Revisit Your Lent: 9 Simple Ideas for Families
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In a way, we are lucky Lent is kind of long. It’s easy to not stay strong through it all, and sometimes – in fact often – things happen in Lent that were completely unexpected and feel very “Lenty”.
In my family, our Lent took a sharp turn with a “vacation” in a children’s hospital and a major change in our household. It’s tempting to say, “well, this is our Lent” and to ease up on the sacrifices we had intended to make in the beginning.
But I want to re-focus my own effort and make sure I keep at this “training” for my soul as well as the souls in my care.
I also want to share some resources that I found to be great to send to my Godchild and that are used by my friends and family. I also want to encourage you to embrace one of these ideas so that the essence of something new or novel may spark an added momentum to your own Lenten journey.
Depending on your family’s stage in life, what you embrace together will be different.
For years our parish has had a “Family friendly” Stations of the Cross . . . at 7 pm. Over and over again I would get the beautiful invitation for our family to come and lead part of the stations. I would decline. My children can not hold it together at 7:00 pm. They are spiraling dervishes of tiredness by that point. I could only image the havoc and chaos that would ensue if we attempted to “lead” a community in prayer.
However, children can learn and appreciate the Stations of the Cross. I am amazed and in awe of what some members of our community create so that parents can plant the seed of faith in their children. In this post, I’ll share some of the toys, resources and fun (yes, even fun) that can be brought into your home this Lent.
Enjoy!
Lent Ideas for Younger Children and Kids
- Stations of the Cross Play set
Young children learn best by playing. There are a couple of toys which bring Lent to life for little hands and hearts.
Stations of the Cross Pray and Play Set
This toy brings the 14 Stations of the Cross to life for children. I bought this for my Godson last year! I would highly recommend this for children ages 2 to 6 (or even older).
This wooden set invites your children to learn about Jesus’ love and sacrifice for them through in a tangible way where they can prayerfully set up each station and walk Jesus through the Passion. Our Jesus figurine even allows for him to actually be able to carry the cross!
Recounting the steps of our Lord’s Passion as told by Sacred Scripture, this beautiful wooden set features animated characters from the popular Catholic children’s cartoon, Brother Francis, and will invite your children to pray throughout Lent in experiential and age-appropriate ways.
With pieces made from eco-friendly and sustainable wood, this Stations of the Cross playset features 26 bright and unbreakable figures for your children to explore, strengthening their understanding of the road to Calvary.
*use coupon code PRAYERWINECHOCOLATE for 10% off!
Recommended for age 3 and up.
For each good work or sacrifice, children can remove a thorn. This is a great visual aid to illustrate to children how our good deeds lessens suffering in the world.
Thorns and flower magnets can be stored in the accompanying drawstring bag.
At the end of Lent, children can decorate the crown with flower magnets, showing how Jesus took and transformed His suffering into beautiful redemption.
Get this set today from Shining Light Dolls! Don’t forget to use the coupon code PRAYERWINECHOCOLATE!
A set of Sacrifice beads offer a great physical reminder to offer up little things during the day. This is not only an opportunity to view life through the eyes of a child for a moment, but also an opportunity to give, which is one of the three pillars of Lent!
Learn more about Sacrifice beads here: (this quote is from an article over at Catholic Culture)
As a child, St. Therese had “sacrifice beads,” which was a small string of beads to help her count the “presents” she offered to God. Each time she would make a sacrifice such as letting someone else have their way, St. Therese would secretly reach into her pocket and “pull a bead” to Jesus on the Crucifix. Like St. Therese, these sacrifice beads in our pocket can help us to become more aware of offering “presents” to God all day long.
Sacrifice beads are definitely not just for children. Personally, I think carrying a set around in my pocket would be a tremendous help to bare things patiently and react with more love.
Check out Playful Pitch for a Montessori-inspired instrument!
The Way of the Cross for Children with the color-coded hymn “At the Cross Her Station Keeping” is available for free here!
I have twins in second grade and if we can put learning in song form, it TRANSFORMS the experience! Whether you go all out and buy the instrument, or simply download the freebie for singing, you’ll tug heart strings that were unfazed by Lent before!
Lent ideas for older kids, pre-teens and tweens
5. Be Yourself: a Catholic Journal for Girls and Be Yourself: a Journal for Catholic Boys are ideal for ages 9 and up.
These books make the faith relevant to pre-teens and invite growing boys and maturing girls to make the faith their own.
6. Another set of books that are made to increase connections between growing children and their Moms are written by Stacy Halback. Bloom and Level-Up are fantastic resources for Catholic Families!
Lent ideas for the whole family
7. Our Whole Heart: A Lenten Mini-Retreat for Families
This is a great way you can gather the whole family around the kitchen table and lead them in prayer. It won’t be perfect, they will get distracted and off track (probably), but you are making memories. So hopefully, make fun and enjoyable ones together!
Best part, it’s free!
8. Play Truth or Dare (Lent Edition)!
Would You Rather (Lent Edition) perfect for sitting around the dinner table!
9. Get the Hallow App. If you already have it, I highly recommend listening to the Saint Stories! There are many to choose from – some are from Saints Alive but others are exclusive to Hallow. My twins and I have started a new tradition. We listen to a Saint Story every time I tuck them in. They often fall asleep but I keep listening!
The Lent program is amazing. I am at the edge of my seat learning about a Japanese convert who survived one of the nuclear bombings. It’s incredible and put into short chunks so it is totally manageable in a busy life. Use my link to sign up for Hallow here!
BONUS IDEA (AND IT IS FREE) Print out the 39 Ways to Make Lent Holy (without giving up sweets) chart and hang it on the fridge!
I hope these ideas spark an excitement to create a more meaningful Lent for you and your family! I love that so many Catholics are creating ways for us to bring our faith from the Church building into our homes. Consider putting a holy gift in the Easter Baskets you fill this year, and keep this fire for the faith going! Lots of gift ideas available here!
If any of these ideas were helpful to you, please share this post! We need your help spreading the word about all of these resources and ministries!
May the Lord Bless You Abundantly!
Amy
