Lent with little ones can be a challenge. You're trying to maintain your own lenten promises and on top of that figure out activities that help your kids engage with the season too?

Don't throw in the towel just yet!

Here are three easy ways to do Lent with your little kids this year, plus a printable Lent calendar to check off the days as we march towards Easter!

During Lent the church asks us to focus on three pillars: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. 

I have tons of creative and easy ways to bring your kiddos into the mystery of the season including activities, snack suggestions and tons of links to music, videos, and coloring pages in my eBook Lent with Littles. It's your one stop resource for all things Lent this year!

In this post I'll share three super easy ideas to celebrate Lent with your little kids, and I've included a link to my printable Lenten countdown calendar that you can snag for free!

1. Prayer Chain

This activity is a perfect way to let your kids practice praying for others (my girls mostly like to pray for Jesus and Mary :D) plus it's super cool when they are able to see the fruits of their prayers when the people they are praying for receive an answer!

• Ask your family, friends, and community for prayer intentions.
• Cut strips of paper (like when you are making a paper chain).
• Write one intention on each piece of paper.
• Have your children pick one intention to pray for each day.
• Pray a Hail Mary, Our Father or Glory Be for the intention and then add the piece of paper to your prayer chain!

2. Bean Jar

This activity is a really good way to introduce fasting and sacrifice even for your little kids.

• Have an empty jar and a bowl of dried beans.
• When your children do a good deed, or make a small sacrifice invite them to put a dried bean into the jar. We are typically very generous with what "counts" as a bean worthy good deed.
• Try to fill up the jar with as many beans as possible!
• On Easter morning replace the dried beans with Jelly Beans and repeat the activity in reverse where every good deed or sacrifice receives a jelly bean from the jar.

3. Lenten Count Down

Little kids are extremely visual and tactile this means that a countdown is a perfect way help them orient themselves in the season of Lent!

• Print your free Lenten Countdown Calendar.
• Check off each day as it goes by!

Snag your Printable Lenten Calendar here!

What do you do for Lent with your little kids? Drop me a line because I am always looking for more ideas to add to my arsenal!