The season of Lent is a beautiful time to reflect and prepare for Easter. But how do we explain it in a way that our children understand, something that is more than just “giving things up” for 40 days? Here is a simple guide of Lent for families, with ways to explain and celebrate with your children!

The season of Lent lasts 40 days. It starts on Ash Wednesday, the day after Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Tuesday) and goes until Easter. Traditionally people will sacrifice or give something up for these 40 days, whether its an indulgent food or maybe social media, but it’s meant as a way to cleanse our hearts in preparation for Jesus’ coming.

I’ll be completely honest and say I don’t “sacrifice” anything at Lent. I have a restrictive diet as it is, and don’t have many other luxuries or things I could give up. And Jesus didn’t come so we had to give things up, only to return to them 40 days later. He came to save us from death!

For me, I would rather celebrate His life (and death) by doing something less about myself and more about serving others. 40 days of kindness, or sharing the gospel. That’s where I want to put my energy at this time!

That being said, if you feel called to sacrifice something during these 40 days, don’t ignore the prompting! When the Spirit speaks, listen! Preparing your heart at this time is the most important thing, so if a fast from Facebook or Instagram is needed, then do it.

But more than that, we also need to share the deeper meaning with our children. It is a good time to dig into Jesus’ life and all the miracles He performed!

Lent for Families

So how do we make lent for families, so our children understand what it’s all about?

Explaining Lent to Children

1. Keep It Simple

Start by giving your family a simple explanation about this season. Lent is the 40 days before Easter when we prepare our hearts for Jesus’ resurrection. You can say something basic like:

Lent is a time to remember how much Jesus loves us. It’s a time to pray, spend time reading about Jesus and finding ways to be kind to others!

2. Use Stories

The Bible is your best resource for explain Lent to your children. Read about Jesus’ 40 days in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) or The Last Supper (Luke 22:14-20) to help your children understand Lent better.

3. Connect it to Everyday Life

Explain that just as athletes prepare for a big game or musicians practice before a performance, Lent is a time for us to grow in faith before the big celebration of Easter. It’s a time where we focus on scriptures, dive deeper into Jesus’ life and prepare our hearts for Him!

Ways to Celebrate Lent as a Family

1. Make a Calendar

Get a 40 day calendar ready with small activities that your family can do everyday to count down the days to Easter.

These can be simple things like saying a prayer, read or memorize a Bible verse, perform acts of kindness or singing a worship song!

2. Choose a Family Activity to Focus On

As I said, I prefer to put my energies into helping others or focusing on the life of Jesus during Lent, rather than on removing something from my life. So instead of choosing something to sacrifice this season, choose an activity your family can focus on (this could go on your Lenten calendar)! Here are some ideas:

• Special family meals on Sunday – get your kids involved with the cooking and cleaning up
• Choose one item a day (clothing, books, toys etc) for 40 days and donate them
• Take 15 minutes from screen time everyday to read Bible stories
• Get your children to choose an item every time they go to the grocery store and donate it
• Spend time as a family talking about the media choices you are making, look for Christian alternatives to shows, movies and music. Check out my blog post Navigating Media from a Christian Perspective for details about this!

3. Practice Acts of Kindness

Encourage your children to seek out ways they can be kind, all day long! If your kids are at school all day, give them ideas for how they can be kind both at home and at school:

• Look for ways to help without being asked
• Give someone a compliment
• Make cards for friends and neighbours
• Offer to do someone else’s job, or finish a job they are doing

4. Make an “Acts of Kindness” Crown for Jesus

Make a crown out of paper for each child. For every good thing they do, add a flower to the crown. On Good Friday, talk about the crown of thorns Jesus wore, but that His sacrifice allowed us to live, so we can wear a crown of flowers, instead of thorns! Remind your children that they are children of God and when they should be reminded of that every time they see the crown.

5. Read Through the Life of Jesus

This is a wonderful time to dig into Jesus’ life while He was on earth. Each of the gospels in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) tells His story. Take time everyday to read about Jesus and talk about the amazing things He did!

And for yourself, spend time reading Ann Voskamp’s 40 day Devotional “Love to Life,” which takes you through the book of John. It is a beautiful reminder about Jesus’ life, His death and His love! Get your copy on Amazon.

6. Pray Together

Yes, you should already be praying together but take time during Lent to pray specific prayers. Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare your hearts for Easter. Ask that God would reveal those who need extra kindness, or maybe are ready to hear the gospel!

Take time as a family to draw close to God and encourage one another during this season!

7. “Holy Week” Activities

Check out my blog post (and free download) “Holy Week Activities” for a week long guide of things to do leading up to Easter!

Bringing It All Together

40 days is a long time so don’t feel like you have to something spectacular everyday. This season of Lent is meant to be a time for reflection, kindness and prayer. We should remember who Jesus was and is, why He lived but most importantly, why He died and came back.

Let love be the focus this season, and spread it to those around you. Lent is for families, so use this time to enjoy one another and the love God has given to you!

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