The season of Lent is a season of love. Jesus performed selfless acts of love throughout his ministry by healing, teaching, and giving of himself to the needy. His ultimate act of love was his death on the cross. He opened the gates of Heaven through this one noble deed so that we might have the opportunity to be happy with him for eternity.
One good way to show appreciation for Jesus’ sacrifice is through deeds of love and charity. Your children can do this by performing one little act of love each day of the Lenten season.
What follows is a list of some simple acts of love your children can do for each of the 40 days of Lent (Sundays excluded). They should begin tomorrow (Ash Wednesday) and go through the Saturday before Easter. You’ll find a printable of this list at the end of this post. Feel free to make as many copies of this as you need for your homeschool, co-op, or classroom.
By the way, one of the activities on this list is to say the St. Patrick’s Breastplate prayer. There are free copywork pages of this prayer available here.
40 Acts of Lenten Love for Children
Day 1: Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you this Lenten season towards loving other people as Jesus loves you.
Day 2: Offer your work to Jesus today.
Day 3: Say a prayer for the needs of the poor.
Day 4: Sing a song of love to Jesus. You can make one up or choose one that you know like a hymn.
Sunday: Day of rest and prayer.
Day 5: Animals are part of God’s gift of creation. Do a kind deed to an animal or say a prayer for animals.
Day 6: Do a chore for someone else in your family as an act of kindness.
Day 7: Using polite words such as “please,” “thank you,” “sir,” and “ma’am” is an act of love and respect. Try to make a special effort to use these words and other polite words today.
Day 8: Pray for other children in the world that they may come to know and love God.
Day 9: Thank God for the food you have because He is the provider of all.
Day 10: Read or tell a story to someone.
Sunday: Day of rest and prayer.
Day 11: Say the St. Patrick’s Breastplate prayer today.
Day 12: Make a special effort to do your very best in all you do today because that is pleasing to God.
Day 13: Make a thank you card for someone in your family. You can thank this person for something he or she has done or for just being a good person.
Day 14: Find a way to praise God today through song, writing, art, or prayer.
Day 15: Draw a picture just for Jesus.
Day 16: Find some way to show mercy to another person, perhaps by forgiving or helping that person.
Sunday: Day of rest and prayer.
Day 17: Give someone a compliment today.
Day 18: Obedience to your parents is an act of love. Spend the entire day doing what your parents ask without questioning or arguing.
Day 19: Help someone learn something new.
Day 20: Ask God to help you learn all that He wants you to today.
Day 21: Tell your family that you love them today either out loud or in writing.
Day 22: Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit. Try to be joyful all day today and spread your joy to others.
Sunday: Day of rest and prayer.
Day 23: Pray for world peace.
Day 24: Do a secret act of kindness today.
Day 25: Say encouraging words to someone.
Day 26: Hug someone (or several people) today to show your love for them.
Day 27: Make a get well card for someone you know that is sick. Or make one and deliver it to a hospital.
Day 28: An apology is an act of love. If you have hurt someone, say, “I’m sorry” to that person. Otherwise, apologize to God for anything you have done to offend Him.
Sunday: Day of rest and prayer.
Day 29: Play a game or do something else fun with a sibling today with the intent to bless that person.
Day 30: Listening to others is an act of love. Try to really listen with your whole mind and heart to everyone you speak to today.
Day 31: Put together a bag of food to deliver to a needy person or to the food shelf.
Day 32: Say a prayer for the sick that they may be healed by God.
Day 33: Every person on this Earth is a gift from God. Do you look for the good in everyone you meet? Make a point of finding something (or several things) good in everyone you see today.
Day 34: Clean some part of the house for your mother today.
Sunday: Day of rest and prayer.
Day 35: Laughter is a gift from God. Try to make someone laugh today.
Day 36: Forgiveness is an act of love. Think of someone that you’ve been angry with and forgive him or her in your heart.
Day 37: Pray for the souls of those who have passed away.
Day 38: Find some way to be of service to another person.
Day 39: Make a thank you card to Jesus for dying on the cross for you.
Day 40: Go through your things and find something to donate to the poor.
Happy Easter! Rejoice in the love of Christ.
As promised, here is the free printable of this Lenten activity.
40 Acts of Lenten Love for Children
I hope this activity helps bring your children closer to Christ this Lenten season. Feel free to share this with others so that we can spread acts of love around the world.
Tracy Bua Smith says
I loved this idea and the 40 Acts of Love are so meaningful! Thank you for sharing! I used these great Acts of Lenten love with a paper countdown chain I made and linked back to you! My post about is here: http://asliceofsmithlife.blogspot.com/2014/03/lenten-love-links.html
Have a blessed Lent!
Tracy @ A Slice of Smith Life
Susan Brown says
I LOVE the paper chain you made! I pinned it to one of my boards. And thank you so much for linking back to my site. I really appreciate it. May you also have a blessed Lent and Easter too!