Anyone who teaches in a Catholic school knows how important the season of Lent is, but how do you help young children understand the significance? I struggled for years teaching about Lent and finding resources to truly help my kindergartners learn the significance of this time in the Catholic church. So I went about creating and finding Lent classroom activities that would engage my students and help them understand the importance of this season. Now my students love learning about Lent as much as I love teaching about it. Check out the resources I found and the ones I created below.
Lent Classroom Activity #1: Ash Wednesday & Lent Book
I don’t know about you, but I always love using books to help my kiddos learn a new concept. But I’ve always struggled to find a book to explain Ash Wednesday and Lent to my kindergarten students in a way that helped them understand the importance of this time of year. So I ended up creating my own little book that does just that.
This printable book explains what Lent is, what Ash Wednesday is, why it is important, and how students can use the 40 days to prepare for Easter. I read this to my class every year before Lent begins and before we go to Mass on Ash Wednesday. I also use the smaller half-sized book to give each of my students their own copies. They color them and take them home to share with their families. This way, parents are able to read them with their children and reinforce what we are learning at school.
Lent Classroom Activity #2: Stations of the Cross
Every year, we do the Stations of the Cross as a whole school on Fridays during Lent. This can be a great way to emphasize what we are remembering during Lent and what makes Easter so wonderful. While I love doing Stations of the Cross with my students, I began to notice that often they seemed lost and weren’t really paying attention to what was going on.
So I created a Stations of the Cross booklet to help students be more engaged during stations. We go over each station in their booklet before we go to stations. I let my kiddos color their booklet to have some ownership over it. Then, when we are doing the Stations of the Cross, I have a booklet and help them know when to turn the page. This way they have the picture of the stations to help them know what part of the journey we are on. You can do this with any Stations of the Cross book that has pictures to help students follow along.
I have also used the Brother Francis Stations of the Cross DVD to introduce the stations to my kiddos. I purchased the DVD to have in my classroom, but if your parish has a subscription to FORMED you can find the video on that website (as of Lent 2022).
Lent Classroom Activity #3: Lenten Journey Printable
One of my favorite things to do with my kindergartners during Lent is our Lenten Journey. I teach my students that Lent is a time to get ready for Easter by trying to become better versions of ourselves. So, I created this Lenten Journey as an activity for students to do during the 40 days of Lent.
Each day students color a square and try to complete the task listed on that square. Starting at the beginning and coloring a square each day until we get to Easter. The tasks include activities like “Help Clean,” “Pray for Someone,” “Compliment Someone,” etc. Each task also has a picture to go with it.
Every day we get out our Lenten Journeys, discuss what is on that day’s square, and color it in. Throughout the day I remind students of our task to do for the day. I also like to send home a copy the Lenten Journey so that parents can help their child follow along at home. I love that this activity helps students and their families participate in Lent and get ready for Easter.
Lent Classroom Activities #4: Service Project
Lent is a great time of year to help others. We always do a service project as a school to help students learn about almsgiving (giving money or food to the poor- basically helping those less fortunate than you).
We have raised money for different organizations that help those in needs (ex: Pennies for Patients). We have done several food drives. Though, one of my favorite service projects that we have done is making care packages for the homeless. Students and their families donate items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, granola bars, fruit bars, disposable water bottles, and socks. Students help put the packages together and then write or draw little happy notes to include with the packages. I love that this allows students to be more involved in the process of helping others. There are so many different ways students can help others.
Lent Classroom Activities # 5: Kindness Tree
Another activity I like to do in my classroom during Lent is our Kindness Tree. I created a bare tree using butcher that I laminated so that I can use it year after year. It isn’t huge since I have a smaller classroom. Some years I have even put the tree on the classroom door to save wall space. I also cut out a bunch of leaves from green construction paper to be put on the tree later.
The tree starts out bare like a tree that has lost its leaves during winter. Over the 40 days of Lent, students tape a leaf to the tree every time they see another classmate doing a good deed. We discuss what a good deed is beforehand and when would be a good time to tape leaves to the tree (otherwise, you may have a bunch of students getting up in the middle of a lesson to tape a leaf to the tree).
By the end of Lent we have a tree full of leaves. It is a good reminder that Len and Easter is a time to celebrate new life- flowers growing, trees getting their leaves, and caterpillars turning into butterflies. All this can remind us that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead so that we can have new life in heaven one day. This ties in perfectly with our religion curriculum, plus I love the way the tree brightens up the classroom.
What Now?
Lent is a very important time in the Catholic Church and in a Catholic school. There are so many ways you can help kiddos understand and participate in Lent. I would love to hear if you try out any of the above ideas and how you help your students get ready for Easter during Lent. Leave a comment below to share your ideas!
Looking for more resources to use in your Catholic school classroom?
Check out this blog post about celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany in the classroom.