Finding kid-friendly Lenten activities is a challenge for me. During their toddler years, we didn’t push Lenten concepts with our children. Honestly, it never occurred to me to add much beyond the family CRS Rice Bowl offerings, Stations of the Cross, and regular Mass. This year, I stumbled upon a great activity we plan to continue after the liturgical season comes to an end.
Finding quiet time amidst the hurry
Part of my personal goal for Lent this year is to make time to read more spiritual books. Blocking out a window each day to turn the pages of a real book, I’d hoped to carve out quiet time in my day to read the beautifully inspired words of some talented, spiritual authors and reflect on the love of Jesus. It seems my days fill quickly and my “reading time” evaporates – no doubt you can relate. I’ve collected a nice variety of spiritual books, many having gone unread as my “mom time” for reading happens while rocking a sleeping baby in a dark room. (You know how it goes, reading on your phone works great…until texts ding, emails flood in, and the temptation to check in on any number of apps is one click away.) I needed to unplug and rest in a bit of silence.
Kid-friendly Lenten activity: Quiet time with the Saints
It occurred to me to extend this quiet time to my kids for their Lenten activity too. (I really don’t know why this didn’t cross my mind sooner.) With so many great, faith-centered children’s books, I knew my kids would be on board.
And who better to look to for extraordinary examples of works of mercy and love for Jesus than some of our beloved saints? So considering the three pillars of our Lenten season – prayer, fasting, almsgiving – we decided to learn more about these extraordinary people. My hope was this would be an activity we could do as a family – finding quiet time in our busy schedule and long to-do lists to awaken a renewed curiosity for our faith.
My oldest loves these “comic books” about the lives of the saints. There are several in the collection to choose from.
Using DIY peg dolls of the saints with our kid-friendly Lenten activity
Right before Lent began, I participated in a peg doll exchange. A wonderfully-talented group of local moms each chose a saint and each painted a set of peg dolls for exchange. For our family, this was a good place to start with our learning. We picked out some of the saints from the peg doll collection and dug in.
Some of the saints on our list to learn about this Lent: Mary, Mother of Jesus, Saint Elizabeth, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Nicholas, Saint Rose and Saint Therese of Liseux.
Note: I did NOT paint all of these beautiful dolls myself! These two were painted by some wonderfully-talented moms in the peg doll exchange I participated in. Saint Nicholas and Mary, Mother of Jesus were two my kids immediately recognized and wanted to read about.
Look at all these precious little peg doll saints! In the background you’ll see several recognizable faces including: Mary, Mother of Jesus, Blessed Mother Teresa, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Saint Therese of Lisieux, Saint Kateri, Saint Pope John Paul II, and Saint Peter. My kids were really excited to play with these beautiful dolls, crafted by some very talented moms in the peg doll exchange. They enjoyed matching up the peg dolls with the stories in our mini books.
Kid-friendly books about the saints
We had a selection of books about saints already on our shelf. Last Easter my oldest received a set of Mini Stories About Saints in her Easter basket. For us, these mini books were perfect to get us going. Each of these mini books features a few saints with a one-page description of their lives and an accompanying picture – there are several to choose from.
My oldest reads the stories and then we engage in a nice conversation. I find these mini books always probe thoughtful questions. When we find a saint (or topic) we want to learn more about, we head back to the bookshelf or do a little online research together.
We also enjoyed the book, Picture Book of Saints, by Lawrence G. Lovasik, The Saints Chronicles “comic book” collection (Sophia Institute Press) pictured above, Can You Find Saints? by Phillip D. Gallery, The Saints Are Watching Over Me a tinysaints book by Joe Klinker, and a few others specific to a particular saint.
Why did we choose to learn about the saints for our kid-friendly Lenten activity this year?
I’ve recently discovered many different family-friendly and kid-friendly Lenten activities – lots to look into for next year. For this year, a reading activity was a great way to focus our minds and hearts on works of mercy and love for Jesus. And, it was appropriate for the ages of our two older kids.
In learning more about the saints, my kids’ little minds begin to ponder how they can grow in holiness and do their best to live like saints themselves.
What are your favorite ways to teach your kids about faith? Do you have any kid-friendly favorite resources on the saints?
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