Free Printable Stations of the Cross Lent Devotional Coloring Pages

In the Catholic liturgical calendar, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday continues for 40 days up through Holy Week, the Easter Triduum and Easter. Catholic Christians try to imitate Jesus with prayer, fasting or sacrifice and almsgiving (charity). A Catholic prays the rosary and Stations of the Cross on Friday (and as often as possible).  Here are free printable Stations of the Cross coloring pages to guide Lenten devotions. Each year during the Lenten when our family was homeschooling, the children drew images, one for each of the Station of the Cross. We used these images to guide Lenten devotions and prayer. We created Stations of the Cross in our home and yard, placing the images in order along a path. One year we hung them in the hallway. This way we had our own Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross, or Way of Sorrows). The children would begin each Friday in Lent praying the Stations of the Cross. Older children can draw Stations of the Cross coloring books for younger children to color. Or you can use free printable Stations of the Cross coloring pages. A favorite source was the Fr. Lovasik coloring books series. Here are free printable Stations of the Cross coloring books. Print a booklet for CCD, VBS, religious education classes, Catholic school, homeschooling and family devotions.
Catholic Mom offers free printable Stations of the Cross coloring books and prayer devotional guide. This is a fifteen page booklet covering each of the 14 Stations of the Cross. The liturgical prayer used at station is printed on the front cover and is repeated at each station. Children may color all the pages in their coloring books at once, or you may use Stations of the Cross coloring books as daily Lenten calendar countdown to Easter activities. Children might color one page each day for Lenten devotions. Here are other free printable Stations of the Cross activities.
Web Archive has free printable Stations of the Cross coloring pages drawn like Victorian church stained glass.  These images are quite small, but could be printed for a flip book or enlarged and printed as quarter or half page coloring pages. Traditionalists will love the neo-classical black and white artwork. St. John the Baptist Religious Ed has loads more free printable Catholic coloring pages for the mysteries of the rosary (Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and Lumious Mysteries), Easter, Lenten, Bible and other Catholic themed coloring pages). 
Extend Stations of the Cross Lenten devotions and activities by assigning children to compose a prayer or response for each station. Preschool through first grade children might write one word or phrase to represent each station. Grades 1-2 might compose a one sentence prayer. For grades 3-5 assign one or two paragraph Lenten devotions and prayers. This makes good type 1 writing activities. Adjust the length of the prayer to suit the needs and abilities of the child. Some may wish to write their prayer as a poem, song or haiku. Don't make prayer or writing seem like chores or children will dread doing them. 

Special needs children might draw or act out each of the stations of the cross. Children could compose sign language or dance in response to the each Station of the Cross. The objective of this activity is to encourage children to respond to Our Lord's passion, death and resurrection. Encourage children to respond in whatever form they feel most comfortable with. 

Free Printable Lent Coloring Pages for Ash Wednesday to Holy Week

Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians observe Palm Sunday which celebrates the Biblical triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem one week before His crucifixion. Palm Sunday begins Holy Week and the countdown to the Paschal Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday or Easter Vigil). Holy Week culminates on Easter Sunday. 

Here are free printable Holy Week activities, Palm Sunday crafts, Easter printables and Bible coloring pages. Use as lessons in homeschool, Christian school, Sunday school or Catholic religious education.

DL-TK offers free printable Palm Sunday crafts. There are cut and paste crafts featuring Jesus, donkeys and palms. Sunday-School-Fun-Zone has several dozen free printable Holy Week coloring pages, Easter crafts, Bible puzzles and Catholic Christian holiday games. There are Bible verse memorization activities, images of people waving palms, a donkey and Bible character lessons. Print a countdown-to-Easter craft which for Holy Week.

Ministry-to-Children has eight free printable religious Easter coloring pages. These could be used as a Holy Week countdown. Give children one page color each day. When the pages are complete, they might be combined into a devotional prayer booklet. Catholic Mom has free printable Bible activities geared to each Sunday's gospel reading. All the guesswork for lesson planning and cross-curricular connections has been done for you. These printable units are useful for all ages from preschool through middle school. They're adaptable for special needs students, too. There are printable versions of the Bible reading, an accompanying coloring page, mass worksheets, fill-in-the-blank and crossword puzzles.

Catholic Mom is cross-referenced with specific webpages for holidays and feast days. There are links for crafts, readings, additional resources, printables and supplemental activities. Catholic Mom hasprintable activities for Palm Sunday, Holy Week and the Easter Triduum, including Holy (or Maundy) Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil (called Holy Saturday) and Easter Sunday.  Palm Sunday and Holy Week fluctuate by year. March 29 was Palm Sunday for 2015.

Ash Wednesday Lenten Almsgiving Service Project Activities

When I homeschooled our children, our Catholic Lenten lesson plans centered on prayer, fasting and almsgiving, in solidarity with the poor and imitation of our Lord Jesus. A favorite Lenten service project was to help with church missions for our twin parish in Haiti. Here's a Lenten almsgiving service project. 

Make personal care kits and school supplies kits for those in need. Fill gallon size zippered plastic bags with hygiene products. Discuss needs. Do they require certain hair care products or weather-related items (sunscreen, hand warmers)? If they lack water, how will that affect the products you send? What products are most necessary and useful? What items will break or spill? What might not get through customs? What items will expire (medicine)? Then, buy these basic supplies: bar of soap, washcloth (items can be wrapped in this for travel), brush, comb, tissues, socks, hair bands, lip balm, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, small towel, bandages. 

Make school kits: buy pencils, pencil sharpener, paper, notepads, notebooks, scissors, tape, glue stick, solar calculator, colored pencils, crayons, ruler, protractor, markers, folder. Package items in inexpensive backpack. Teach time and money math. Have students make lists, plan shopping, organize time, read maps, plan routes and coordinate trips. 

Teach students to compare prices, read ads, do the math on bulk purchases, figure sales and percentage discounts, calculate tax, use coupons and budget. Make several kits. Teach story problems with multiplication, division, money, fractions. Ask questions like "if one toothbrush costs $.79, how many do 6 cost?" 

Teach ecology, recycling and environmental science. Have children remove packaging: boxes, plastic wrapping, inserts before bagging items. Sort and recycle. Explain that extra packaging cost more. Wrap items in reusable things: washcloth, bandanna, socks, towel, to prevent breakage. 

Students learn social studies, geography, history and earth science. As you assemble kits, discuss countries where the kits will be sent. Locate on the globe. Explore the country's resources, agriculture, climate, terrain, history. Consider factors leading to poverty: water sources, weather, drought, sanitation, war, governmental policies, military coups. Discuss what the needs are and why. Teach empathy, by helping children understand how much they have compared to many around the world. Now celebrate. Explore customs, foods, religion, traditions, mores. Sample regional foods. Listen to local music. Make native crafts