Help your child to see their sacrifices united to Christs with this free Lent Sacrifice Crown from Coastal Village Girl!
I am so excited to share this Lent Sacrifice Crown with you all! Uniting our sufferings to Christ is so important, and so difficult to teach! We know that God takes all of our suffering and when united with Christs, uses it for good. To show this visually I was beyond excited to find this free printable created by the wonderful Catholic home schooling mama, Kimberly, over at Coastal Village Girl.
What is Lent?
Lent is a season of penance and sacrifice in the Church’s Liturgical year. It consists of 40 Days and begins on Ash Wednesday, ending at sundown on Holy Thursday. This time is set aside to focus on prayer, fasting, and alms giving. On her printable, Kimberly places these three pillars of Lent right in the center of the crown! Perfect to remind us what the season is all about and how to “wear our crown of thorns”. You can read more about the history of Lent here!
The Symbolism of the Crown of Thorns to a Crown of Flowers!
Throughout the year anytime we sacrifice for the Lord or for the good of another it is a beautiful thing. Love is sacrifice after all, and we are called to live our lives in love! My favorite part about this project is that it serves as a visual reminder that will stick with us throughout the year.
For 40 days we will watch our dead, dry, painstaking crown become filled, even if slowly, with colorful lively flowers. We can call this to mind each time we make a sacrifice. In Pslam 69:20 we read He looked for comfort, and He found none. In love, let us console the Sacred Heart of Jesus who loves us SO much by uniting our sufferings to His. Our suffering is not in vein. Every thorn can be changed into a soft sweet flower by the grace of God.
“And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.” -Romans 8:29
We can console Jesus, and Mary, as God uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Kimberly’s creation is an awesome way to help little hands learn big truths!
The Lent Sacrifice Crown!
Materials:
- Scissors
- Velcro or tape
- Plastic Bag
- Tape or Hot Glue
- Printed Crown and Flowers (Free and handmade by Kimberly! We did give a small donation because we love to support other Catholic Mom’s and hand made in the USA items!)
- Laminator and Laminating Sheets
Creating Your Coastal Village Girl Sacrifice Crown
Decide how many flowers you will want, and print the correct number of pages. Laminate them!
Once you have your printed materials and supplies cut out all of the flowers. You can cut them with a border or around the edges of each flower.
Place Velcro tabs onto the crown and each flower or use tape as you go to tape them on in a spontaneous pattern!
Kimberly has made this a great and simple DIY, you can be done right here!
We decided to add a small bag to the back of ours to store our flowers.
To do this use a plastic resealable bag and tape or hot glue. Place your adhesive along the sides, bottom and the inside top of the bag.
Now our flowers are neatly stored, and ready to adorn our crown with sacrifices for Jesus!
Ideas for How to Use This Lent Sacrifice Crown
This year we will use this crown daily during Lent, before bedtime. We reflect on the day and think of any sacrifices that were made. If the children can think of a sacrifice they place a flower on the crown. Some sacrifice questions to help get them thinking are:
- Did I say extra prayers today from my heart?
- Have I said no to a food, candy, or toy that I really wanted?
- Was there a time I gave or shared anything to another person even if it meant I would have less?
You can also use this crown as more of an “instant reward” type system. The child can be seen making a sacrifice and then place the flower on the crown right away. This might look like “Oh Philomena! I saw you gave your brother the last cookie when you really didn’t want too! That is a sacrifice! You put his needs before yours! You get to place a flower on Jesus’ Crown of Thorns! This makes God very happy when we love our neighbor as our selves!”
Pray, Fast, Give!
We can also review the crown and point to each word, “Did I pray today? Did I fast today? Did I give today?” If the answer is yes to any of these, a flower replaces a thorn!
Another idea for using this crown is to pair it with a list of specific sacrifices for the child to refer back to all relating to prayer, fasting, and alms giving. If they do anything on the list they get to place a flower on the crown. You can even fill in all 40 days of Lent with a sacrifice for each day. Print a blank calendar page and write some options in! Some specific sacrifices for toddlers could be,
- Pray 1 Hail Mary for my ____________.
- Donate food
- I will not snack after dinner
- Help clean the sink
- Help carry or fold laundry
- Not use a favorite toy today (even better, share it with a sibling or friend!)
- Put away my blocks/toys by my self
- Listen to my parents the first time
- Go right to bed without complaining
The list goes on!
How Will You Prepare for the Resurrection?
Lent is such a special time in the Church as we enter into the Passion to prepare for the Resurrection! We decided to display our Lenten Sacrifice Crown on our Home Altar!
Thank you Kimberly for such a beautiful resource. Make sure to download yours here!
Before Ash Wednesday remember as keepers of the home, we need to prepare our own hearts for Lent and Easter. Read the Scriptures, go to Mass and Confession, and practice prayer, fassting, and almsgiving, so we may be alight to our children and show them the way that is right. w
A fun tradition in our home is to celebrate Shrove Tuesday with Mass, honoring the Holy Face of Jesus, and with a pancake feast for dinner!
As Catholic Mother’s it really is such a joy to pass on this beautiful faith, and bring it alive for our families!
How will you use this Lenten Sacrifice Crown in your Domestic Church!? Let us know in the comments below!
Thank you, and I hope this post brings joy!
Stella Maris, Ora Pro Nobis!