Easy Ways to Teach Your Family About Ash Wednesday (And maybe Lent…)
Perhaps you’re like me staring at three unruly boys and wondering how do I teach these lovable miscreants about Ash Wednesday? No matter the number, age, and gender of your children it’s a simple fact us parents are long on aspiration and short on time. So this sleepless parent thought he’d share his findings on some easy ways to teach your whole family about Ash Wednesday (and a little bit of Lent too). Before we dive in, let me offer a piece of advice: make a plan, keep it simple, and participate in Church. If you don’t have a church home I cordially invite you to join us at Trinity at 10:30 AM on Sundays.
Review the Previous Blog Posts
If you haven’t already, read the two great blog posts Pastor Matthew has put together here and here summarizing Ash Wednesday and Lent, respectively. If you’re old hat to the church year or brand new it will help to brush up on the basics for your young, inquiring minds.
Attend an Ash Wednesday Service
One of the best ways we can catechize our children is faithful attendance to church. Ash Wednesday is an especially great one for kids because of the tactile imposition of the ashes. Kids love stuff and textures. The feel of the gritty yet smooth ash on their foreheads is something you can discuss with them to hype the anticipation. Plus you can talk about how we sacrifice a Wednesday evening to gain an encounter with Christ. Lent is all about sacrifice that allows space or resources for God’s work. What better way to start the season than gathering with brothers and sisters in Christ.
Sacrifice and Serve as Family
If you know one thing about Lent it’s the tradition of giving something up: coffee, rich food, social media, Netflix or other streaming services. Too often though we can treat this as our second chance at New Year’s resolutions. It’s certainly good to intentionally work on self improvement; but it falls short of the fuller vision for Lent. Fasting and self-denial are meant to create space for almsgiving (generosity). Maybe your family goes out to eat or orders in once a week; choose to forgo that luxury and instead donate the money to a food bank. Perhaps family movie night is sacrificed for a night of prayer. Consider skipping a kid’s event (sports, drama, etc.) to go serve as a family. There’s endless options; but definitely talk about it as a family and discuss the why.
With older kids consider an actual fast day (Friday is a great choice in remembrance of Good Friday). You could cut out meat, eat simply (bread and water), or consider a full day without a meal (I find sundown Thursday to sundown Friday works well). Again don’t just focus on the sacrifice use the extra time or money purposefully.
Read or Memorize Psalm 23
David’s most famous Psalm is also a great one for Ash Wednesday. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil” (verse 4). We are reminded that the LORD truly is our Shepherd who guides our lives, gives us rest, saves us, and one day we will dwell not in the sadness and pain of death (from dust to dust) but we will dwell in the “house of the LORD”. It’s also a great Psalm for kids to read (short, not too difficult) and a must memorize passage of Scripture.
Again with older kids I’d commend following the lectionary as a family. The Ash Wednesday passages are the same regardless of year: Joel 2:12-19, 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10, and Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21. Throughout Lent there are additional readings provided by the historic church. Our church is in Series C of the Three-Year cycle (easy link here). Typically you’ll read the week’s passages twice with the Old Testament reading on Monday and Thursday, Epistle on Tuesday and Friday, Gospel on Wednesday and Saturday; but there is complete freedom in what works for your family.
Make a Lenten Chain
You’ve likely heard of (or eaten) Advent calendars. Those 24 or 25 boxes of chocolates that count from December 1 to Christmas. There’s a beautiful practice for Lent that’s similar. You make a series of paper loops like the image on the right. Each day you’ll tear one off to count down to Easter. There’s an easy link here. You could also go a step farther and write things to pray for. Or perhaps use this Lenten Guide for activities you can add to each loop. Better yet, have your kids come up with their own! Another fun “craft” is making pretzels. They are somewhat bland which is good for Lent and the shape looks like arms folded in prayer.
Listen to Lenten Music
Kids love music. Find or create a playlist of Lenten specific hymns. Sing them as a family. Here’s two to get you started: one and two.
Add to Your Homeschool or Supplement School
If you homeschool your kids, add Ash Wednesday and Lent to your history units. Read Lenten scripture. And definitely make sure to include color pages and other fun worksheets. There’s plenty of resources out there even for Lent specifically. Definitely check out: https://www.lutheranhomeschool.com/. We also love the site https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ (note you do need a free account). You can search for Ash Wednesday or Lent and filter to free (just make sure to review the content before handing to your kiddos). Or here’s a direct link to some coloring pages. And bust out those purple crayons since that’s the Lenten liturgical color.
If you don’t homeschool I encourage you to supplement your kid’s classroom learning. Any of the above can be added as “homework” or done as a mini class after school around the diner table.
Whatever you do, or don’t, make it intentional and talk about it! Even one little activity with some good conversation will go a long way to bring your children, and your family, into preparation for the glory of Easter. Blessings on your Lenten season!
About the Author
David Hein is a member of Trinity San Antonio with his wife Mindi and three boys: Kirk, Wesley, and Caleb.
