I know as parents we lead such busy lives especially when we have many little ones around us. Many of us are working mothers who are struggling to keep a work/life balance. Most of the time we wake up tired, barely getting few hrs of sleep, and we go to bed with the guilt of not spending enough time with our children or feeding them frozen pizza. Oh.. and then we have to worry about the laundry that has been overflowing in our rooms, or the clean clothes that have piled up in our rooms or basements for weeks because we have not had a chance to fold them. By the time we finish folding those clean clothes the next load of laundry would have already filled up our laundry baskets. Our task is never ending and very tiresome and takes a lot of our energy both physically and mentally. In between all this where do we have time to keep up with our kids faith life. We all have good intentions and we want to give the best to our children but our busy lives and lack of rest sometimes put areas like faith formation and learning about Jesus behind.
As we are approaching this beautiful season of Lent, which actually begins tomorrow (Ash Monday for us Syro Malabar Catholics), it maybe a good time for us parents to take few minutes to think about how we can help our children also journey through this beautiful liturgical season of Lent.
Lent is a special time set aside by the Church to help us focus on our journey to God. We should use this time to grow spiritually and get back on track with our faith. A young child's mind is ready to absorb, process and retain an enormous quantity of information. Lent is a great time to start helping our little minds learn something beautiful about their rich catholic faith. Yes, as parents we lead such busy lives with many responsibilities, but just as cooking and cleaning are difficult to fit into our schedule, so is religious education. We have to make time to teach our child about God. We don't want to let a secular world interfere with our primary responsibility and joy as a Catholic parent!
I am going to explain some simple ways in which I have incorporated Lenten journey into my children's life. Every child is different and every family is different. I am sharing this for anyone who might be wondering how to help your small children journey through Lent which is a very long time. But we can make it very interesting and fun for our little ones and help them grow closer to Jesus.
Visual Reminders
In your home, visual reminders of the most important people in your life are valuable, for children and adults. When you see a family photograph taken long ago, it triggers memories and thoughts. This is also true of religious articles. You don't worship idols, but the images can encourage special thoughts and prayers throughout each day. In the above picture you can see a crucifix, a candle and a statue of Pieta that I put on a small prayer table. I have added these only because I already had this at home. If you don't have a cross or a crucifix, do not worry. You can out a picture of Jesus or a print of a picture of Jesus on the cross to remind our children about Jesus's death on the cross. Let this not give you added pressure or headache. Make it simple. For our children even the simplest forms of gestures are very important. They will appreciate it. Even if you are a working parent, this is something doable. We try to start off the day by praying before this prayer table. If you don't have time in the morning, you can have a small prayer in the night before you put your kids to bed before this prayer table with the special appearance of a Crucifix or a picture of Jesus which will help you talk to them about what is Lent.
Jesus Tree
Another thing I have added is something called a Jesus Tree. The Jesus tree is a wonderful way to do a Lenten Bible study with children. It helps us to journey through the life of Jesus on earth beginning from the Baptism of Jesus in the temple all the way to resurrection. I made these little felt tree and ornaments almost 4 years ago. We have been doing this every year since then. As my kids have grown older, I am seeing how much they cherish doing the Jesus Tree and they grasp the bible passage much better because they have something visible and each ornament connects the children to the bible passage they read when they hang these ornaments on the Jesus Tree. Now as you read this, it may already seem so overwhelming for you because Lent begins tomorrow and it is not easy to create a Jesus Tree with felt. So here is an easier and simple option. Please click on this link and you can print out Jesus Tree ornaments which your kids can color each day as you read the different bible passages and you can use a small branch from outside and hang these ornaments on them. You can better understand about it by clicking on this link. There it is explained in detail how to do it. If you have time in your hand I highly encourage doing this.
We spend some time together reading the bible story from a catholic children's picture bible and color a coloring sheet if we have time based on that passage and hang the ornament on the tree. Sometimes it can get chaotic with small children but that's okay. The best part is that the children look forward to this time spend together because most of the times they don't get to sit together with us parents. They don't see us giving so much importance in sharing Jesus with them, other than us taking them to church or Catechism classes. When they see their own parents as teachers who are helping them to know about Christ, it makes a big impact on them. You may not see it right now but it will bear fruits in the future.
Sacrifice Bean Jar
The Sacrifice bean jar is mine and kids favorite part of Lent. I have been doing this with them for the past 4 to 5 years. The idea is that each time they do a small sacrifice or a kind deed like share your toys with your sibling, or clean up without being told, or read a story to your little sister etc they get to put a bean in the jar. And on Easter morning the beans will turn into jelly beans. This really encourages the children to do small penances and sacrifices. You will be amazed. Even if your kids go to school when they come back in the evenings or during the weekends you can keep reminding them and encouraging them to do this.
Lenten Calendar
I also a print out a copy of a Lenten Calendar from Catholic Icing. Even a 3 year old can do this. Please click on this link Lenten Calendar if you would like a copy for your child. As a child it is very hard to understand 50/40 days of Lent. This calendar helps them to see how each day passes by and they will look forward to coloring that last box which they will color on Easter Sunday. Because I am an Eastern Rite Catholic our Lent is 50 days starting on Ask Monday. Since I don't have a calendar made with 50 days I just use this version and explain to the kids that our Lent begins on Monday.
Holy Heroes
Have you heard of Holy Heroes? Holy Heroes is a family-owned apostolate loyal to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and not associated with any particular congregation, order, or movement. They provide an online Lenten Adventure program which comes into your email when you sign up with them. It is free and you basically watch the small videos they provide with your children every day. They also have activities for older children which you can print out freely through the emails you receive. We have been doing this for the past 5 years and the kids love it and I love it. If you would like to sign up please click this link Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure .
Lenten Story Time
I try to have a story time with my kids through out the year. The best part about story time is during these liturgical season we can choose books that emphasis that particular season. For Lent, we can get lots of story books about Easter from the local library itself. You don't have to spend money on buying them. I am sharing a link which gives you names of several books that could be read out loud with your kids during Lent. Older kids can read it on their own. Here is the link: Lenten Book Basket.
Ash Monday/Ash Wedneday
Tomorrow Lent begins. In our home we go for the Ash Monday Mass/Qurbana as a family. This is the day I will have most of these items set up in the house. All these items really gets them excited for Lent and it is also a way for them to be a part of it. I try to incorporate a coloring sheet most of the time with any feast day celebrations. So for Ash Monday I use this coloring sheet. You can just click this link and print it out for your child to color. This again gives them a visual understanding of what is happening. You can explain to them what it means to put ash on their foreheads.
There is no need to do everything I have mentioned here at your house. Maybe you can pick one thing which is doable for you and your family. Again you may be a working parent or a stay at home parent. But that should not stop you from sharing your faith with your children. It is the biggest treasure you can give them at this age. So even if you don't get to do any of the above mentioned ideas, just share with them stories of Jesus, His passion and Resurrection every day if you can. Take them to church as often as you can. Help them know that Jesus loves them and cares for them. This is why He died on the cross for us. The best part about doing any of this is, along with the child we are also growing in our faith. It encourages us to be a better example to them. A child learns by example. He will imitate you. Therefore, it is essential that we set a good example by our lives. Let our children see and hear us happily exercising our faith in our daily lives.
Daily family rosary and Daily mass(Qurbana) is highly recommended.
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
