How to Celebrate Lent in Your Homeschool

If you don’t come from a liturgical faith background, the concept of Lent may be new to you. However, you might be surprised by how much your family grows in spiritual awareness when you set aside the weeks leading up to Easter for prayer and thoughtful reflection in your homeschool.

5 Simple Ways to Celebrate Lent in Your Homeschool

What is Lent? When Does It Start and End?

Lent is the season of spiritual preparation and reflection leading up to Easter. The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and ends the day before Easter.

Lent lasts 40 days, deliberately mirroring the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry (Matthew 4:1-11). 40 is also a significant number when it comes to fasting and hearing from God, as we see in other instances in scripture:

The Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness before reaching the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 8:2-4).
Moses fasted 40 days and nights while in the presence of God, receiving the 10 Commandments (Exodus 24:18).
Moses also spent 40 years as a shepherd before God called him to free his people from Egypt (Acts 7:30).
Elijah walked 40 days and nights to Mount Horeb to speak with God (1 Kings 19).
David reigned as king for 40 years (2 Samuel 5:4).
David defeated Goliath after he had taunted the Israelites for 40 days (1 Samuel 17:16-40).

Jesus’ trial in the desert intentionally echoes these instances, and the forty-day length of Lent honors the biblical history associated with the number 40. Just like Jesus and other spiritual leaders, we can take this time to pray, fast, give, and prepare our hearts for what’s coming—Easter.

Lent is centered on self-examination and repentance, and during the season, we are invited to take time to reflect on how we can better align our lives with God and refocus where needed.

You can help your child to grow spiritually and develop their relationship with God during Lent by prioritizing:

Education: Do your children know the purpose and meaning of Lent? If not, consider reading through Matthew 4:1-11, Matthew 6:16-18, Joel 2:12-14, and other scriptures about Jesus’ ministry, Easter, Lent, and the importance of fasting and praying. If you’ve already discussed the meaning of Lent, you might now explore its origins, common Lent traditions, and more.
Family time: While people often associate Lent with abstaining from meat or other foods, this season can also be a great time to connect as a family. Develop a routine that allows your family to read scripture, discuss your fast, pray, and/or connect.
Conversation: In celebrating Lent, you can talk through what it means to fast, the importance of Easter and Jesus’s sacrifice, how Lent invites us to draw closer to God, and other essential aspects of the season.

Below, we'll explore specific activities, devotionals, and traditions you can incorporate into your homeschool to make Lent a meaningful and transformative season for your family. An easy way to engage with the Lenten season is to check out our Lenten Unit Studies: Amon’s Adventure and Make Room. Each study includes lent recipes, crafts, devotionals, and more materials that help your family prepare your hearts for Easter.

1. Pray

Set aside extra time for prayer. If you are accustomed to doing a morning devotional time, perhaps add another time of prayer at night. Or maybe keep a prayer list, praying for a certain list of people each day. You can reach out to the friends, family, and neighbors that you are praying for and ask for specific ways to remember them in prayer.

2. Fast Together

Fasting is a common way people participate in Lent. However, many parents wonder whether children should fast.

While adults might abstain from meals or practice more rigorous forms of fasting, children can participate in age-appropriate ways that still honor the spirit of the Lenten season. The purpose of fasting isn't deprivation for its own sake but creating space in our lives to draw closer to God. When we temporarily set aside something we enjoy or depend on, we're reminded of our ultimate dependence on our Heavenly Father.

Fasting serves multiple spiritual purposes that even children can begin to understand:

Creating space for God: When we give up something that normally occupies our time or attention, we can redirect that energy toward prayer and scripture.
Strengthening faith and discipline: Practicing self-denial, even in small ways, builds spiritual muscles that serve us throughout our faith journey.
Preparing for new seasons: Just as Jesus fasted for 40 days before beginning His ministry, Lent helps prepare our hearts for Easter and the missions God has for us.
Standing in solidarity with Christ: Through small sacrifices, we gain a tiny glimpse into Christ's ultimate sacrifice.
Recognizing God as our provider: When we feel the absence of something we've given up, it becomes an invitation to pray and lean on God's provision.

When considering fasting with your children, remember you can lead by example and invite rather than require them to join you. Share what you're giving up for Lent and why it matters to you. Then, listen to their thoughts, as children can have surprising spiritual insight about what might be meaningful for them to set aside.

Fasting for Lent: Ideas for Children

If you are looking for ideas on things to give up for Lent for your children, consider the following child-friendly suggestions:

Commit to letting go of a favorite snack or dessert for the duration of Lent.
Have a dedicated quiet time; whether your child takes one minute, fifteen minutes, or thirty minutes (depending on their age), agree to set aside time to pray and reflect in silence.
Create a desert space. Jesus and many others spent their 40-day trials and fasts away from disruptions—in the desert; remove clutter, decorations, and other distractions from a specific area and make that your desert. Spend time praying or reading scripture in this space each day.
Fast from something digital. Talk about decreasing their daily screen time or giving up time on social media or from playing Xbox.

How to Decide What to Give Up for Lent

What you give up is between you and the Lord, but here are a few things to consider:

Something reasonable but not easy.
Something that you notice or miss.
Something that has a stronghold in your life.

Ask yourself (or your child) the following questions to help determine what you may let go of during Lent:

Am I giving up something that is actually meaningful to me? Is this a sacrifice?
What distracts me from focusing on God?
Where do you need more balance?
What activities take up the most of your time?
In what area of life, do I need God’s help?

3. Read God's Word

You can find daily scripture reading assignments with reflection questions in Sonlight's Lenten Unit Study. Build time for Bible reading and meditating into each day leading up to Lent, and notice how it speaks to your heart and changes attitudes in your home!

4. Practice Generosity

The Lenten practice of almsgiving refers to giving something away. You can give away money, but you can also give away time. There are many ways to give. Consider starting a giving jar. Children can put a coin in the jar for every act of giving they do in the family, such as letting a sibling go first or taking on an extra chore. At the end of Lent, donate the giving jar to a favorite charity.

You can also use our Cover the World with Love activity guide. We offer 28 ways you can commit to being kind to others in your community and at home, as well as devotional content related to each act of service.

5. Surround Yourself with Music

Enter more fully into the season by filling your home with music appropriate for the season of Lent. Here are a few songs and hymns:

6. Incorporate Lenten Books into Your Homeschool

Sonlighters love to learn and love to read; what better way to engage with the Lenten season than to incorporate literature that explores the themes of sacrifice, redemption, and spiritual growth into your homeschool curriculum?

Reading age-appropriate books about Lent, from picture books for younger children to more theological works for teens, creates natural opportunities for meaningful discussions about faith. Each Lenten Unit Study includes a fun and engaging Reader that your family is sure to love.

7. Explore Lent Recipes & Traditions

Finally, exploring traditional Lenten recipes and customs from around the world—like pretzels symbolizing arms crossed in prayer, hot cross buns, or cabbage soup—offers a multisensory approach to learning that connects faith with everyday life and helps children understand how Christians across different cultures and time periods have observed this sacred season.

However you decide to celebrate Lent with your family, remember to keep Jesus's sacrifice and resurrection at the heart of every activity. While fasting and spiritual disciplines are valuable, they serve to draw us closer to Christ and help us better understand the profound gift of Easter. The purpose isn't merely to "give something up" but to create space in our hearts and lives to focus more intently on our relationship with God.

Don’t forget to give yourself grace when things don't go according to plan. Make plans, do something, and celebrate what goes well, while releasing what doesn’t. Small, meaningful moments will create a home culture focused on Jesus.

Enjoy a Cohesive Experience with a Sonlight Lenten Unit Study

Each study includes 48 days of daily schedules and notes, a book (or two!), recipes for family baking, craft materials, a Lenten music playlist, and more!

SEE THE UNIT STUDY KIT