Though our children will go to nearly every service offered at our church this Great Lent and will fast from meat until Pascha (Easter), we will be doing a few things as a family that will teach them about this Liturgical Season. This year, we were fortunate to get a Magnetic Lenten Calendar from Orthodox Christian Craft Supply. I put it together last week and read through the study guide that accompanies the calendar and it is wonderful! The weekly theme and daily Bible readings are superb and will really keep us on track this Lent. I cannot recommend this product enough!
In addition to the calendar, we will be going on a shopping trip this week to choose non-perishable food that are favorites of our children. Each day, each child will put one of the foods into a basket for the poor. On the Sundays of Great Lent, we will bring the food that we have collected to the church so that we can put it into the church's food collection basket, which will later be donated to a local food pantry.
We will also be reducing time spent watching television. Since Button's birth, we have been very lax in regard to the amount of television that is watched. While our children only view things on dvd or PBS, we have gotten to the point where enough is enough. I truly think that this will be harder on Father John and me, than on the little ones. We have become accustomed to turning the tv on when the children wake up so that they are quiet and Father John can get a few more winks and then again in the late afternoon/early evening so that I can get dinner done and have some quiet time before the hubbub of bedtime. After a few days of us being consistent, things will get easier.
What is your family planning on doing for Great Lent?
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