Aim

To know that many Christians prepare themselves for Easter.
To explore / experience self-denial.

Lesson

Begin by informing children that this half-term they are going to be thinking about the Christian festival of Easter.

• What do they know about Easter?
• What events do Christians remember at Easter? Discuss.

Easter is such an important time for Christians that they spend a whole month getting themselves ready for it. This month is called Lent.

Use text and images (if available) to inform children about Lent.

Activity

Following discussion, groups of children could:

• decide upon something to give up in order to support a charity
• read the story of Jesus' forty days in the desert (Luke 4:1-13).
• compare Lent with the month of Ramadan
• talk / write about a time when they denied themselves something
• find out about Shrove Tuesday
• paint crosses.