Curated List of Recommended Resources for Lent and Easter
Lent
Simple activities for home or church –
- Paperchain craft
This craft could be done throughout Lent, as a tactile reminder to pray and be thankful. - Jelly Bean Prayer
This activity is a sweet way of guiding our prayers during the Lenten Season or during Holy Week. Ideas for use: fill a jar with jelly beans of all the colours, pick one each night around the dinner table or once a week during Lent, read and reflect on what each colour stands for and lift up a prayer of thanks.
Lectionary-based resources –
- Full to the Brim Children’s Lessons for Lent (Year C) — A Sanctified Art
This resource could be adapted and used in a variety of ways, whether at home, online or in person. Lessons include YouTube links to children’s books along each week’s theme. - BIBLE EXPLORE – Home
NZ -based resource that includes a year-round a wealth of resource for engagement with the journey throughout Lent (and the whole year) rooted in the lectionary
Resources to use at home or church –
- Our friends at mainly Ministries have developed two FREE resources. This year’s “Easter – a journey” resource which helps the whole church prepare for Easter. It could be used within homes or as a great starting point for services online or in person. They also still have their “Easter – around the table” resource from last year that is mainly geared toward at home use.
Easter – a journey – mainly Ministries New Zealand
Easter – around the table – mainly Ministries New Zealand
Ash Wednesday at Home – Breakthrough
Shrove Tuesday
Count down the days to Easter with this cute craft.
You could have a Jesus character that is moved every day as a countdown to Holy Week.
Free option: Free pdf: https://www.thecatholickid.com/wp-content/uploads/kids-lent-calendar-coloring-page-cnt-mls.jpg
Or, for the above art (which requires a sign up to the site): https://www.catholicicing.com/printable-lenten-calendar-for-kids/
Book –
Faithful Families: Lent, Easter and Resurrection by Traci Smith (digital download $11)
Faithful Families – Traci Smith – some wonderful extra resources for families during Lent found at her website
Holy Week/Easter:
Simple activities for home or church –
- Lego/Duplo journey through Holy Week– create scenes for each day of the week (eg garden of Gethsemane, Tomb..)
- Palm Leaves: Outline of a palm tree on butcher paper, and the children each use green paint and handprints to fill it in. We displayed it on the door into the sanctuary with “Hosanna” alongside. This craft not only involves children of all ages, but acts as a visual reminder of the season.
- Cross craft: A simple, but effective craft. Display somewhere prominent in your church to help all members of your congregation to engage in what the children’s ministry is doing. This could also be done at home, and displayed in a street-facing window as a visual witness.
- Jelly Bean Prayer
This activity is a sweet way of guiding our prayers during the Lenten Season or during Holy Week.
A packet with the prayer card and jelly beans could be given out before Holy Week – OR as a “take away” gift for the whole church OR as part of a drop off kit to families.
Object lessons –
- Multi-sensory Easter story activity
A simple way of learning about the Easter story, through engaging all the senses. This could either be used as a walk-through activity or adapted for use as an object lesson within a service. - Resurrection egg activity
Another “oldie but goodie”: the resurrection egg activity- and other great resources around it!
Lectionary-based resources –
- BIBLE EXPLORE – Home
NZ -based resource that includes a year-round a wealth of resource for engagement with the journey throughout Lent and the season of Easter (and the whole year) rooted in the lectionary
Resources for use at home or church –
- A NZ-based resource from our friends at Scripture Union, with a card/devotion for each day of Holy Week.
Holy Week in the Home — Breakthrough (sunzbreakthrough.org.nz) - Our friends at mainly Ministries have developed two FREE resources. This year’s “Easter – a journey” resource which helps the whole church prepare for Easter. It could be used within homes or as a great starting point for services online or in person. They also still have their “Easter – around the table” resource from last year that is mainly geared toward at home use.
Easter – a journey – mainly Ministries New Zealand
Easter – around the table – mainly Ministries New Zealand
Colouring activities –
- Holy Week colouring pages
Children can colour their way through Holy Week with these gorgeous colouring pages. - Bookmarks for Easter
These colour-in bookmarks could be printed out and given as a “take away” after worship to the whole church OR part of a kit dropped at home to families.
Video Resources –
There are plenty of videos on YouTube that tell the Easter Story. Here are a few of our favourites:
Palm Sunday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-39h0xYqdE&list=PLYn06r4leL_RguA_6LO-11rkjEsNb21oa&index=2
The Last Supper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SigoALSS1R8&list=PLYn06r4leL_RguA_6LO-11rkjEsNb21oa&index=3
Jesus’ Sacrifice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL8R158Ujp4 (please note: this video does show some of the more gruesome sides of the crucifixion. While this is a vital part of the Easter story, we suggest that you preview before showing, to ensure it is suitable for your children)
Crucifixion and Resurrection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X69BRjpALSE (another depiction of the crucifixion, that is less confronting than the video above)
Websites/blogs that have other great ideas –
Breakthrough (sunzbreakthrough.org.nz)
https://www.strandz.org.nz/easterbubbles.html
Home | baptist-children (baptistcfm.org.nz)
Faithful Families – Traci Smith
https://littleshootsdeeproots.com/encourage/lent/
https://feelslikehomeblog.com/family-observe-lent-year-anyway/
