After my post last week on Lent, The Coffee Lady kindly sent me her list of things that children can do over Lent. These Lenten activities for kids are great and more effective than just a sacrifice over the Lenten season, these activities are a really great way to encourage Lenten reflection in children. I find activities are a great way to reinforce learning during this season of Lent. For example, you can explain why Easter Eggs are hollow and then decorate some or even enjoy a chocolate one together!
To make it fun, you can print off the list and pop them in a jar, so that you can pick one out each morning to complete. For us Easter is a time of reconciliation and I have a great Easter Story written specifically for children. You don’t have to do one lenten activity each day instead pick and choose what works for you and your family.
Lenten Activities for Kids
We also have a fab list of lenten activities for older children and adults which are perfect for doing as a family that encompass Easter celebrations.
- Give your pocket money to a charity
- Clean up your room and give something to a charity shop
- Share a smile
- Say sorry to someone
- Do a chore or errand for a family member
- Water some plants or a green space with recycled water
- Help prepare a meal and find out where the food was grown
- Write a thank you letter
- Share a treat with someone at school
- Think of three good things and say thank you to God
- Have a TV and computer-free day and do something with your family instead
- Say please and thank you all-day
- Find out about the countries where your clothes are made
- Read a story to a younger child
- Save trees by using both sides of the paper
- Spend five minutes quietly by yourself
- Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth
- Hold doors open for others
- Give a home-made gift to a loved one
- Offer to help your teacher with a task
- Recycle your rubbish
- Go for a walk in your area with an adult and pray about what you see
- Show an adult how to do something they can’t do
- Plant some seeds where the flowers will be seen
- Have a conversation with someone older than you
- Lend a friend a good book/cd/dvd
- Find out about children in a developing country
- Say a prayer for someone who is unwell or in need
- Find out about life as a refugee and spend the night in a tent (we are very much giving this one a miss – too cold!)
- Help a parent or carer with shopping
- Give a lollipop to your lollipop person
- Feed the birds
- Pick up some litter
Holy Week Lenten Activities for Kids
- Make a palm cross and give it away
- Give someone a Fair Trade Easter Egg
- Make hot cross buns and share them
- Polish someone’s shoes for them
- Make or draw an Easter garden in a place that will be seen
- Celebrate Easter
This weekend was Maxi’s birthday party, which was his first proper party, by which I mean not a tea party at home with just a few people. There are three children in his class with birthdays all in the same week, so we decided to have a joint party in the local civic centre, with a disco for all three.
One of the issues I have with large children’s parties is the fact that they get far too many presents from people and people feel obliged to bring a present, so Maxi and I sat down and discussed the fact that every one would bring a present and what should we do with them. We decided to let people know that he didn’t need anything and it would be fine to give to Comic relief and just give him a card. Even so, he ended up with lots and lots of presents on Saturday.
He opened his presents yesterday morning and without prompting he has already given one to Mini and two to the church charity shop.
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