Holy Week at Our House

Since we can arrange our school how we like, I decided to have half a week of school during Holy Week and the other half this week.  Somewhat of a spring break for us.  So on Holy Thursday and Good Friday we did not have any formal school, which was nice.  We could focus on the second half of Holy Week!  I thought I would write down what we did so I could be one step ahead next year. 

Holy Thursday:  I read to the kids while they colored in some neat Stations of the Cross coloring books, which I got from The Catholic Company.  They are produced by Pauline Books and Media.  The kids all loved coloring in these books, even the boys.  I read the story of the Passover from the Old Testament, then the story of The Last Supper from the New Testament, both from our children's Bible.  Then I read The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith, by Josephine Nobisso, which is a great book.  I also finished reading  Celebrating Lent (St. Joseph Picture Book), by Jude Winkler.  We also listened to a Gregorian Chant For Kids CD.  Dan took Catherine, Dominic, and Anne to the Holy Thursday Mass in the evening.  They did well, but we were glad we kept Joseph and Anthony at home as Dan and the kids did not get home until just before 9:00. 

Good Friday:  The kids again colored in their Stations of the Cross books, while I read to them from the children's Bible, going from the Agony in the Garden through the Crucifixion.  We listened to "At The Cross Her Station Keeping" from the Catholic Marian Classics Vol. VI CD, which is a nice CD made by Richard Proulx and the Cathedral Singers.  Dan came home early and we all went to the living stations of the cross done by the youth group at our parish.  Nicely done and the kids liked it.  I took the older three kids to the Good Friday service.  They were anxious to kiss the cross and they did well, although Dominic fell asleep during the homily.  :)  After the kids went to bed, Dan and I watched The Passion of the Christ (Widescreen Edition), which is difficult to watch at times, but oh, so good.  It will be more than a few years before the kids can watch that!

Holy Saturday:  This year my birthday fell on Holy Saturday, so we had a birthday party at lunchtime. 

In the afternoon, we colored Easter eggs (pictures still to come) and talked about Jesus in the tomb, and anticipated the Resurrection.  We did not take any of the kids to the Easter Vigil, as it did not even start until 8:00.  Sometime it will be nice to take them to that, but not any time soon!  I also wanted to make Resurrection Cookies, but I'll file that one away for another year. 



Yet to come:  Our celebration of Easter!