Lent is coming! I REPEAT. Lent is COMING!
Do you have a plan? No? Then you’ve come to the right place.
Read through my list of 10 ways you can prepare for Lent with kids right now.
It’s important to prepare so:
1.) You’re not totally blindsided
2.) You can fully participate and really connect with Jesus during this Lenten season and
3.) You can feel confident in teaching your children! (My ultimate goal!)
So let’s get started. You can probably complete at least three of these items today!
1.) Print out a free Lent calendar or countdown
This Easter Countdown Calendar is a great way for little kids to visualize the 40 days of Lent.
My children have used it the past couple years (we hang ours up on the fridge) and they get so excited to cross off or color in each day.
You can print out a colored version or a black and white version to color yourself.
Another popular craft in our house is countdown chains.
2.) Research and shop for meatless meals
If you’re not prepared, these meatless Fridays will sneak up on you.
The next thing you know you’re polishing off the last of your chocolate chip cookies because you’re STARVING and don’t know what to eat (not that I’ve been there).
Have a plan. Get your meatless meals down on paper ahead of time.
We have a *totally free* Meatless Lent Recipes download for you!
This is my favorite vegetarian cookbook ever, and I’m not even vegetarian! Perfect for Lent.
One of my best tips is throwing all of your leftover veggies, some chicken stock, and maybe some pasta into a big crockpot in the morning.
Then you’ve got yourself an easy, peasy meal for the rest of the day. You don’t even need a recipe! Crockpots are life.
3.) Read our “How to Teach Your Kids About Fasting and Abstinence During Lent”
How on Earth do you teach such big concepts to a two-year-old? I got you.
4.) Think of what you’re giving up or incorporating into your lifestyle during Lent.
For my small Lenten sacrifice, I give up chocolate every single year.
I know it’s totally unoriginal but its really hard and the epitome of a sacrifice for me.
However, I also like to “add” something into my daily life, much like giving something up.
For example, one year I decided I was going to pray for 10 uninterrupted minutes before the children woke up every morning.
You could even make it a weekly thing, like vowing to invite one new family over from church every Thursday night for dinner at your house. Terrifying? Yes. But extremely rewarding? Totally.
Additionally, don’t just plan your “fasting” part of Lent, plan your prayer and almsgiving ideas
Planning what prayers you want to pray as a family will set you up for success.
If you know ahead of time you’d like to start saying a Hail Mary with everyone before bed as soon as Lent starts, you’ll be fully prepared and ready to make it a reality.
For almsgiving, set a day that everyone will go through their clothes to create a donation pile.
Or find a date on your calendar that you are able to volunteer your time at a pregnancy resource center. If you’re not sure where a pro-life pregnancy center is in your area, check out this handy dandy website.
There are so many ways you can “pay it forward” with almsgiving by giving back to God in the form of charity for others.
5.) Practice Rosary Prayers
Many people pray the Rosary during Lent.
If you’re brand new to the Rosary and/or feel really intimidated by it, now is a great time to practice and get familiar with the prayers so you can say them with confidence during this Lenten season. If you have no idea what you’re doing, this Teaching Children the Rosary infographic from Teaching Catholic Kids is so helpful, even for adults.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly your children soak them up as well. It helps having children’s rosaries for them to hold. We’ve got this silicone, chewy one from Chews Life for the babies.
Our children would never last a whole Rosary, so when I pray a Rosary with them, we say 10 Hail Marys, one Glory Be, one Our Father (while they hold their kid Rosaries) and then call it a day.
Easy, and doesn’t make them despise doing it because it’s manageable. I don’t think Mary minds one bit.
6.) Download Lent Activity Cards
Cut them out, then place them in a bowl.
Each day, have your child pick a card (without looking!) and complete the task for that day.
You can reuse these every single year too. Make the investment now!
7.) Find out your parish’s Stations of the Cross schedule.
Knowing your parish’s (or nearby parishes’) Stations of the Cross schedule is good to know ahead of time so you don’t completely forget about it.
Stations of the Cross are always held on Friday, so it’s too easy to go home after a long work week and let it completely slip your mind.
If you’re bringing children, print out and have them color their own Stations of the Cross Book for free. I used this for my two oldest last year. They cut out each picture and glued them onto construction paper that I stapled into a book.
I don’t go into much detail about Jesus’s death since they’re still so little. They just know that “Mean people who didn’t like Jesus put him on a cross to die.”
I think it’s really important that they know these basics, even at such a young age. I ALWAYS follow up with a quick, perky resurrection story though to not scare them too much.
If you want to learn more, or need help explaining it to your kids, check out this Stations of the Cross post.
8.) Find out your parish’s Lenten fish fry schedule.
If your parish is holding a fish fry this year, make sure you go! Lenten fish frys are usually held right after Stations of the Cross, so they’re kind of an incentive to go to Stations (especially if you have children!) No-cook Fridays? Sign me up!
If you’ve never been to a fish fry, it’s a massive dinner held at your parish for a small fee that comes complete with fried fish, fries, coleslaw, mac and cheese, bread, fruits, desserts, coffee, soda, lemonade, etc.
Of course every parish is different, but we have been to many fish frys at many different parishes (Our family has moved a lot. We’ve had 13 addresses since we got married 8 years ago!) and this is typically the standard assortment.
Some churches even serve beer and wine! The BEST churches serve unlimited refills of these two items.
We’ve also made some really awesome friends at fish frys. “Oh, you have kids too? SIT WITH US!”
9.) Find New Ways to Pray
Variety is the spice of life, right?! If you always pray in bed at night, switch things up and pray as soon as you wake up. Or say a short prayer to St. Christopher when you get in the car before you start driving.
You can also vary the way you pray as well. Always pray in your head? Try praying out loud. Always pray out loud? Start writing down your prayers in a letter to God.
10.) Download our Lent printables!
Great for at-home use or for a classroom. We have a whole bunch of Lent worksheets such as a crossword, roll-and-retell, maze, lent activity cards, coloring sheets, and pattern completion!
Ash Wednesday is February 14! Start preparing right now using these 10 tips to have a smooth transition.
You’ve totally got this.
As always, I’d LOVE to hear from you. Make my day and send me message. Seriously! What are you giving up (or including) this year? What would you love to see a post on? Let me know!
