Lenten Activities for Children

Lent and Easter can be a difficult concept for little children to understand and take in.  Asking children to learn about sacrifice and the death and resurrection of Jesus are BIG topics for little kids!  Here are a few activities and resources that we use during Lent with our children for fun and learning.  Stay tuned for a future post all about what we do during Holy Week and to Celebrate Easter!

Preparing for Lent: Covering Crucifix with Purple Cloth and Burying the Alleluia

We love the resources over at Catholic Icing for Lent including her Roadmap to Easter.  Our kids love coloring a box each day as we make our way to Easter.  We also go around our home and cover the crucifixes with purple cloth like they do at church.  Last year we also did a basic activity to "Bury the Alleluia" by just printing out a piece of paper with "Alleluia" and then tying it with a purple string and putting it away until Easter.  We do this as a reminder that we do not use Alleluia throughout the 40 days of Lent at home or at church.  We let it rest during Lent so that when it reappears on Easter we hear it with new vibrancy and then say it again and again!  This year we are making a wooden Alleluia set that we will put away and then be able to display prominently in our home during the 50 days of Easter leading to Pentecost. 

Sacrifice Beans:

The sacrifice beans are a great way for our little kids to use the time of Lent to focus on doing good for others.  We start Lent on Ash Wednesday with an empty purple jar and a jar of plain beans and then with each small thing that is done in a perfect way (not fighting, sharing toys, listening to dad and mom, kind words, doing their school work with no complaining, etc.) then they get to put a bean in the jar.  Then on Easter morning, all of those beans (little sacrifices) are turned into jelly beans. During the Easter season, the 50 days from Easter to Pentecost, with each good deed the children then get to eat a jelly bean as a reward!

Lenten Candle/Crown of Thorns:

Just like we light the candles of our Advent wreath during Advent we enjoy having a candle at the center of our kitchen table during Lent.  We use the Cross Candle from Dayspring with a Purple Pillar Candle inside and a Crown of Thorns from the Holy Land around it to help us meditate on sufferings of Christ.  We also are going to start the small tradition of counting to 40 (for the 40 days of Lent) before each dinner to help us learn about how Lent is about WAITING, and also to help our little ones practice their counting!

Fun Books, Songs and Crafts:

We enjoy using fun books, crafts and snacks that teach us all about Lent and Easter in our Homeschooling.  With each different season I love to make lacing cards for our children to use and keep their little hands busy as we do read - alouds, etc.  I just find a picture that I like on-line, print it, laminate it, cut around the shape, punch holes and add a string!  We also have found a lot of great books to help us learn about and follow the Stations of the Cross and Easter.  A few of our favorites are The Easter Day Surprise and the Family Easter Treasury. 

We have been loving the resource of Making Music Praying Twice which we purchased as a part of our son's Kindergarten homeschool curriculum.  We are excited to start the Lent CD and book to explore the story of Lent through song!  We will also continue using Catholic Mosaic and Year with God: Celebrating the Liturgical Year in our homeschooling, which both include wonderful ideas, crafts and readings during the Lenten season.  I will continue to share some of the fun things we are doing for homeschooling during Lent!



Lent Song from Catholic Icing

We are also making a Peg Doll Passion Week set with our homeschool co-op this year that I am so excited about.  We are making Jesus, all of the 12 apostles and other important characters is the Passion Story like Mary, Pontius Pilate, King Herod, etc.  We love our Saint Peg Dolls so I am thrilled to be adding to our collection.  Stay tuned for a post of these when the swap is completed in March!



Stations of the Cross for Children:

We think that it is important to teach our children the Stations of the Cross and the story of Jesus's passion and death, but it can be a touchy subject with little kids.  Also it is hard to make it to the service at church every Friday since it usually starts at 7pm which is our children's bedtime.  Our favorite resources to do the Stations of the Cross at home are from Holy Heroes including their Stations of the Cross CD and Stations of the Cross Prayer Booklet.  It has reflections and prayers to follow each station, only takes about 30 minutes and truly helps even young children understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.    To keep our little one's busy while they listen to the Stations of the Cross CD they love to use the Life of Jesus: Passion of Jesus Coloring Book from Holey Heroes.  We also love to use our Stations of the Cross Ornaments from Jesse Tree Treasures and Child's Guide to the Stations of the Cross. 

Quiet / Solemn Fridays:

Since we reflect on Jesus dying on the cross on each Friday during Lent (and really each Friday throughout the liturgical year) we are going to make Fridays in our house a little different this Lenten season.  My husband and I will fast and we will all abstain from eating meat on Fridays.  On top of that this year we are going to not homeschool on Fridays and also not use any electronics on Fridays; no television, no ipads, no internet, no Netflix, no e-mail (my husband will have to check work e-mail, etc), no Facebook, nothing.  We will spend Fridays connecting as a family, drawing closer to God, doing the Stations of the cross and learning more about the Easter story.

Our son kissing the cross and wiping it like they do in Mass on Good Friday

Bring Life to Lent:  Religious Activities

Bring Life to Lent is a great little book that has different prayers, reflections topics, and activities for children and families during Lent.  It discusses Fasting/Almsgiving/Prayer, Baptism and RCIA, Reconciliation/Repentance, Renewal, Passion and Holy Week.  It even includes great recipes for pretzels, meatless meals, and resurrection rolls!

Catholic Icing Pretzel Prayer

What are your favorite Lenten resources for children?  What best helps bring your family learn about and draw closer to the Passion of Christ?