Holy Week Activities

Following are suggested activities to help make journeying through Holy Week with children more focused and holy:

Lazarus Saturday activities:

Divide your family into two teams and have a Lazarus Race as described on p. 9 of http://www.phyllisonest.com/.

Practice folding palm crosses like this: http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/Palm-Crosses.pdf.

Palm Sunday activities:

Palm Sunday word search: http://www.sundayschoolzone.com/activities/phj05-triumphal-entry-hidden-message-word-search.pdf.

Lesson 4 (of this first grade level printable book) is on Palm Sunday: http://www.goarch.org/archdiocese/departments/religioused/folder.2012-03-22.9458973042/unit-7.pdf.

Read the Palm Sunday story, written in easy-to-understand language, here: http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/131.pdf.

Palm Sunday and Holy Week printable guide for kids: http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/125.pdf.

(Also, find Bridegroom Services info for parents here: http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/42.pdf.)

Holy Week activities:

Find brief descriptions of the Holy Week services, written in a way that children can understand, here: http://www.antiochian.org/node/25635.

Find links to articles on the Holy Week services (and more) that can help you better understand and experience the week here: http://www.antiochian.org/lent/holy-week.

Find practical, hands-on tips for helping children to better experience Holy Week here: http://orthodoxeducation.blogspot.com/2010/03/holy-week-for-kids.html?m=1 and here: http://www.orthodoxmom.com/2011/04/18/holy-week-activities-for-kids/.

Find a fantastic selection of lesson plans, discussion ideas, and activity suggestions for helping children “Journey to Pascha” here: http://dce.oca.org/focus/pascha/. The lessons are leveled by age group, so be sure to check out each lesson for the ages of your children! (There are also many printable pdfs including a “Guide to Holy Week” that children can take with them or read, prior to each service.)

Together answer questions related to the Holy Week icons that are found at: http://orthodoxeducation.blogspot.com/2009/03/holy-week-scrapbook.html.

Make a mural for the events of Holy Week as suggested here: http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/1832.pdf.

Find the Bridegroom Matins “Teaching Picture,” along with its description for use with children, at http://www.antiochian.org/teaching-pictures-holy-week-and-pascha.
Read about the Bridegroom Matins services here: file:///home/chronos/u-a7946be60baa093c55717211fa16f6ff84c0651b/Downloads/42.pdf.

More Holy Week activities:

Watch a 5-minute story, animated with Legos, from the Last Supper through the resurrection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M8Yesnt1V8&feature=youtu.be.

See the 25-minute animated story of Holy Week through the resurrection from The Beginner’s Bible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PSgoPdKQFQ.

Find printable coloring pages for Holy Week here: http://meaburrelareligion.blogspot.com/2012/03/colorear-pascua.html.

Play this board game together: http://www.annunciationakron.org/phyllisonest/pdf/Great%20Lent%20Board%20Game%202011%202-19.pdf.

Holy Thursday activities:

Jesus washed His disciples’ feet word search: http://www.sundayschoolzone.com/activities/jesus-washed-the-disciples-feet-word-search.pdf.

Find a printable Holy Thursday notebooking page here: http://www.catholicicing.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Holy-Thursday-Notebooking-Page.pdf.

Find printable “Last Supper” coloring pictures here: http://meaburrelareligion.blogspot.com/2013/10/ultima-cena-colorear.html.

Read the Last Supper story written in easy-to-understand language, at: http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/107.pdf.

Find the Last Supper icon to color at http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/LastSupper1.pdf.

There is a footwashing icon to print and color at http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/175.pdf.

Holy Friday activities:

Find quiet activities for Holy Friday and Saturday here: http://goodbooksforyoungsouls.blogspot.com/2014/04/quiet-activities-for-holy-friday-and.html.

Find the Holy Friday Vespers “Teaching Pictures” photo and description for use with children at http://www.antiochian.org/teaching-pictures-holy-week-and-pascha.

Find printable coloring pages for Holy Friday here: http://meaburrelareligion.blogspot.com/2012/03/historia-ilustrada-para-colorear-muerte.html.

Read the story of the crucifixion written in easy-to-understand language, at: http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/100.pdf.

Print the crown of thorns icon to color, from: http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/54.pdf.

Print a colorable icon of the crucifixion at  http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/53.pdf.

Find a printable, colorable icon of the burial of Christ at http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/43.pdf.