Happy Lent!
Lent always sneaks up on me every year, but I love the season of simple, quiet, and introspection. This is a time we set aside each year to remember the love of God that is poured out through Jesus Christ on the cross and his promise of His resurrection and eternal life.
So how do we celebrate Lent, the Easter season, and share this special time with our little ones?
Over the years I have done a few things and I’ll share my favorites below. This year we will try some new things also as I want to start focusing on other areas we haven’t so much before, like the Stations of the Cross.
Ash Wednesday:
I always have THIS coloring page for my kids to color during breakfast in the morning. They color as I read the scripture Genesis 3:19 and discuss what it means.
I know Ash Wednesday has already passed this year, but I still wanted to share what we like to do so you can remember it or come back to this post in the coming years.
This year after we went to Mass and received our ashes we came home and made this simple art with black construction paper and chalk (you could also use white crayon.)
Cut out a cross from printer paper, or card stock, and use double sided tape to put it on the middle of your black construction paper. Use the side of the chalk to rub, starting on the cross and moving outward to the edges of the black paper. Do the same thing all the way around the cross. Remove the cross in the middle and you can have them write in white crayon or colored pencil around the edges, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Lenten Calendar:
I love THIS simple calendar (FREE download) and print it out every year even though the dates are always messed up (I just write over the top the correct date.) However, this calendar, that was made in 2011, now lines up all the dates perfectly again this year! I print one for our family and color it in after dinner for something I saw or noticed that day, but you can also print one for each child.
THIS is another fun countdown type calendar (FREE download) I print every year for my kids. They love to color each day in and countdown till Easter.
Easter Curriculum & Activities:
An Expectant Easter by Treehouse Schoolhouse
This curriculum is a 3 week study (4 days per week) that you can do with your whole family. You will connect together through Bible stories, hymns, poetry, art studies, picture books, projects, baking, tea time, and nature studies. Read more about it HERE.
We will be using this study again this year, but starting next week and spreading the lessons out. We will do 2 lessons each week as well as picking and choosing what activities we want to do, or have time for, instead of ALL of them.
The Easter Guide by Brighter Day Press
Another Easter curriculum option is this Easter guide from Brighter Day Press. It is much more simple, yet still so beautiful! We haven’t used this one yet, but I have used many of her other study guides and they have all been amazing! Read more about it HERE.
Holy Week in Handprints by Catholic Icing
When my little ones were in preschool I started doing Holy Week in Handprints with them. The week prior, and Holy Week, we kept it simple by reading part of the Bible story each day and doing a handprint craft together. You can get all the instructions HERE.
Another easy, fun, and FREE printable is THIS Easter story coloring page and activity with jelly beans.
My favorite book of Bible Stories for young kids is the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones.
Last Supper Watercolor Art
My sister-in-law shared this idea with me that my niece is working on and I thought it was such a great idea! You can find the image of the Last Supper HERE and print it onto watercolor paper. (If your printer won’t print on watercolor paper, card stock works too.) We will turn on some hymns/music and take our time painting these throughout Lent. I think my kids would love if I even sat down and painted one alongside them too.😍
Stations of the Cross:
This year I really want to focus on Stations of the Cross, while keeping it simple for my young kids.
I found these beautiful (and FREE) Stations of the Cross Montessori cards from The Bookworm Blog. Every Friday when we gather for morning time, or at dinner in the evening, we will learn about 1 or 2 stations of the cross. I will read from these 2 small booklets (The Way of the Cross, and The Way of the Cross for Kids) and we will chat about it. Then I will have my kids try to put the Montessori cards in the correct order. (I will probably cut off the bottom portion and have them match that to the correct picture as well.)
While I am reading I also found these FREE printables from sarajcreations.com to have them color for each of the stations. When we reach Easter we should be able to put them all together so they have their own little accordion book of the Stations of the Cross.
Not only do they come in black and white to color yourself, they also come in full color. I printed the colored version on card stock so they can use them to match and put in order, or play a game of memory! Lay them all face down and flip over 2 at a time, if they match you keep them, if not flip them back over and continue to play looking for the correct matches. My kids will love this!
So that’s everything, seems like a lot, but it is really simple and I’ll recap what we are using:
*Countdown Calendar & Lenten Calendar (daily)
*An Expectant Easter (2 times per week, really only reading the Bible stories, picture books, doing the Narration Notebook, and a few projects and recipes.)
*Last Supper Watercolor Art (whenever we have free time.)
*Stations of the cross printable mini coloring book, games, and readings (every Friday.)
I hope this was helpful and you found some great things to make your Easter season a beautiful time with your family. Please share with me other resources or books you have loved in the comments below!
Have a blessed Lent!
Here are a few previous blog posts of Easter homeschool activities and crafts:
