The Stations of the Cross are a beautiful Catholic tradition to partake in during Lent, and, especially, Holy Week. This devotion is also an amazing one to involve small children in! My Stations of the Cross Printable activities sets and mini Stations of the Cross Booklets will be perfect for this endeavor.
In addition, you can receive a plenary indulgence by “making a pious Way of the Cross” on Good Friday. Find info on the different indulgences available during Good Friday here.
How do you explain stations of the cross to children?
Explaining and teaching the Passion of Jesus Christ to children can be tricky and even difficult. I have found it best to always explain difficult topics truthfully and accurately, but also in an age appropriate manner.
In other words, we should not sugar coat or warp topics just because they are upsetting or difficult. Surprisingly, children accept truth more easily than you would think and they appreciate and value being told the truth.
Praying the Stations of the Cross is actually a wonderful devotion for children to participate in. They will recognize and know the basic prayers (the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be), they will enjoy moving from station to station, and they will love singing and learning each verse of the Stabat Mater.
Stations of the Cross Activities for Children
First, I suggest completing some or all of the activities suggested in this article at home to allow plenty of time for discussion and questions. There are many options for Stations of the Cross printable activities which means you can instantly download them and print them at a moment’s notice!
Choose a Stations of the Cross Devotional Guide and Pray with your Children!
Next, choose a favorite Stations of the Cross devotion (like this one) and pray the Stations of the Cross as a family at home or during a time when your church is open to the public for prayer. Every parish has a set of stations set up along the perimeter of the sanctuary. Some even have a set of stations erected outside.
Pray the Stations of the Cross with Others
Finally, find out when your parish leads Stations of the Cross and attend this with your children. Or, get together with other families to pray the stations together!
How do you teach children the stations of the cross?
It is helpful to prepare children for praying the Stations of the Cross before you participate in them with your family or a group.
An amazing activity for kids is to make Stations of the Cross Eggs. Each egg has a symbol that corresponds with a station. You can make them with your children and then discuss each one with your children at home.
This allows for plenty of time for discussion and questions.
You can also prepare them with some beautiful coloring pages to meditate on the Stations.
Stations of the Cross printable activities: Stations of the Cross Ordering Activity
You can teach even your littlest Catholics about the Stations of the Cross using activities to introduce them to the order.
Little kids love this because it’s a story! The most beautiful story with the BEST ending!
I have created 30 pages of Stations of The Cross printable activities for your little one to complete over and over again by laminating them, adding some velcro, and creating a book. There are 17 activities for learning the order of the Stations of the Cross.
This activity book will allow you to pray and play with your child. The will learn all of the Stations of the Cross in a fun and interactive way. They will also learn to identify the numbers to 14, count to 14, identify the Roman numerals, practice pre-writing skills, and practice writing the numbers and Roman numerals.
This is great for Lent, but could be used at any time throughout the year to teach children about Christ’s Passion.
The activities include:
- Picture matching for each station
- Number matching for each station
- Roman numeral matching for each station
- Ordinal Number (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc) matching
- Match the Station of the Cross with the picture
- 9 Pre-writing activities
- Copywork for numbers 1-14
- Copywork for Roman numerals 1-4
To use this activity book and make it reusable:
- Obtain a 1/2 inch binder with a clear pocket cover.
- Print the title page and write the child’s name on it. Place the page in the clear cover.
- Print the pages of this book and laminate them. Cut the pages that direct you to cut them.
- Use velcro dots to assemble the matching pages so that your child can do them over and over again!
- You can also have your child use dry erase markers on the handwriting pages over and over again.
- Place all of the pages in the binder and enjoy!
Stations of the Cross printable activities: Stations of the Cross Booklet Download
Usually, when adults pray the Stations of the Cross, they use a booklet to help them meditate on each station.
I created a Stations of the Cross booklet download that pre-readers can bring with them to pray! They will love copying the “big people” with their own little booklet.
This booklet would also be enjoyable for elementary age children.
The mini booklets or cards can be given to toddlers and children as you pray your favorite version of the Way of the Cross. The cards will allow children to follow along as you pray the stations with them. The cards and booklet can also be used to discuss Christ’s Passion and discuss what each station means.
These are great for Lent and Holy Week, especially Good Friday!
The download includes:
- Mini book of pictures of each station with labels for each station
- 3 Different option for covers for your booklet or cards
- Cards with the following call and response commonly used when praying the stations: “We adore you, O Christ, and we praise You. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.”
- The entire 15 verses of the Stabat Mater in English and Latin.
To assemble your booklet:
- Print pgs. 3-12 of the download front and back.
- Print the English or Latin version of the Stabat Mater, and add them to your book or create a separate Stabat Mater book.
- Staple the side of the book or punch a hole in the top left corner and keep them on a binder ring.
Holy Week Activities with Children
For more Holy Week activities with children, be sure to visit this post and this one on Maundy Thursday.
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