Teaching Children the Faith in Lent and Easter Seasons

Feast days and fast days fill the Catholic Calendar, along with seasons of penance that lead to seasons of celebration. I love the saints’ days and liturgical seasons of the Catholic Church—they take the monotony out of life and redirect our thoughts to spiritual things and our heavenly goal. Plus, these special days provide a wealth of opportunities for teaching children the Faith.

“Walk with your feet on earth, but in your heart, be in heaven.” — St. John Bosco

The years we had young children at home made the seasons even more special. I wanted to teach them all about the special days in the Church and the mysteries of our Faith. I wanted to inspire them to think about the spiritual side of life and to long for the graces God wanted to give them, especially faith, hope, and charity.

Teaching our children also helped me grow in understanding and appreciation of these special days, especially as I read through the Catechism and planned a variety of activities to hold their interest.

Teaching Children During Lent:

• Make little prayer and penance goals.

• Discuss and encourage one another to make little acts of kindness each day.

• Sing songs and say special prayers as a family.

• Read Lent stories together.

• Search online for Lent-themed coloring and activity pages.

• Attend extra Masses, Holy Hours (or half-hours), and Stations of the Cross.

• Pray the Rosary as a family, especially the Sorrowful mysteries during Lent.

• Read Sharing the Sorrow: Caitlyn and Peter's Rosary Adventures to develop your rosary meditations.

• Participate in other Lent activities offered at your parish.

It was always easier to plan for Lent. We grew up with the traditional practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (or charity), so those came naturally--while still challenging. Plus, most churches offer weekly Stations of the Cross and special days of Confession and other activities for children.

The Easter season is even longer than Lent: 50 days, from Easter to the Feast of Pentecost. Easter was always a special celebration--with an abundance of flowers decorating the church, family coming to dinner, and Easter baskets filled with treats--but I always struggled to find and plan kids’ activities for the rest of the Easter season.

My children are now grown, but planning faith-filled activities around the Church calendar has always helped me grow too, so I still think about these things. I still come up with ideas for teaching virtue and conveying the Faith in entertaining ways to children.

This is why I wrote the Armor of God chapter books. My boys always loved reading, but finding good books could be a challenge. With this series, I wanted to provide Catholic families with entertaining adventure stories that would inspire children to pursue virtue. Faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, Brother Coll’s Catechism Lessons, found between chapters, tie prayer and the sacraments (especially Confession and Holy Communion) to the pursuit of virtue.

It’s important for children to learn that the sacraments are the instruments—given to us by Jesus—that help us to pursue virtue and live holy lives.

“Enjoy the fragrance of eternal life, breathed on you by means of the sacraments.” — St. Ambrose, bishop (340-397 A.D.)

Depending upon the age and reading level of the children, they can spend time on their own reading each story or families can read them together. The accompanying Lesson Plan develops the study of the virtues found in each of the Armor of God chapter books. The Lesson Plan is divided into 7 parts, making it ideal for the 7 weeks of the Easter season. Perfect for kids ages 6-10, each week’s lesson includes writing prompts, discussion questions, memory verse, and activities that make learning about God, His commandments, and the armor of God meaningful and fun.

Because I want every Catholic family with children to have these books, I keep the prices as low as possible. I also like to offer a coupon code during special Church seasons so families can get them at an even lower price. Although the books are available at The Catholic Company, on Amazon, or wherever you buy books, the coupon code can only be used at Silver Fire Publishing website.

Through Lent and Easter, use coupon code ARMOR OF GOD to get the complete set for only $30. That’s $5 a book.

When you order through Silver Fire Publishing, you will receive a FREE PDF of the Lesson Plan. You can buy the Lesson Plan in paperback format on Amazon, but the PDF is better for printing several copies of coloring pages and activity sheets.

Some other ideas for the 50-day Easter Season:

• If your family likes to sing, include Easter songs during daily family prayer time. Find Easter songs at LiturgyTools.net.

• Make family prayer time special with daily Easter readings or weekly memory verses.

• Read books about the saints, especially the ones who have feast days during the 50 days of the Easter season.

• Read Gliding to Glory: Caitlyn and Peter's Rosary Adventures. See Silver Fire Publishing website for release date--coming soon.

• Provide your teens with Catholic fiction or saint stories. Faith-filled stories can have a strong positive impact on young adults. See CatholicTeenBooks.com for an abundance of choices in a variety of genres.

• Find Easter coloring pages and activities online that focus on the Resurrection, Ascension, and Pentecost.

• Prepare traditional Easter recipes together with your children. Then share them with your family or even with neighbors and friends.

“Only God knows the good that can come about by reading one good Catholic book.” — St. John Bosco.

These are just a few suggestions. If you have more, please share them in the comments! Let's do all we can to make this Lent and Easter wonderful opportunities for grace for each member of our family.

“Easter is not just a day to celebrate; it is a season to live with renewed faith and hope.” — St. John Chrysostom