Good Friday and Holy Saturday lesson plans: Stations of the Cross shoebox dioramas

Hello my friends of this blog on Catholic Activities. The purpose of this site is to make our Catholic Christian faith more real for us all but especially our children. Here are ways to personalize Good Friday, Lent and Holy Saturday so it is relatable to children. As a Montessori educator and homeschool mom from way back I make lesson plans "hands-on" and interactive. 

To do so, we make Lenten craft projects and use them as devotional aides. Here are Catholic lesson plans to make Bible Easter dioramas that show the Stations of the Cross. Make these Lenten craft projects for Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday Good Friday or any time during Holy Week or Lent. As Easter often falls in April, Earth Month, we'll use recycled materials in our recycle bin crafts for Easter. Here's a free printable old city Jerusalem map to show where the present-day Via Dolorosa, or Way of Sorrows--is. This can help you visualize the stations of the cross in situ.

Pro-Tip for Busy Families: Fourteen shoeboxes is a big project! Consider choosing the "Major 3" (Crucifixion, Burial, and Resurrection) or assign one station to each child in a classroom setting to create a full set together.

What You’ll Need: The Ultimate Recycled Supplies List

Here's what you'll need for Bible Easter dioramas depicting the Catholic Stations of the Cross. Your recycle bin is your best friend here 

recycled shoebox with lid

egg cartons

small cardboard boxes

recycled toilet paper and paper towel tubes

foil pieces

milk rings

plastic dishes

toothpicks

broken pencils

clear orange or red plastic from bread bags 

round head clothespins

fabric and yarn scraps

beads

bits of greenery

sticks or twigs

glue  or glue dots

misc nuts, bolts and screws (for students to use as needed)

lentils spray painted silver for Judas's 30 pieces of silver. 

free printable Stations of the Cross coloring pages and images for backdrop

Free printable Way of the Cross coloring pages

free printable stations of the cross with prayers

scrap jewelry for chains

scissors and tape

Directions for Easter shoebox dioramas.

Stand the shoebox part upright inside the lid. Tape in place. The lid becomes the stage on which to arrange characters, props and setting details in Bible Easter dioramas. The open shoebox is the theater, so to speak. Make one shoebox diorama for each of the Stations of the Cross. Small boxes and paper towel tubes become buildings in the temple courtyard, praetorium, steeples or the pillory where Jesus is whipped. 

Small plastic containers, cups or egg cartons form rocks or hills. Invert and paint green or brown. Create crosses from sticks and twigs found in the yard. Glue to an inverted butter tub or dish for Golgotha (Calvary) where Christ was crucified in the Stations of the Cross.  

To create the city of Jerusalem and Via Dolorosa, make a "ramp" of cardboard to show Jesus at each station of the cross. Make baskets, containers and windows from milk rings or bottle caps. Use foil and toothpicks for armor, nails, water, swords or chains. Make fire from clear orange plastic bags. Use broken pencils for logs in a fire, depending on what is at each scene. 

Make characters in Bible Easter dioramas using round head clothespins. Make Jesus, Pontius Pilate, Pharisees, Mary the Mother of God, Veronica, Simon the Cyrene, Roman soldiers and other people Jesus meets at each of the Stations of the Cross. Cut Jesus's robe, character clothing and hair from fabric scraps or yarn. Make a tiny image of Jesus for Veronica's shawl. Draw wounds of Christ in red marker or paint pen.

Use yarn for Roman soldiers' whips and fabric for trees or plants. Use burlap for rocks, dirt or ground. Make a tiny crown of thorns from brown cloth or wire. Cut pictures from magazines for backdrops or figures in background. Make crosses of twigs, cardboard, sticks or clay. Use cotton for clouds. Cut chains and clasps from old jewelry. Set out assorted beads for fruit, vegetables. You might depict Stations of the Cross where Jesus falls in front of a crowded market. 

Provide a "buffet table" of supplies and then let students alone to design their Easter dioramas. Use Catholic Lenten craft projects in devotions for Ash Wednesday or Holy Week. Make Bible Easter dioramas to explore history, social studies, culture study, biography, literature and religious education. Use Lenten craft projects for Sunday school, Catholic CCD, Orthodox Christian kids' groups or Vacation Bible School. You could even make Old Testament Bible dioramas for Hebrew or Islamic school, AWANA or any church school. Dioramas could depict Bible stories, lives of saints, spiritual and stories behind holy days and holidays--Rosh Hashanah, Ramadan, Passover as well as Easter. 

My children really got into not only the creativity part of this Good Friday lesson plan but also the intuitive spirituality. As they "told" Jesus's story, they lived it too. It was as if they walked the way of sorrows, or Via Dolorsa with Our Lord. 

Free Printable Holy Week, Good Friday, Easter Triduum activities for Lent

Hello my friends! The Catholic church just celebrated Palm Sunday going into Holy Week, counting down to Easter. We are ending our Lenten observations and that is always a happy-sad time for me. I'm so joyful for another wonderful year with my dear ones. And a little sad that time passes so quickly. And on a larger scale, is the grief of the suffering our Lord endured on his way of sorrows for our sins. But without the sadness there is not joy. Without the penitential season of Lent, there is no Easter. Without the suffering there is no resurrection. So to that end, I'm vowing to make the most of every moment. Lent is a somber-glad time when we focus on Jesus in his suffering. We walk with him to the cross and resurrection.  

Lent is the holiest season of the Catholic and Orthodox Christian church year. During Lent, we "follow" Jesus on His journey to Calvary. We practice prayer, fasting, giving things up and almsgiving, in imitation of Christ's suffering and in reparation for our sins. Lent counts down to Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and Holy Week. We follow the Way of the Cross (Via Dolorosa) also called that Stations of the Cross. The last three days of Lent are called the Easter or paschal triduum. "Paschal" refers to the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. The Easter Triduum begins at sundown on Holy, or Maundy, Thursday and continues through Good Friday, Easter Vigil (Holy Saturday) and on to Easter Sunday. 

Follow your Catholic Relief Services Operation Rice Bowl calendar. There are Lenten lesson plans and Holy Week countdown to Easter activities. I have used the CRS Operation Rice Bowls global recipes with my children, grandchildren and students. Print the Lenten and Holy Week calendar here. I choose one country each day to focus on and we make and enjoy a meal from that country. Check out some of the free Amazon resources on global food and zero waste cooking. 

Here are more free printable Holy Week and Easter Triduum activities to explore Christ's passion. Print Catholic crafts, Christian games, Bible activities, Sunday gospel worksheets, religious puzzles and Easter lesson plans. Easter Coloring offers free printable Easter Triduum coloring pages. Scroll through the pages of Bible Easter coloring pages. Images include Stations of the Cross and Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. Print and make an Easter countdown coloring book. 

DL-TK has free printable Vacation Bible School lesson plans, Bible crafts and Christian children's activities that would work very well for Holy Week lesson plans. I really like the parables of Jesus lesson plans. All of these are provided for you to use free with families. 

Watch "Jesus of Nazareth" free on Britbox on Tubi. The Internet Archive has a copy as well. It's free on Amazon with Prime subscription. This is by far the very best adaptation of the Passion of Jesus. The Greatest Story Ever Told (free on Youtube) is another good one but Jesus of Nazareth is more relatable to children. 

Use these free printable lesson plans to guide children's' prayers and devotions. Print one booklet per child. Tell children to take their prayer books to a private prayer spot in the home or outdoors. Go to a local park or nature trail. Have kids to spend quiet time visiting and "waiting with Jesus" as He asked the disciples to do in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion. 

Children might color images and write a little meditation or prayer in response to Our Lord's passion. Perhaps they could write a letter, thanking God for sending his beloved son. Mom and Dad, you can help little ones color their booklet. Ask preschool children to tell you what they want to say to God as they look at the pictures of His Son. Remind kids that God loved Jesus (and us) like we should love each other.

Give young children one word to write for each picture: cross, Jesus, God, resurrection. Give early readers phrases: My Jesus I Love Thee Thank You, Dear Lord, Dear Jesus, I'm sorry. Good Friday after the noon mass is a great time to do this activity. These booklets make good keepsakes. Reuse each year during Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum.

Free Catholic saints activities for homeschooling lesson plans

So you know that November 1 is Catholic All Saints' Day. But I say why wait till fall to get to know the saints? As Catholic homeschooling mum, I followed the liturgical calendar and tailored lessons around feast days. And you can too, using these free printable Catholic saints coloring pages, crafts and activities. Explore the lives of saints and use them to frame lesson plans. 

* Catholic Mom's All Saint's Day activities page has printable crafts and coloring pages specific to that holy day, plus tips for celebrating a Catholic holidays. Visit the Catholic Kids home page for free printable liturgical lesson plans for CCD and religious education lesson plan. Each week's gospel is discussed and age-appropriate activities linked: free printable puzzles, word searches, study sheets, crafts, Bible verses, games and activities. 

* ABCatholic has a free printable Catholic alphabet coloring book with images of saints, Bible stories and sacraments.  

* Waltzing Matilda features handmade free printable Catholic saints coloring pages. The blog moderator has drawn images for sacraments and liturgical use also. 

* Paper Dali is another mom blog with homemade free printable saints coloring pages. Some are free and some must be purchased.free her Etsy shop. Scroll around for the freebies. All are very attractive and well worth the nominal fee. 

* Catholic Icing offers handmade All Saints' Day printables and crafts. Read through the blog posts and sidebar menu for crafts, games and printables. 

* JClub has free printable Bible and Catholic saints coloring pages. 

* EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) Kids offers free mass readings, prayer activities, crafts and coloring pages for children. Users must create a free account with user name and password. 

Lenten fasting: Catholic diet hacks and social justice weight loss tips

Are you having trouble losing weight no matter what you try? It could be because you're missing a few basic ingredients to weight loss. I know from personal experience struggling. I call these my "Catholic diet hacks" for social justice weight loss because they are based on the church's teaching on Lent. Use them to gear up your Lenten fasting.  These tips are part of how I lost 100 pounds without drugs or weight loss surgery. 

Mardi Gras is a Catholic festival season that culminates on Fat Tuesday and takes the faithful into Ash

Wednesday and the penitential season of Lent, The commonly known practice is Lenten fasting or

choosing something to give up for Lent and it's not just for the Catholic. Everyone, Catholic or not,

should quit feasting on Fat Tuesday and pick an addiction to give up for Lent. Don't worry, that's no

religious agenda, just common sense. Lenten fasting is healthy for everyone! Give up junk food for

Lent and you might lose weight, illness, debt, and depression! You don't have to fast for religious

reasons but a spiritual fast can be very healing.

And spiritual fasting isn't necessarily religious, it's a mind-body connection, an examination of

conscience, a personal reflection that frees the mind and soul of earthly trappings. Fasting is a very

Zen experience. Lent, Ramadan and Yom Kippur are ritual purgative fasts. Fasts such as the Buddhist

nyungne bring the elements of the self into focus and unity. Abstaining from mindless indulgences

and addictions, at least for a time, helps to align thoughts, actions, words and feelings. Lenten fasting

helps get priorities straight. Whatever addictions you give up for Lent will have less hold over you.

You find it easier to diet and lose weight as cravings aren't so intense and you are more easily

satisfied.

The Tao of Lenten fasting is inner cleansing through outward deprivation. On Shrove Tuesday and

Ash Wednesday a Catholic is "shriven" or purified and readied for prayer, meditation and almsgiving

and taking up the cross and following Jesus. Think of something negative that has a hold on you to

give up for Lent. Lenten fasting helps you concentrate on essentials. Beat depression and gain

confidence and strength knowing you're stronger than your cravings. If you offer your Lenten fasting

for particular intentions, you develop awareness of, sensitivity to and solidarity with the needs of

others. So you lose weight but also selfishness. 

Being less focused on things can help you get out of

debt. You have more money to help those in poverty. This is the best medicine for depression!

Fasting is positive for health reasons. Abstaining from meat, alcohol, fats, sugar, sodium, junk carbs,

candy and dairy can help you lose weight and illness. In times past, people refrained from eating all

of these things during Lent. Now, a Catholic will generally choose one thing to fast from. If you have

trouble deciding? Pick meat or sweets to give up for Lent. You can lower bad cholesterol without

medication just by eating more fish and less meat and dairy. Drinking less alcohol helps cleanse the

liver which helps you lose weight. Try fasting on bread and water twice a week, You may shed 20

pounds during a Lenten fast, making no other lifestyle changes. Refraining from eating sweets and

caffeine, and practicing emotional health exercises can help you wean from an antidepressant and

beat depression naturally. A Lenten fast can heal obesity, depression, save you money and find your

inner joy!

Halloween alternative trick-or-treat activities for Catholic Christian kids: educational games, crafts, recipes, give-backs, party ideas

Halloween is a top-grossing holiday and consumer spending will hit record highs in 2014 predicts U.S News and World Report. Young and old alike eagerly anticipate trick-or-treat, spending an average of $80 per person on costumes, spook house venues, decorations and candy. Not everyone looks forward to Halloween, however. Some children are terrified by scary costumes. Parents don't want them to miss out on the fun, just avoid the creepier aspects. Is it possible to celebrate a haunt-less Halloween? Absolutely! Here are alternative trick-or-treat activities.

·         Truck-or-Treat/Trunk-or-Treat. Organize a group of friends to pass out candy from the trunks of their cars or truck beds. Choose a non-spooky theme, like Disney movies, and host a costume contest. Families can even decorate vehicles in keeping with theme.

·         Educational costumes. There's a whole world of non-scary costume ideas to choose from. Children can dress up as characters in books, children shows or nursery rhymes. They might dress as famous people, favorite animals or in occupational attire. Encourage kids to create costumes from recycled materials. This saves money too.

·         Safe houses. Ask around your neighborhood to find out who plans to decorate with a haunted theme. Map out a trick-or-treat route that bypasses those homes.

·         Candy hunt. Maybe you live far from town or in a rural area? That makes trick-or-treat challenging enough as it is. So skip door-to-door. Instead, hide candy in the yard and let children hunt for it. Let children dress in costume. If you have a large piece of property, this could be a great adventure!

·         LARP candy quest. Turn your backyard or house into a non-scary, live-action role play Halloween video game. Decide on a theme. Children invent a character and create costumes. Parents or older siblings might draw a treasure map, set tasks children must complete or write riddles to help little ones find candy.

·         Life-size Candyland. Create a living Candyland board game in the backyard. Invite neighbors to participate. Adults dress as characters and create stations based on the game. Here's a life-sized Candyland Pinterest board with loads of costume and prop tutorials.

·         Harvest gala Forego the Halloween theme altogether and focus on fall. Set up autumn crafts and game stations in your barn, backyard or garage. Make a hay maze. Hide candy in leaf piles. Carve or paint pumpkins. Bob for apples. Make popcorn balls. Serve cider and donuts.

·         Nursing home trick-or-treating. Here's a win-win idea: children get to trick-or-treat in safe, controlled environments and lonely elderly folks get to enjoy Halloween with the kids. Check senior homes in your area for trick-or-treat opportunities.

·         Pay it forward. Teach children that Hallween can be about giving as well as getting. Turn one of above-listed ideas into a fundraising event. Sell tickets and donate the proceeds. In lieu of a fee, collect canned goods for a food pantry. Gather animal care supplies for your local Humane Society.

Be sure to film the frolics share video copies with family far away. Halloween doesn't have to be scary to be fun. It just takes is a little ingenuity and resourcefulness for everyone to have a good time.

Free St. Francis Day activities, coloring pages lesson plans, printables

October 4 the celebrates the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi in the Catholic Church

. Among other things under his patronage, St. Francis is the patron saint of animals. On his feast day, some Catholic churches and schools observe a charming little rite known as the blessing of pets. Folks bring their beloved pets to mass to be prayed over. It's an event that young and old enjoy. In the spirit of the good saint, here are free printable animals coloring pages and free printable St. Francis activities for children to celebrate! If you know of a Catholic church that blesses pets, why not bring your kids and animals--you'll all enjoy it!

Visit Real Life at Home for free printable St. Francis lesson plans in a packet. Print games, coloring pages, activities and worksheets of saints. Learn connections to Pope Francis, who is a Franciscan and has taken his name from Francis of Assisi. Print a liturgical calendar of Catholic saints, including Saint Francis, free from Catholic playground. For free printable animal coloring pages, visit Coloring Book Fun. National Geographic Kids has realistic animal coloring pages from A-Z to print. This link opens on the animals A-I page but click the link at the bottom for coloring pages of animals from J-Z.

For more detailed, educational animal coloring page printables, don't miss Edupics. There are over 1,600 animal coloring pages: some are even suitable for middle school and high school biology and science lessons! Hello Kids has hundreds of free printable animal coloring pages. Some are easier and geared for preschool or special needs students. Some are more challenging. Coloring.ws, from children's learning printables giant DL-TK has free printable coloring pages of animals from A-Z.Print every animal kingdom and phylum: insects, fish, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

Free printable saints coloring pages, activities to celebrate St Joseph, Catholic Labor Day

With Labor Day approaching, Catholic families should be focusing St. Joseph the Worker. He has several feast days but May Day (the worldwide Labor Day) is the one devoted to his cult as patron saint of workers. Use these free printable Catholic saints coloring pages, crafts and lesson plans to explore St. Joseph.

* Catholic Mom's All Saint's Day activities page has printable crafts and coloring pages, plus tips for celebrating a Christian Labor Day. Visit the Catholic Kids home page for free printable liturgical lesson plans with age-appropriate activities linked: free printable puzzles, word searches, study sheets, crafts, Bible verses, games and activities.

* Catholic Playground has free printable Catholic saints coloring pages. They're alphabetized and listed according to the Catholic liturgical calendar. Check out the free printable Stations of the Cross coloring pages.

* St. John the Baptist Religious Education has a plethora of free printable saints coloring pages. There are also printable Stations of the Cross coloring pages. There are coloring pages of Bible stories, Miracles of Jesus, parables and life of Christ.

* ABCatholic has a free printable Catholic alphabet coloring book with images of saints, Bible stories and sacraments.

* Waltzing Matilda features handmade free printable Catholic saints coloring pages. The blog moderator has nicely-drawn images for sacraments and liturgical use also.

* Paper Dali is another mom blog with homemade free printable saints coloring pages. Some are free and some must be purchased.free her Etsy shop. Scroll around for the freebies. All are very attractive and well worth the nominal fee.

* Catholic Icing offers handmade All Saints' Day printables and crafts. Read through the blog posts and sidebar menu for crafts, games and printables.

* JClub has free printable Bible and Catholic saints coloring pages.

* EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) Kids offers free mass readings, prayer activities, crafts and coloring pages for children. Users must create a free account with user name and password.

Use these coloring pages to plan a Catholic Christian Halloween that celebrates All Saints Day and All Souls Day. These can help create saints costumes for All Saints' Day parties too. Use for year-round CCD, religious education, VBS and Children's Liturgy of the Word activities.