Activities to celebrate liturgical year with a young child

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Anicette

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Hi,

I am the mother of a daughter under 4 years old that I homeschool.

She loves Chritsmas, to play with the Nativity. She draws lot of Nativity, color religious free picture. When we were in church, she do puzzles too.
For the Temple presentation we made search and draw the temple to replace the Nativity.

She don’t like Easter because of Jesus’s death.

Do you have any ideas of activities to do with a young child to celebrate liturgical year? and particulary Easter during a quarantine time with only what we have at home? (not be able to buy extra material)
What worked for your children?

Thanks you!
 
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Celebrate the ultimate positive…that our Lord was raised from the dead. Maybe coloring pages will help.

For ordinary time go over vestments colors and celebrate saint days.

Keep it light. Have a Mary table in her room and collect different flowers to Honor Her.
 
I began to do that, and that’s true that it easy to do. Someting so visual really speak for itself.

I would have to do it from the TV, maybe with asking the question before, so she search the color during the “mass”!
 
Anicette said:
Hi,

I am the mother of a daughter under 4 years old that I homeschool.

She loves Chritsmas, to play with the Nativity. She draws lot of Nativity, color religious free picture. When we were in church, she do puzzles too.
For the Temple presentation we made search and draw the temple to replace the Nativity.

She don’t like Easter because of Jesus’s death.

Do you have any ideas of activities to do with a young child to celebrate liturgical year? and particulary Easter during a quarantine time with only what we have at home? (not be able to buy extra material)
What worked for your children?

Thanks you!
Click to expand...
Do you have a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program where you are? It is a beautiful catechesis that introduces children as young as 3 years old to the liturgy and scriptures. It is Montessori-based and very hands-on. My children have really been missing it these last few weeks and today they wanted to do a reenactment of The Last Supper, as they have done for years in the program. Even my teenagers, who have long since graduated, eagerly participated.

Obviously, this won’t help you now, but I highly recommend it for the future.
 
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These days are hard…as long as she knows basic prayers and colors positive things of our faith it will grow. My dd has a Mary table and looks forward to putting flowers and praying Hail Mary. Now shes older and still does it and so much more. Because I did not put death or anything else till she was old enough.

I have an older son who explains the color of vestments.
Catholicism is such a positive thing but can be scary to young ones. I have a very realistic
Crucifix. My daughters friends are afraid of it
And my dd prays to Our Lord thru it.

Its steps.
 
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Thanks you Babochka.

I had read an article on the catechesis of the Good Shepherd. It seems interesting. I am not sure to agree to all, but the fact that the child is an actor of the formation, and that it has a practical dynamic with objects etc seems very important. Cathechism can be so boring for children! Sadly I heard from the cathechesis ladies of the parish that one girl (my daughter know her brother) stop after one year because she wasn’t interest…I don’t want something like that happenened to our family!

So, no, we are a small rural parish, we don’t have this catechesis. But maybe I can buy some child liturgical objects and try to test something at home. Nativity is already a good start!

We have an “éveil à la foi” during the mass of the children I time a month for children since 4 years old. I had gone one time with the children, but my daughter refused to repeat the experience. i think it is because she don’t want to be with the others children, as she is not used to be among them.

One thing that I noted one the article: the exemple of the Ratinzger brothers who played mass… before becoming priests…
 
Thanks you @Katie777.

I think my daughter knows more or less Hail Mary and Our father as we recite them often. She prefers Hail Mary, as you, of course!

I realizes that i need more regular in our prayers. I often miss them to lie down the children more quickly. This night, I propose to pay with her, but for the first time she said “no, I don’t need it!” (…!!! 🥴 :cry: :cry:). I hope that she would want them again quickly!

Okay, If I do not speak of “death”, how to speak of Easter?
Anyway, death is too present for her currently with the virus…

I have to find some positive activities, such as coloring book, why not eggs hunting (I don’t have chocolate eggs, but i can find something else such as toys). Can i find some positive drawings with Easter topic? I think of candles maybe, the paschal vigil fire etc, but on Jesus?
 
So your ideas give me some ideas:
  • Thanks to pinterest, thanks you @(name removed by moderator), I think that today I will propose my daughter to make some paper eggs and decorate them.
  • The Easter day I will hide them in the garden for an egg hunting.
  • of course, I will print some drawing to color for mass, as my daughter wants. I use a lot Jean-François Kieffer (https://www.famillechretienne.fr/vi.../les-dessins-de-kieffer-pour-l-annee-b-164418), but I will appreciate any other ideas, and what sort of images?
  • I think of propose her some sort of detective stuff during Tv mass: I will ask her some soimple questions, such as liturgical colors, that she will have to find to keep her interests. Have you got any others ideas?
  • And of course read in her child religious book all the stuff about Easter
 
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My daughter really liked the rose window at a church we attended, to the extend that she thought about it for days and asked me for help drawing it. Fortunately, I was able to find a photo of it online and printed it off and my daughter traced it in sharpie on a ziplock bag and then colored it in with makers and paint. It came out really pretty. Maybe you could find some simple stained glass windows online and do the same?
 
Great idea Allegra! I
study to do the same. Yet, I don’t have any makers, and not sure that child paint will adhere on the bag…

Maybe translucent paper?
 
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My daughter’s markers stayed on pretty well. You have to let it dry before you try to move it.
 
Hi Anicette
I would tell her how Jesus opened the gates of Heaven…and isn’t that a wonderful thing!
I would tell her that Jesus is God and He loves her.
 
Could you dramatise the Easter Gospel in some way? Hide a statue of the Sacred Heart somewhere and re-create to moment Mary sees Jesus risen from the tomb - a total surprise and not where she expected him to be. Maybe the Easter bunny could be with you too. This may also address the death aspect of Good Friday. Even a game of hide and seek could carry some of this message.

Paint eggs - it’s a lovely symbol.

Collect flowers to place before Blessed Mary to show her rejoicing.

Watch something like The Miracle Maker together.

Sing an Easter hymn while lighting candles (especially if you can put some on the dinner table - even tea lights will make it different).
 
Thanks you @AngelusDomini. I note the name of the movie. It is something like that that I searched. But for an older age, as I think it may be too long her now.

I don’t have statues of Mary and Jesus, but maye I can use some drawings…

That’s what I have done this sunday:
  • coloring a set of drawings on Easter topic, both religious and secular with both children.
  • Protestant cult and after TV mass. I have ask some questions before that she had to search, such as color vestments, candle, statues etc. As It was a confined mass in a studio, we were limited. I also made her aware of some details and explained her. With the children we look at a catechitis book during it.
  • eggs hunting with children outside. The eggs were papers that she colored and cut saturday.
  • after the eggs huting, more eggs created.
  • we light up candle to recreate the Paschal ritual. I explain the symbolism of the paschal candle etc.
  • and we read her religious book on Easter and then more. She looks at the beautiful pictures and I ask her to explain and give more explanations.
A good day, and a success!
 
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