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Wendi DeGrandpr
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| Posted: Jan 25 2008 at 12:34pm | IP Logged
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Just wondering what you ladies do in your Lenten planning? I am sitting here with books / file folders full of ideas / recipes / and my list of activities we have done in the past. Honestly I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of the wonderful choices I have right here in front of me. I know we all must do what is best for our individual families, but my question is: do you have traditions you do every year? do you plan a whole new set of activities and meals each year? do you do a little of both?
Part of what I am wondering is if it makes sense to do the same sacrifice activity every year - like the beans in the jar for example. Is it better for littles if you do the same thing every year? Do they gain a better understanding by repetition from year to year? Does that makes sense?????
Thanks in advance -
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God Bless,
Wendi
Mom to four blessings
"We can do no great things - only small things with great love." Blessed Mother Teresa
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isjalu0826
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I am hoping to spend more time praying the Stations with my son. He is 5. Last year, whenever we were in church during Lent, I would carry him around each Station and whisper to him a little of what was happening in each one. He was always very quiet, almost expectant, watching, listening... And then he'd want to do it next time around.
That said, I like doing some of the same things every year (tradition) with a couple of new things thrown in each year...which may become tradition in following years too. You know what I mean?
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teachingmyown
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We keep it pretty simple. A crown of thorns on the table. A "Lenten path" which is just a paper with a path of stones leading to the tomb. They color a stone each day if they have made a sacrifice. We also have a paper chain to count the days. On Fridays we have a procession and pray the Stations which we post around the house.Some years I have made pretzels to have before dinner each night. And we always have the goal of more spiritual reading together. Some years it happens more than others.
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Sarah M
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I heard a good idea at my church play group today- I think we may do it. First you make some bread dough (really pasty dough- so it would be harder when baked), and then shape it in a circle, like a crown of thorns. Then have the kids stick a bunch of toothpicks in it all over (again, like a crown of thorns). Bake it and put it out as a centerpiece (or, if you have a curious toddler like I do, place it somewhere visible but out of reach) Then, when the kids do something loving or kind throughout lent, they get to pick out a toothpick. In this way, they are lessening Christ's suffering by their loving and charitable deeds.
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CathinCoffeland
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We do a blooming crown of thorns for the table and door.
I think im going to do mini versions this year as well for my craft of the week (unless someone beats me to it  )
We have a basket of lent/Easter books we put out one or 2 a week.
That is really all we have done in the past as my dc are just 6,3 and 1 but this year Id like to get some holy week figures made.
Id like to do stations with my dc on fridays or at least an abreviated go through with the pics and some prayers.
My dc love going at the parish (It is the perfect boy prayer -you get to move! ) however The last time i did stations with baby in a sling I pulled both my theigh muscles  and limped for a week.
We observe good friday silence as a family from 12-3. We have special cds we play low during this time and the dc can play a special "church" puzzle or quietly read a bible book depending on age.
Im sure there are other things but i usually forget until the dc say "mom did you forget to..." 
It make sense that as they dc get older traditions will change and grow but we arent there yet.
Im still really figuring out Lent myself as we really didnt observe it as a child except for the Good friday silence.
So what is in that folder of ideas? I need some 
Maggie
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mandamum
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When I was growing up, my mom took us to a different church each Friday to do the stations as a family. One Friday, we would go to the local Abby and do the stations up the hill--very exciting for us! I'd like to do the same thing with my own children this year, and take one Friday to go the the Grotto in Emmitsburg MD and do the outdoor stations up the hill.
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Wendi DeGrandpr
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| Posted: Jan 28 2008 at 11:24am | IP Logged
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Thanks for the insight into your plans. I guess for me it is just going to be about simplicity. We have done Mardis Gras parties followed by crafts with the themes for fasting, alms giving and penance (many taken from Catholic Culture and Lent & Easter in the Domestic Church - or just tracked down using google ). Then we have a large path which really helps the little guys understand the journey as well as how long 40 day actually is...
We make pretzels often on non-fasting days.
Just seems to me that I spend a LOT of time trying to come up with new things to do every year and am at the point where simplicity feels "necessary" so I am thinking maybe less is more this year - if that makes sense.
I am beginning to get a sense of what to do this year - just need to keep praying and asking for His will for our family during this Lenten season.
Thanks again for the ideas and allowing me to ramble.
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Wendi
Mom to four blessings
"We can do no great things - only small things with great love." Blessed Mother Teresa
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mama251ders
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My mother (who is the DRE at our church) does a private Stations with our homeschool playgroup every Lent. It is really great because it is a small group and she takes the time to stop and really talk to them about what is going on. Since she is familiar with all the kids, it is easy for her to gear things just for them. I love that we can do this every year! It also really helps that we can schedule a time when naps and school and meals don't get ignored and we can all be really present. She also does a really great Community Event at Religious Ed. All the classes and grades are involved and they do some really great stuff for the community. Our church also hands out these little booklets put out by the diocese of Saginaw (MI) that has reflections for every day of Lent. It's called the Little Black Book and they have one for several different seasons. You can order them here https://secure.saginaw.org/orderform.php. They are really good resources.
Blessings,
Betsie
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Sarah in SC
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Sarah M wrote:
| I heard a good idea at my church play group today- I think we may do it. First you make some bread dough (really pasty dough- so it would be harder when baked), and then shape it in a circle, like a crown of thorns. Then have the kids stick a bunch of toothpicks in it all over (again, like a crown of thorns). Bake it and put it out as a centerpiece (or, if you have a curious toddler like I do, place it somewhere visible but out of reach) Then, when the kids do something loving or kind throughout lent, they get to pick out a toothpick. In this way, they are lessening Christ's suffering by their loving and charitable deeds. |
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I've done this for years, but instead of the baking (which I found one year made it almost impossible to pull those toothpicks out--we had to break them off--didn't give us the same "effect" "Mommy--they're still in there hurting Jesus' head!" )-- I use a styrofoam ring (like you make a wreath out of) and paint it brown, then stick all the toothpicks in. I've used it as a centerpiece for our table, and they love taking the toothpicks out as they do something that would ease Jesus' pain.
Just thought I'd throw out the "lazy Mom" alternative to flour and aprons and mopping the floor and more flour....
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mandamum
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For the crown of thorns, can also use a grapevine wreath if you have one handy.
For those who were planning to make the thorns flower instead of pulling them out, Target's $1 spot currently has a box of little pastel paper flowers with a hole (looks toothpick-size) in the middle.
--Amanda
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Matilda
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The grapevine crown of thorns looks very realistic especially if you soak the toothpicks overnight in black RIT dye and then let them dry. We have had one on our table during Lent since we were first married. It is one of my favorite Lenten decorations/practices.
We have also always had a countdown calendar made to look like a journey through the desert but last year was the first year that the children earned money for the poor. We had a list of extra chores and they could earn up to .50 cents each per day if they chose to which they could put a purple piggy bank. At the end of Lent we matched how much they had earned and sent it off to a charity of our choosing.
I too felt the pressure to come up with something new, but then I thought... things become a tradition when you do them over and over again. These are some of the things I want to be remembered as "family traditions".
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EmilyC
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Thanks for those crown of thorns ideas! Last year we did the salt dough crown of thorns and we had the same problem with getting the toothpicks out! We finally just gave up even trying and I threw the whole thing out. We'll definitely do the styrofoam wreath idea.
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MarilynW
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I will be posting all our Lenten activities tonight on my blog (below). To start with - there is a great post by Julie at Trinity Acres from last year that I have linked to on my blog - I think I will be using that calendar.
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Barbara R.
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We make a braided salt dough crown of thorns every year. We start it with a whole box of 250 toothpicks for the 8 of us! Yes, we break the toothpicks instead of pulling them out, but nobody seems to mind. I don't bake it. It sits on purple cloth cut to fit over a plate. On Holy Saturday I hot glue silk flowers all over to make an Easter crown, and put a white pillar candle inside.
I used to keep a purple candle inside the crown of thorns over Lent, but now I have silk flower wreaths and candles in liturgical colors all year, so we'll put out our purple wreath/candle, and have the crown separate.
We had a grapevine wreath one year (with dyed toothpicks), and it was pretty but the toothpicks kept slipping out or underneath. The children wanted salt dough again the next year.
We also tie purple ribbon around our religious pictures, statues, and crucifixes. I'll put pictures up on my blogonce we decorate this year.
We've enjoyed the rosary book from http://www.sufferingservant.com, so this year I bought the new stations of the cross book. It has rough watercolor illustrations, prayers, and profiles of saints. I can foresee spending school time delving into one station/saint each day.
Barbara in noVA
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Ruth
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We'll be doing The Stations of the Cross, which I came up with last year. It turned out really nice.
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Ruth
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Mary G
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One thing that we're doing that's different this year (we will also do the Stations of the Cross, (hopefully) daily Mass, no sweets, etc) is that we're going to focus our "religion work" on the Beatitudes -- using them for copywork and memorizing them, explaining what they each mean and what Jesus was trying to tell us, how to incorporate this lifestyle into our home (at least now and then !) and really learning them.
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Sarah M
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Sarah in SC wrote:
Just thought I'd throw out the "lazy Mom" alternative to flour and aprons and mopping the floor and more flour....
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I am so all over this. I'll do anything to get out of flour and aprons and mopping the floor and more flour!
Thanks!
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Michaela
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Matilda wrote:
| last year was the first year that the children earned money for the poor. We had a list of extra chores and they could earn up to .50 cents each per day if they chose to which they could put a purple piggy bank. At the end of Lent we matched how much they had earned and sent it off to a charity of our choosing. |
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Matilda, thank you for sharing this!
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MarilynW
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I blogged about our Lenten activities at Lent in our home
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Matilda
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Here are this year's countdown calendars. The older children like the real pictures on theirs and have started asking questions about them. The littlest guy keeps touching his fuzzy little lamb.
We have the grapevine crown on the dining table and the poor piggy ready to get fat with quarters. Is it wrong for me to say that I really like Lent?
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Charlotte (Matilda)
Mom to four (11, 10, 9 & 5) an even split for now
with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
Waltzing Matilda
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Lenten Activities
