Lent is a time for us to declare our independence from sins that have been impinging on our freedom and to declare our DEpendence on God! Prepare your own “parchment” to use as a Declaration of DEpendence. Here is a picture of one I prepared next to a replica of the real thing. Any sheet of white newsprint will do. The thinner the paper, the better. I like to use a sheet from an easel […]
The beginning of Lent often coincides with the beginning of spring training and the reporting of pitchers and catchers, so I can’t help but dip into my bag of sports metaphors to talk about Lent. Lent is nothing more than a 40-day retreat and a retreat is basically an opportunity to step back from ordinary activities to connect with God in a special way. It’s the spiritual equivalent of throwing a change-up. For those of […]
This activity is called Last Supper Craft and comes to us from a Web site called Catholic Icing. It is ideal preparation for Holy Thursday and is based on Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper Painting. The nice thing is that Lacy, the host of the Web site, is kind enough to share her printables which make this craft possible. She has a nice tutorial that leads you step by step through creating this simple work […]
This activity is called Good Deeds Bracelets for Lent and it comes to us from Arma Dei. They describe it this way: Inspired by St. Therese, this bracelet works similar to other good deed bead bracelets, as the beads slide and stay in place, recording each good deed, extra prayer (foregone opportunity to complain) or sacrifice. Arma Dei sells a craft kit that contains everything you need to create these bracelets. Be sure to take […]
Today’s activity – a Salt Dough Crown of Thorns – can be found in many places on the Internet, I am drawing from a couple of Web sites: Ten Kids and a Dog and Three Sided Wheel (which has an excellent tutorial) Basically, you make a salt dough and then roll out the dough into 3 long rolls/ropes. Next, you braid the rolls/ropes and shape it into a circle. Add toothpicks (loosely) to represent the thorns, asking forgiveness […]
Believe it or not, LENT is only 4 weeks away! With that in mind, I’m happy to once again provide you with a number of Lenten resources right here on my blog, beginning with the popular 40 Crosses Lenten Calendar idea created by my friend Victor Valdez, a DRE in Mountain View, CA. Thank you, Victor, for sharing this idea with us. With help from some folks here at Loyola Press, we’ve updated the calendar for […]
This great idea came to me from a catechist by the name of Connie…thanks Connie! Hi Joe, Thanks for the Lenten calendar–I’m always looking for something new! Here’s something I did last night with my sixth graders, who are studying the Old Testament. We made our own Wailing Wall–which we will use throughout Lent. Before class, I drew outlines of the bricks/stones in black marker on a piece of butcher paper. When the kids came in, […]
Throughout Lent, a number of catechists weighed in with contributions of their own. I’m pleased to share the following activity with you from a catechist named Greg in my home state of Illinois! Thanks, Greg! A Holy Week Gift Box Hi Joe, I teach my last class before Easter this week on Palm Sunday afternoon (to my 7th graders). I would love to leave each of my students with something as both a “gift” and […]
Today’s Lenten activity comes from an eighth-grade catechist in Ohio who just loves her kids and wanted to share something she does with them during Holy Week. She calls them “Resurrection Eggs,” but they could easily be referred to as “Holy Week Eggs” or “Passion Eggs,” since they help children to recognize various elements of the Passion reading. Resurrection Eggs I found some “Resurrection Eggs.” They are plastic eggs that have a symbol of the Passion, Death, […]
This Lenten activity is an opportunity for catechists to connect Holy Week and the end of Lent to the celebration of Easter. Holy Week Basket We are all familiar with Easter Baskets. This activity takes the Easter Basket and transforms it into a Holy Week Basket in preparation for the celebration of Easter. Place a traditional Easter Basket (filled with that fake green grass!) in the center of the room. In the basket, place a number […]
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