic reverence towards birth by standing in wonder observing seeds sprout and
caring for the small new animals amongst us. I wish to demonstrate forgiveness by telling
stories about and embodying the sacred act of forgiveness in our own lives. We show to
our children that it is in our daily actions that we are able to connect with each other in a
meaningful and reverent way.
With these ideas in mind I encourage you to journal with the following worksheet:

How can I (as much as possible) remain calm and present

when preparing for the festivals this season?

How can I model Hope to my children this season?

(eg. donating to a charity for children or youth, visiting a farm and seeing the baby animals,
attending a demonstration myself)

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How can I symbolise and show reverence for Birth this season?
(eg. creating a nature table featuring eggs and growing grass, decorating eggs, making gifts
for new moms in need )

How can I model Forgiveness to my children this season?

(eg. finding ways to forgive in everyday life - accepting apologies from siblings, asking for
forgiveness when I have done something inauthentic, making cards for those who we have
quarrelled with recently)

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AN EastEr
storY
The following Easter story is one we have shared with our children each year which
emphasizes the importance of waiting your turn, coming of age and self-sacrifi e as well as
speaks to the magic, wonder and excitement of Easter.

The Seven Little

Easter Bunnies
Once upon a time there was a Mother bunny who had seven little bunny children. One
clear Spring day she said to her children, “I wonder who will be the Easter bunny this year?”
“Me! Me! Me!”, they all cried at the same time. But their Mother said, “Hush now. The one
who can bring an Easter egg safely to the children’s garden and who can hide it well in the
grass, will be the Easter bunny this year.”
The first bunny took the pink egg. He hopped over the bridge, ran through a field and
came straight to the children’s garden. There was a tall strong wall all around the garden.
The bunny jumped up, but he jumped too high and when he landed on the other side the
pink egg had broken.
When the Mother saw the broken egg she said, “You will have to wait a little longer until
you can be the Easter bunny.”
The next bunny took the blue egg. He hopped over the bridge and into the field. High up in
a tree a little bluebird sat in her nest. When she saw the bunny with the egg she called out,
‘Give me the egg, give me the egg!”. Before the bunny knew what was happening to him the
bluebird had flown down and taken the egg in her beak and had carried it up to the nest.
When the Mother heard about this she said, “You will have to wait a little longer too”.

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The third bunny took the purple egg and hopped over the bridge and through a frosty
field. There he met a bunny friend who said, “Let’s wrestle and play a little while”. As they
wrestled and played, they rolled along the ground until they rolled right over the purple egg
and broke it!
The Mother bunny was not pleased about this and she gave the next egg to the fourth
bunny. This was a chocolate egg. The bunny carried the egg over the bridge and across
the field. Who was waddling in the farmyard next door but a big fat pig. “Please let me
taste just a little bit of the chocolate egg,” he asked. Well, the pig licked a bit and the
bunny licked a bit, and the pig licked a bit more and the bunny licked a bit more... until
they realised, they had eaten all of the egg! When the bunny came home with a ring of
chocolate all over his little whiskers the Mother said, “You will have to wait a little longer too
until you can be the real Easter bunny.”
The next bunny took the orange egg. On the middle of the bridge he looked down into the
water watching the little fishes swimming merrily to and fro. Rolllll... Plop! The egg fell out of
the bunny’s paws and into the water and floated down the river. He surely could not be the
Easter bunny either.
The second last bunny had fallen asleep in the Easter basket, so he had missed his turn.
The last and oldest bunny took the deep, green egg. He hopped over the bridge and he
did not look down into the river. He hopped through the fields and when the fat pig came
and begged for the egg, he said, “I have no time, I have something very important to do”
And hopped on. He met another bunny friend who wanted to play, but this bunny said,
“I have no time, I have something very important to do”. When the rosella called from the
nest, “Give me the egg!” the bunny held onto his deep green egg tightly and so he finally
arrived at the garden. He jumped over the wall, not too high and not too low, just right. He
landed softly in the spring grass on the other side and carefully hid the egg.
When he returned home his Mother was very pleased and said, “This year you will be the
Easter Bunny.” The children were very happy too. They came running into the garden and
when they found the deep green egg hidden in the grass they exclaimed, “Hurray! It’s
Easter time again!”
Adapted from a story told by Ebba Bodame. Author unknown.

You can make this story as simple or elaborate as you like. If you are going to reenact it with
puppets you’ll need 7 assorted bunnies plus a mother rabbit, a pig (or other fat animal), a
bird, some easter eggs; green muslin or silk scarves and natural props like sticks and stones
to create a landscape. You can shorten the story by decreasing the number of bunnies in it
and change details such as the type of bird or the colour of the egg to work around whatever
props you have. If you are going to tell the story orally then simply light a candle to set the
mood and try to have the words by heart so that the story is soulful and comes from a place
of authenticity.

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A Rabbit Fingerplay

Here is a rabbit (two fingers up)

And here are his ears (wiggle your two fingers)

And here his hole in the ground (other hand makes a hole with thumb
and index finger)
When a noise he hears,
he pricks up his ears (two fingers go up again)

And jumps into his hole in the ground (two fingers go through the hole in
the other hand)
TRADITIONAL FINGERPLAY, AUTHOR UNKNOWN

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Easter Crafting

Sewn
Felt Egg
Supplies: Let’s begin:
ff Wool felt, 2mm, 1. F
 irst print the pattern, cut it from the paper
varying colours and pin it on your felt.
ff Embroidery thread 2. F
 or one egg you’ll need 4 egg pieces from
in matching colours the pattern.
ff Embroidery needles 3. O
 nce you have cut 4 pieces, you can
embroider then however you like or leave
ff Wool for stuffing ou could
them blank.
also use cotton balls).

1 2

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 3 4-5 6

4. When you’ve finish d adding details you can start to sew your egg together.
5. Y
 ou can do this with a blanket-stitch for a clean look or running stitch (as shown) for a
more raw look.
6. Put two pieces on top of each other wrong sides facing and stitch one side together.

7-8 9 10

7. Repeat this with the other two parts.

11
8. Then start sewing the two halves together.
9. Keep an opening to stuff our egg.
10. Stuff the ggs.
11. Sew them up to seal.

*You could also needlefelt a pattern or image on your

parts. This is something even the little ones could do
with some guidance.

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Felt Egg Pattern

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Lambs for
little Hands
Supplies: Let’s begin:
ff Cardboard of any sort: 1. C
 ut out the pattern on paper and then trace
fl xed, an old shoebox or the it onto cardboard.
cardboard box
2. C
 ut it out and draw an eye on both sides if
ff Wool Yarn scraps in sheep you’d like.
colours (grey, white, black)
3. Start wrapping the body with yarn.
ff Printed pattern
4. W
 hen your lamb is woolly enough cut the
* you could play with the scaling yarn and tuck in the end with a blunt needle.
to make different sized lambs
5. Y
 ou can choose to string them along to make
and sheep
an Easter garland.

1a 1b

2 3 4

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Lamb Pattern

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Wetfelt
Eggs
Supplies: Let’s begin:
ff Natural dish detergent 1. W
 rap the plastic (or wooden) egg in a thin
layer of wool with it all going in the same
ff Large bowl
direction. Use just enough wool to cover it.
ff Hot water
2. N
 ext, wrap or lay crossways another thin layer
ff Wooden or Styrofoam of the same wool or another color.
eggs or plastic Easter eggs
3. T
 he important thing here is to criss-cross the
taped shut
wool so that the fibers will lock ogether.
ff Wool roving in colours
4. Now your egg is ready to felt.
of your choice
5. P
 repare your bowl by adding a few drops of
ff Scissors
dish detergent and some hot water.
ff Needlefelt needle

2 3a 3b

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 8a 8b 9

11 15a 15b

6. T
 he hotter the better but if little ones a e going to be helping be careful not to burn their
little hands
7. Swish the water and detergent around to thoroughly mix together.
8. S
 tart out by holding your wool covered egg in one hand and using the other hand to
scoop a little bit f water at a time and gently sprinkle over your egg, very carefully
patting the ater in so as not to dislodge the wool.
**Do not pour or submerge your egg into the water until it has started felting as this will
make the felting harder, because your roving wool will dislocated.
9. O
 nce the wool is wet and beginning to cling to itself, you can start to lightly rub the wool
in your hands.
10. After doing this for a couple of minutes, you will see that the wool has begun to felt.
11. Y
 ou can now rub it more vigorously in your hands, or rub it on the washboard, or even
wrap it up in the bubble wrap and roll it back and forth.
12. Do this for about 10 minutes.
13. You will need to continuously sprinkle more hot water on it or even submerge it in the bowl.
14. The wool needs the heat along with the friction to be able to fully felt.
15. A
 fter those fir t layers have fully felted you can add more layers one at a time, and just
felt each layer as you did the fir t.

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 18a 18b 18c

18d 18e 19

20 21a 21b

16. I have found that adding many layers of thin wool is easier to work with than a few thick
layers. If you’re worried your egg isn’t felted enough you can bind it in a pantyhose and
put it in the washing machine on a program for rinsing with hot water.
17. O
 nce you feel it has enough layers, rinse your felted egg in cold water to remove any of
the left ver detergent and then let it dry thoroughly.
18. O
 nce dry, you can add designs to your egg by needle felting them on, or leave them as
they are.
19. T
 o remove the plastic (or wooden) egg from inside the felted egg, cut horizontally in a
straight line or zigzagged (so it looks like the egg was cracked open) about halfway to
3/4 of the way up the egg .
20. Make sure you cut only a little mo e than halfway around the egg.
21. Y
 ou can make the openings of the eggs look neater you can use some embroidery flo s
and do a simple blanket stitch around the edge of the opening.
22. Hide simple Easter gifts and surpri es inside of the eggs!

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Homedyed Eggs
Supplies: Let’s begin:
ff White hard boiled 1. C
 ut up about 4 cups of each colour vegetable and boil
eggs them in water until the water reduces and becomes quite
darkly coloured. Pour each colour into a separate bowl.
ff Colourful vegetables
(red cabbage - blue, 2. M
 ix 2-3 TBS of each herbal pigment into hot water in
spinach - green, separate bowls as well.
beets - pink, onion
3. Y
 ou could also create a bowl of water + watercolour paint
skins - gold)
to soak the eggs in.
ff Herbal Pigments
4. S
 oak the hard boiled eggs overnight in the bowls of coloured
(turmeric - yellow,
water adding 1-2 TBS of white vinegar to each bowl (this will
coffee - brown)
help set the colour). Ideally you can turn the eggs at some
ff Watercolour paint point through this time so both sides are evenly dyed.
ff White Vinegar 5. Y
 ou can double dye to combine colours and create new
ones. For example, dye an egg yellow with turmeric
ff Water
overnight and then the following day soak it in the beet dye
ff Pans and bowls to create a golden orange.
*optional: draw on the hardboiled eggs with crayon before
setting them in the dyes over night.

1a 1b

2 3 4

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Pegdoll
Chicken
and Bunny
Supplies: Let’s begin:
ff Wooden pegdolls (any size) Chicken or Rooster Doll
ff Acryllic Paint (photos shown 1. Start with drawing the face on the pegdoll.
in colours white, red, yellow,
2. T
 hen add a layer of two of white paint-
green, brown, pink and black)
keeping the drawn face blank.
ff Paint brushes & water
3. W
 hile the white paint is drying, cut a crest
ff Wooden skewers/toothpicks/ and beak (if you choose to add one)
chopsticks for tiny paint details (Paint the crest red and beak yellow if you
need to).
ff Felt scraps either in matching
colour or in white (which you 4. P
 aint little yes, cheeks and (if you didn’t
can then paint) choose a felt beak you can paint one now).
ff Gluegun and glue 5. Y
 ou can use wooden skewers or toothpicks to
paint fine details
6. W
 hen the paint is dry, heat up the gluegun
and attach the c est.
*optional: paint some grass on the bottom end
of the pegdoll

1 2

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 3 4 6

Pegdoll Bunny
1. Started by painting the entire bunny completely brown
2. Cut some long felt ears (you may want to painted these brown too)
3. When the brown paint is dry, paint a face on the bunny
4. You can use wooden skewers or toothpicks to paint fine detail
5. When the paint has dried glue the ears on
*optional: paint some grass on the bottom end of the pegdoll

1 2 5

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Some Recipes
for Easter
The following recipes are traditional Easter recipes that can be made with the help of little
hands. Helping out with the cooking not only gives them confiden e, teaches cooperation
and practical skills but also provides a strong sense of rhythm throughout the day. It’s very
practical to get children into the habit of washing hands and then putting a small ap on on
before working in the kitchen and is also a nice transition that signifies that n w is a time for
“meaningful work”.

Rabbit Food Salad

Ingredients Let’s Begin
ff baby spinach Prepare the salad veggies and then toss them together
in a large salad bowl. Pour all salad dressing ingredients
ff grated carrot
into a mason jar and then close and shake to combine.
ff thinly sliced apple Pour the dressing onto the salad and serve.
ff a handful of sprouts
(alfalfa or sunfl wer)
ff avocado
Children can help wash and spin the lettu e and grate
ff chickpeas (drained and the carrot. Older children can cut the veggies. Children
rinsed from the can) also love mixing salad dressings together- you can put
Dressing all ingredients in a jar and then shake.

ff 1 large lemon- juiced

ff 1 tsp dijon mustard *serve with chopped boiled eggs or
nuts to add some protein.
ff 2 tsp honey
ff 1 tbs olive oil
ff Salt and pepper to taste

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Rustic
Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients Let’s Begin

ff 4 cups spelt flou Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, add the milk and
heat very gently until warm.
ff 14g (4 tsp) dried
yeast Take off f the heat, add the sugar and yeast, stir well and let it
sit (until frothy or bubbly).
ff 1/4 cup raw sugar
Mix the flou , cinnamon, ground cloves and salt together in a large
ff 1/2 tsp cinnamon
bowl, add the beaten eggs and the frothy/milky yeast mixture.
ff 1/2 tsp ground
Stir to incorporate, add raisins or currants, then remove sticky
cloves
dough from the bowl and begin to knead adding more flour or
ff pinch of salt a bit more water if necessary.
ff 1 1/2 cups currants We also added a bit of coconut oil to our hands to help with the
or raisin kneading and make the dough less sticky.
ff 40g butter Place the kneaded dough back into the bowl and cover with a
ff 1 cup of milk wet dishtowel and place in a warm spot to rise for 30 minutes.

ff 2 eggs, lightly Add the water to the flour o make a flour aste for the crosses.
beaten Preheat the oven to 190C (375F).
ff (optional coconut oil Remove from the bowl, roll into small balls and place them
to help with sticky slightly touching each other on a lined baking sheet.
kneading)
Paint the paste to create crosses on the buns (the corner of a
ff For the crosses ziplock bag works well as piping).
ff 1/2 cup plain flou Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden on top.
ff 4 to 5 tablespoons
water
Children can help to mix the wet ingredients with the dry and
knead the dough.

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Devilled
Eggs
with Dill

Ingredients Let’s Begin

ff 6 eggs First you need to hard boil the eggs.
ff 1-3 tbs mayonnaise Place them in a saucepan and fill with enough ater to cover
or veganaise them by two inches.
ff 2 tsp mustard Place the pan on high and once the water comes to a boil
remove the pan from the heat, cover and let it stand for 10
ff Salt and paprika
minutes.
for garnish
Peel the eggs by gently tapping them against the counter to
ff Chopped dill
crack the shell and then submerge them in ice water for a
minute to prevent messy peeling.
Slice the eggs carefully in half from tip to the bottom.
Remove the yolks, separating them from the whites and put
them into a mixing bowl.
Mash the yolks with a fork until they are crumbled.
Add the mayo and mustard until it forms a smooth paste.
Spoon the mixture into a ziplock bag and cut a hole in the
corner of the bag to create a piping slit.
Pipe the mixture back into the egg white halves.
Sprinkle the tops with paprike, dill and salt.

Children can help peel the eggs, stir the mixture and sprinkle
with topping.

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Pea and
Potato Soup

Ingredients Let’s Begin

ff olive oil Saute the onion and garlic until soft. dd potato, zucchini
and broth and bring to boil.
ff onion 1, chopped
Reduce heat and simmer for around 20 minutes until the
ff 2 garlic cloves, crushed
potatoes are very soft
ff 3-4 large potatoes,
Roughly mash the vegetables in the pot with a potato
peeled and chopped
masher then add the peas and cook for a few minutes
ff 1 large zucchini, chopped until tender. Season with salt and top with mint.
ff 1L vegetable or chicken
broth
ff 1 ½ cups of frozen
Children can help peel and chop the veggies. Older
or fresh peas
children can help stir over the pot with supervision.
ff Chopped mint
as a topping

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Weekly Contemplation
for Caregiver’s this season

Week One Week Three

Easter is a time to shed the past and
to embrace rebirth. This week clear
out old cobwebs (both literally and One joy scatters a hundred griefs.
figurati ely) that are sticking to you and ~ Chinese Proverb
slowing you down. Try to find ome
time this week to take out a journal
and write down what it is that’s been Gratitude Meditation
holding you back this winter and set Find a comfortable position and sit still
some intentions about how it is you taking a few calm centering breaths. Let your
can let go and move forward. awareness move towards your heart center
and focus on the external environment- what
can you smell, taste, touch and hear. Say to
Week Two yourself : “I am grateful for this”

You will see the spiral everywhere you Next bring your attention to the people in
go as buds slowly unravel and grow your life- family, friends, partners, teachers.
outside. The spiral can represent the And say to yourself. “I am grateful for them”
journey from outer consciousness Next turn your attention to yourself. Your
(materialism, ego, outward perception) unique abilities and talents, your strengths
to the inner soul (enlightenment, and weaknesses, acknowledge the journey
formless, awareness). The spiral you are on and the work you put in each
represents the consciousness of day in the striving. And say to yourself. “I am
nature beginning from the center and grateful for myself”
expanding outwards. What is it deep
within you that wants to bloom and Finally sit and just observe the breath, coming
come through to the outside world? in and out of your body and simply say to
yourself: “For this, I am grateful.”

Week Four
Fairies, Gnomes, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are all examples of how we teach our
children that seeing is not always believing. Faith, hope and love are not tangible but they do
exist. Challenge yourself to contemplate and wonder about some of life’s mysteries without
succumbing to the desire of googling any answers. Do you have faith and trust in the future?
Do you believe in something bigger than your own body and soul that lies dormant within
you? Do you choose to connect with that part of yourself? How?

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Caregiver’s
Handwork
Felt Easter Basket
Supplies: Let’s begin:
ff 3 12 by 12 inch pieces of wool felt, 1. F
 rom one piece of felt cut two long
5mm thickness- your colour choice rectangles each measuring 3.5 inches wide
x 11-inches long- These two pieces will form
ff Matching thread
the wall of the basket.
ff Embroidery needles
2. C
 ut another strip that is 1 inch wide x 12
inches- This will be the handle of the basket.
3. F
 rom another piece of felt cut a circle that is
7-inches in diameter.
*I used a plate with this dimension.

3a 3b

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 4 5 6

7 10 11

4. Place two of the 3.5 inch x 1 inch long pieces together along the short sides.
5. With the embroidery thread sew the two ends of felt together using a whip stitch .
6. The stitches will be visible on the outside, so stich slow and neat.
7. B
 efore stitching the other ends together to form the wall of the basket, form a circle with
it and place it over the cut felt circle to confirm it ma ches up.
8. If you’ve left it a bit long, n w is the time to trim the ends a bit.
9. S
 titch the remaining two short ends of the felt together so that you end up with a round
felt cuff.
10. Place the felt cuff on op of the circle of felt.
11. D
 on’t worry if the cuff and ci cle don’t match up exactly. The felt is so pliable and will all
come together once stitched.
12. Stitch the wall to the bottom using whipstitch.
13. C
 ontinue stitching in this way from the outside of the basket until you have gone all the
way around the circle.
14. After you have a basket see if the height is fine or you.
15. I found mine a bit too high, so I folded over the top end of the basket.
16. F
 inally, place the handle on using blanket stitch and a contrasting embroidery thread to
give the basket some color.

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 12 13 16

17. I blanket stitched around all the two long edges of the handle too before attaching it
18. Whipstitch the handle to the side wall just as you stitched the two sides of felt together.
19. U
 sing the needlepoint yarn, start the needle on the inside of the basket and stitch a
simple whipstitch around the entire top edge of the basket.
20. To start and end the yarn there is no need to tie a knot.
21. S
 tick the needle through the middle of the felt about an inch and a half away from
where you are starting or ending your stitch and just cut yarn.
22. The felt is thick enough to hold the yarn without having to tie a knot.

whole family easter 34

Caregiver’s
Handwork
Knitted Bunny
Supplies: Let’s begin:
ff Yarn 1. S
 tart by making a square by knitting or c ocheting.
Any size will do. You don’t need any fancy stitch,
ff Knitting n edles or crochet hook
just do what you can.
ff Needle
2. If you can’t knit or crochet just use a square made
ff Stuffing, I ed sheepswool out of a towel or woolfelt.
3. O
 nce the square is done, fold your square in two
to see where the middle is. Mark this using a
running stich.

1 3-4 6

whole family easter 35

 9 10

4. F
 old the square in two in the other direction to find the middle again. U e a safetypin or
something to mark this point. Now make a triangle with that middle point as top and the
line you already made with contrasting yarn as base. Once you are done you should have
the two ends of yarn next to each other.
5. O
 nce you pull them the triangle will become the head of your bunny. The two outer flap
naturally will turn in ears.
6. O
 nce you have the head/triangle pulled a bit, put some stuffing in amd ontinue to pull
untill the head is closed. Now knot the yarn and weave in the ends.
7. Once the head is done, the hardest part is done.
8. N
 ow you only have to form a cilinder from the rest of the square. Use same colour yarn
that you used to make the square.
9. A
 nd stich from in between the ears down to the bottom of the square. It will look like
you have a handpuppet at this point.
10. Stuff the bodi e with wool or suffing f choice.
11. Once it’s fill d you can close the bottom.
12. I laced the outer stiches and then pulled it to close. But you could easily just fold the
ends together and just stitch.
13. You could make a little pompom tail. And u e embroidery to create a face.

whole family easter 36

Caregiver’s
Handwork
Eggshell Candle Holder
Supplies: Let’s begin:
ff Egg 1. F
 irst melt the beeswax au bain Marie by putting th
beeswax in a glass jar in the pan with hot water.
ff Beeswax
The beeswax doesn’t touch the water.
ff Wicks
2. W
 hen the beeswax melts, crack your eggs in two
ff Beeswax Modelling Clay equal parts to the best of your ability. Save the egg
or an Eggcup white and yolk for lunch or dinner. For this craft ou
ff Glass + stick only need the shell.

ff Pan fill d with hot water 3. Rinse the shell and dry carefully with a cloth.

1a 1b

whole family easter 37

 2 4a 4b

4c 5 6

4. M
 ake an eggholder from the clay and put the empty shell in the holder in a glass. Then
dip the end of your wick in The melted beeswax so it’s a bit more heavy and hang it on
the stick.
5. Now carefully fill ou eggshell with the beeswax while the wick hangs in it.
6. H
 ardest part now is to waiting till the beeswax is completely cooled down. Once it is cool
you can remove the stick and cut the wick to desired length.

whole family easter 38

bonuses
 march
1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

whole family easter 40

 april
1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30

whole family easter 41

 easter meal Planner

Festival for Feast: Traditional Festival Diet to follow:

(eg. Easter Day) Foods: (eg. vegetarian)

Meal Where to
(eg. breakfast, When to Notes/When
Menu Ingredients find the
lunch, dinner, Shop to Cook
dessert) recipe

whole family easter 42

Caregiver’s Handwork
Flopsy Easter
Bunny Tutorial

Materials
ff wool felt in colour of choice ff wool roving for stuffi
ff contrasting wool felt in colour of ff white wool roving for tail
choice (for inside of ears)
ff needle
ff matching thread as well as thread
ff printed Flopsy Easter Bunny template
for nose and eyes

whole family easter 43

 Let’s Begin
Cut the pieces of template out and pin Cut out 2 Body pieces.
to your felt.
Cut out 1 Head Strip piece.
Cut out 2 Ears the same colour, and
Cut out 1 Bottom.
two more ears a different colour
(for the inside of the ears).

Using blanket stitch start by placing the two body pieces one on top of the other and
blanket stitching them together from the place where it says “HEAD” all the way down,
past the tail and ending where it says “BOTTOM”.
At this time you are going to take the Bottom piece and begin blanket stitching the
right side of the bottom piece to the right hand side body piece matching the places
where it says “BOTTOM” all the way to the “NECK”.
Keep going all the way around until the entire Bottom piece is attach d to the two
Body pieces.
Take the Head Strip piece and again blanket stitch the right side of it to the right hand
side of the Body piece, lining up the places where it says “NECK” all the way to the
“HEAD”.
When you’ve completed one side and there is only one more line to stitch, stuff the
bunny- making sure to fill the eet well.
Then blanket stitch the last Head Strip side to the Body to completely close.
You may need to do a few extra little titches in places you missed along the way.
Stitch the ears together- each ear is two pieces of felt one of each colour.
Attach o desired place- you could also create a Bunny with pricked ears by changing
the placement and stitching.
Embroider eyes and nose as desired.

whole family easter 44

 head
neck

head

x2
neck

bottom

neck

x1 x4

whole family easter 45

Easter Crafting
Nature Inspired Beeswax
Easter Bunnies

Go outside with the family and collect some natural materials- twigs, seeds, pods,
pinecones and nuts (add some glitter too if you have a little one li e my daughter who
loves anything that sparkles!). At home, warm some beeswax between your hands, tell
an Easter story and create some Easter inspired characters to decorate your Nature
table with.

whole family easter 46

easter Book
Recommendations

For Adults
All Year Round A Calendar of Celebrations
by Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes-Clinton and Marje Rowling
The Spiritual Background to Christian Festivals by Charles Kovacs
The Family Virtues Guide: Simple Ways to Bring Out the Best in Our Children and Ourselves
by Linda Kavelin Popov
Values for Today’s Families by Anita Diamant
Pagan Family Values: Childhood and the Religious Imagination in Contemporary American
Paganism (New and Alternative Religions) by S. Zohreh Kermani
The Awakened Family: A Revolution in Parenting by Shefali Tsabary Ph.D.

For Children
The Story of the Rabbit Children by Sibylle Von Olfers
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
The Country Bunny by Dubose Heyward
The Easter Egg by Jan Brett
Marshmallow by Clare Turlay Newberry
The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous
Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco
The Story of the Easter Robin by Dandi Daley MacKall
The Little ed Hen version by Paul Galdone
Hattie and the ox by Mem Fox
Fancy That! by Pamela Allen
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Eggs for the Hunting by Reg Down

whole family easter 47

Recommended Retailers for
Crafting Supplies as well as
small Gifts for Easter Baskets
Australia United States Canada
Dragonfly Toys Bella Luna Toys The Paper Pipet Shop
Honeybee Toys Nova Natural Toys Nest

whole family easter 48

PARTING WORDS

I hope this guide and the worksheets within help you to gain clarity, inspire creativity and
celebrate in accordance with your family’s unique values. May we all celebrate and pass
on the virtues of love, compassion, mutual-respect, charity, generosity and gratitude to our
loved ones. Happy Easter to you and yours!

whole family easter 49

About the Authors

Meagan Wilson
Meagan’s vision is to connect and inspire mothers, carers and
communities with each other so that they feel empowered to raise
children who are wholly connected with themselves (head, heart and
hands) and to the planet.
She believes from the bottom of her heart that peace begins in the home.
Meagan is Mama to 4 beautiful souls: North, Indigo, Juniper and Sage and
loving wife to Brad. After living ten years in Sydney, Australia they recently
took flight and put d wn new roots in the Canadian countryside just
outside of Toronto.
Meagan began researching play-based learning, natural parenting and early childhood education
in 2008 after the birth of her fir t child and on that journey she stumbled across some Waldorf
blogs that inspired and resonated with her deeply. From that moment on she spent many hours
reading about and studying Waldorf Education and the importance of rhythm in early childhood.
She worked to develop, plan and animate her own personal family rhythm which she began
documenting on her blog. As readership grew the same burning question arose time and again
from like-minded mothers around the world:
How do I bring peace, connection, presence and rhythm into my home?
This question was the inspiration behind the Whole Family Rhythm’s Seasonal Guides, designed
to help parents with young children create clarity, balance and rhythm within their days.
Since then the beloved seasonal Guides have become available in print and Meagan has also
created many eGuides providing inspiration and information to mothers all over the world.

Celine Veenema
Celine is loving mother to her three-year-old daughter and lives in the
Netherlands with her partner. She strives to build a slow and simple life
for her family by day while working as an ER nurse in the evenings and
through the nights.
Right now she and her family are working to be as self-sufficient a
possible. Besides harvesting their own fruit and vegetables she also
enjoys making and mending their clothes and toys.
Most of her crafting skills ere passed down with love by her Mother
and Grandmother.

whole family easter 50

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to all the parents, teachers, mentors and carers who have
shared their precious resources over the years. A special thanks to my
first mentor, Ebba Bodame who read through the very first draft of
these Guides in 2013 and offered simple edits and suggestions.

A special thank you to the following authors, publishers and literary

editors for permission to use copyright works within the entire set of
the Whole Family Rhythms Guides: Stephen Spitlany for The Golden
Lantern (adapted); Ebba Bodame for her The Seven Little Easter Bunnies
(adapted); Stanley Douglas McEtichin for A little seed for me to sow
(titled Maytime Magic) by Mabel Watts; Wynstone Press for Glimmer
Lantern, Glimmer (trans. By M. Meyercourt), In Heaven Shines a Golden
Star (adapted), Little Bees Work Very Hard (adapted) and Deep in the
Mountains; Svargo Freitag of didjshop.com for the stories Barramundi
and Wayamba the Turtle (adapted). All other authors listed in the public
domain are credited below their piece within the Guide.

A note on where it is written “Author Unknown” as well as “Traditional

or Modern Folktale, Story, Verse or Fingerplay”: In the manner of oral
and folk tradition many verses and songs are shared orally and passed
down from teacher to teacher while lyrical changes, melodies and
tweaks are made along the way. As much as possible I have tried to
credit the original author of the stories, songs, verses, rhymes and
fingerplays in all of the Whole Family Rhythms Guides. Where it has not
been possible to locate an author or copyright holder I offer my sincere
apologies. If omissions have been made please email me so that we can
arrange an acknowledgement immediately.