Stand-up Easter Cross Craft

Easter Sunday Cross that can be used at any other time too!

Easter. The Cross is empty. Jesus is risen. He is risen indeed!

Jesus is back! He did it all for you.

Make Easter a personal experience for each child. Too generically we say that Jesus died (or sacrificed himself) for everybody. When starting this activity, hold up a finished cross and say, "Jesus did all this (or sacrificed himself) for you (say a name), and you, (say a name)" and continue throughout the entire class until you have named everybody individually. "Today, Jesus is in heaven with God, waiting to hear from you in your prayers.Tell him happy things that happened to you, ask for help, thank him for help you got, and pray for other people who need God's help.You can do these things because of this empty cross. This cross reminds us Jesus came to teach us about God and being a good Christian, and to give us the hope of life in heaven (after our bodies die), and to be there to help us during our life. Sometimes we use the cross because we can't see Jesus today, and it's a reminder he's with us.

(You can reword this to suit your grade level, if needed)

3 patterns to choose from:
Plain (decorate any way you want),
One with egg in center of cross
One with light purple lines that can be used as is or colored
    within the shapes created by the colored lines.

Easy, 3-D cross that will stand up.Cross is about 4 and 1/2 inches tall when done. This paper kid's cross originally intended for personal use by each child, also serves as a great standing Easter Table decoration.

Print enough copies. Make a sample before class.

How to make a cross that stands-up:

1. Cut the main body of the cross. DO NOT TRY TO CUT THE SLITS AT FIRST. Just cut around the outside lines.

Cut both the bottom lines on the cross carefully. It matters so it stands well. - the sides and arms are not as important.

3. Color or decorate the cutout cross. (there are 3 to choose from)

If you have an older class that prefers not to color, use the pre-decorated one, though this one can also be filled-in, if desired.

Write your name on the long side of the cross -the one that is not glued.

4. Fold on all dashed lines, press with your fingers all along the folds so they are "Sharp".

Fold the center one last.

5. Slightly unfold the tabs that will
not be glued. (press out the fold a little) (really - this matters so they slide easily over the glued tabs in the next step.)

Glue all 4 glue tabs now. Use white glue as the glued tabs have to slide under the un-glued tabs.

6. THIS IS IMPORTANT: Start at the bottom on the long parts of the cross. Bring the unglued side over the glued side and match the corner of the unglued tab to the the corner of dashed line on the glued tab. Do both of these first.

It is NOT important for the top of the tabs on the long part to meet.

On the cross arms, slide the glued tabs under their matching opposite tab. Press all the glued parts.

YOU'RE DONE! You've got a great personal cross or you can use this cross as your family Easter table centerpiece.

See Activity Information section above : Make Easter a personal experience...