Friday, January 26, 2024

Lent & Easter Resources for Families


If Easter is truly the most important holiday of the year for Christians, then preparing our hearts to celebrate it matters. Gearing up for Advent seems easier than getting ready for Lent. More resources exist and, in America, a good chunk of people celebrate this special season. 

But Lent is a chance to reflect on what Jesus did that forever changed the trajectory of our eternity. We can communicate this truth without the entrapments of consumerism in simple ways in our families. 

Lent starts on February 14, 2024. Let's carve out a few moments to point our families toward the immense worth of Christ this spring. Here are some resources to prepare our families' hearts for Easter:

PRESCHOOL

The Easter Fix (Ages 2–4)

This book explains why Jesus dying and rose again matters.

Jesus Rose For Me: The True Story of Easter (Ages 2–5)

This book unpacks the importance of Jesus' death and resurrection in kid-friendly ways.

The Story of Easter (Ages 3–5)

Preschoolers walk through Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the death of Jesus, and His resurrection and contains beautiful illustrations.

The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross Storybook (Ages 2–6)

This remains one of my favorite books to teach preschoolers about Easter. I used this when I was a Children's Ministry Leader and appreciate how kid-friendly, yet biblically solid the story is. Such a fresh and creative way to engage preschoolers with the Bible.

ELEMENTARY

The King of Easter: Jesus Searches For All God's Children (Ages 4–8)

This award-winning book is a part of a series, but unpacks the meaning of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection and emphasizes how Jesus came for all people.

The Easter Storybook (David C. Cook) (Ages 4–10)

This storybook contains 40 Bible stories from Jesus as a boy in the temple until his resurrection. Each Bible story includes a Bible passage and family discussion question.

The Easter Story (Ages 5–11)

This book focuses on telling the Easter story through John 3:16.

Amon's Adventure: A Family Story for Easter (Ages 5–10)

This chapter book contains family devotion reflections and ideas to make Lent impactful for your entire family. Through story, dive deeper into understanding the importance of Jesus' resurrection.

The Jesus Tree: 48 Ornaments for Lent (Ages 3–7)

This resource contains short daily devotions, Scripture, a discussion idea, prayer, and a simple coloring activity for kids. When I used this with my own kids, I made two copies of the "ornaments" so my two kids could each color one and then we taped it to the wall. But you can also hang the paper ornaments on a small tree. My kids loved this (they were in preschool and kindergarten at the time).

FAMILY DEVOTIONS

Easter Around the World (free digital download)

Use this free resource from Wycliffe Kids for the five weeks leading up to Easter. Each week contains fun facts about a different part of the world (Pacific, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas), an activity, and Scripture reading with questions. This is a simple, yet globally-minded way to prepare your families hearts for Easter. 

Darkest Night Brightest Day: A Family Devotional for the Easter Season

This Christian Book Awards 2023 Finalist for Young People’s Literature contains Bible stories from Palm Sunday through Jesus' ascension along with family discussion questions. 

The Wonder of Easter: An Easter Journey for the Whole Family

This flexible family devotion contains 34 days of content and each day can be done in 10 minutes. It includes different questions for each age group, ranging preschoolers to adults! When I used this with my family, I appreciated how I could scale it up or down based on our time and interest on a given day. You can even miss days without guilt. 

A Jesus Easter: Explore God's Amazing Rescue Plan

This 30-day family devotion walks readers from Genesis through Jesus' resurrection. It includes a daily Bible passage, discussion questions, teaching, and a prayer. Application questions are suitable for younger and older kids and families have space to journal about that day's lesson.


No matter the route you choose, may this be a season to marvel at Jesus and His great love to make a way back to God for us.