One of my most vivid memories from religious school circa 1980-something was bringing home a special calendar full of daily activities for me to do on the days leading up to Easter. I still can recall feeling so proud and grown-up as I scotch-taped my special tasks to the wall, finally able to be a part of what seemed like some crazy rituals the adults around me were taking part in. That particular Lent was just the start of my understanding of why we celebrate Easter beyond the colored eggs and chocolate bunnies (though, undeniably, yummy). As I grew throughout the years, the Lenten season remained a special time of prayer, focus, and reflection. I want my kiddos to have those same feelings of reverence.
My little family and I worship through a different denomination of Christianity than Catholic. We still observe Lent, but, of course, it is not quite the same as how I observed it growing up in the Catholic church. So I began my quest to find something similar to my old school Lent activity calendar that I remember with such fondness to share with my own children. Not having much luck finding exactly what I was looking for, I haphazardly made my own last year on a print out calendar. My kids enjoyed it, but I wanted something a little more permanent. I have included my printable Lenten Activity Calendar with this post. Fairfield County Mom: Lenten Activity Calendar Printable
This activity calendar is a nice way to introduce the Lenten season to your children. I chose to have the tasks alternate daily with either a focus of action, prayer, or fasting. My seven year old has already spied the non-technology days with a groan, but I know she will thank me for them when she is older! I also made it non-year specific so that I don’t have to worry about the starting dates being different each year. My thought for this calendar is that we will color or sticker each heart as we complete it. It doesn’t matter if we go in the correct order, just as long as all the hearts get filled at the end of the 40 days. I’m hoping my children’s hearts will be pretty full, as well.
I love your Lenten calendar – it is a great thing for Church School children. I would make just a couple of comments about it. I would change “Help Mommy with a Chore” to “Help at home with a Chore” in case there are children without a mother. Also, I would change “No Ipad or Kindle” to “Read a book” since many poorer children don’t have these devices.
Great suggestions!