I once taught at a school where the students were predominately Catholic. On Ash Wednesday, the majority of the students came to school with a dusty black mark on their forehead. However, did they know the significance of the mark?
Ash Wednesday is the religious holiday that denotes the start of Lent. According to Catholic.org, “it is a season of penance, reflection and fasting” to prepare for Easter. Thus, the ashes are used as a symbolic way to mark the repentance and mourning. It is important that kids understand the definition of both Ash Wednesday and Lent.
I believe that children should be taught about a multitude of religious history and tradition so that they can better understand each other. Most public schools adhere to the separation of church and state so teachers are prohibited to instigate worship on religious holiday. It is, however, permitted to inform students of a certain holiday as long as other holidays are taught too. On the other hand, if you are teaching your children about Ash Wednesday, it is easier to use resources such as the bible to understand the holiday. Thus, here are resources to inform children about Ash Wednesday from both informational and religious standpoints.
On amazon.com, I found a good activity book, by Anne E. Kitch called What we do in Lent: A child’s Activity book. The book is recommended for ages four to seven. There are dot to dots, fill in the blank and crossword activities. All in all, there are over forty activities in this book that costs $8.00. Another activity book is Every Day of Lent and Easter that is $3.99 on liguori.com. It is recommended for primary grade children.
Additional printable resources for Ash Wednesday include coloring pages from catholicmom.com and coloringbookfun.com. Catholicmom.com also has a page devoted to Ash Wednesday information and lesson plans.
In order to help children understand words like sacrifice, repentance, and fasting, a picture dictionary is always helpful. Have kids use a dictionary to look up words, write a sentence using the word, and then draw a picture to illustrate the sentence. In this instance, it would also be a good idea to find a bible verse that uses the word.
If you are teaching from a religious standpoint, then turn to the Bible for more guidance. Although Ash Wednesday is not significant in all Christian denominations, I think it is important for all Christian parents to focus on some of the concepts of Ash Wednesday including reflection and prayer. I personally have never “celebrated” Ash Wednesday or Lent but have always been interested in the day.
According to Mary Fairchild’s article, “What do Christians Celebrate on Ash Wednesday,” the practice of repentance and mourning in ashes is found in 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel 9:3; and Matthew 11:21. These are some good verses to examine when thinking about Ash Wednesday.
The most important questions to ask children on Ash Wednesday is “why do we observe this day” and if your religion does not mark the date then, “why is this so?” For me, the most important aspect of Ash Wednesday is that it leads up to Easter, Jesus giving himself for our sins and rising up to become our savior.
Sources:
Ash Wednesday Catholic.org
Catholicmom.com
Mary Fairchild What do Christians Celebrate on Ash Wednesday?
Anne E. Kitch What we do in Lent: A child’s Activity book
Every Day of Lent and Easter
