Looking for a Lenten craft for Catholic kids? Make a Stations of the Cross Paper Bag Book! (And don’t forget to check out the Catholic Mom Bundle: 24 more activities and resources for your best Lent ever).
The girls share a room, and it’s a mess.
Like, a total disaster area.
Two things are working against us here.
- Like me, they want to keep everything
- Like me, they become easily overwhelmed with finding storage space
Now I know a lot of you are probably shaking your heads.
“Attachment to material things, Ginny! Let them go!”
But then we’d never find little gems like the inspiration for this post:
A paper bag Stations of the Cross book we made when G was about five.
Lenten Craft for Catholic Kids: A Stations of the Cross Paper Bag Book
If you’ve read Catholic Mom Blogs for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve heard of Lacy and Catholic Icing. In March of 2011, Lacy shared a paper bag Rosary craft: she took four paper lunch bags, stapled them together in the middle, and made cardstock pages to fit inside. Each card detailed a mystery of the rosary, and the bag surfaces included the prayers.
I loved Lacy’s idea. It was Lent, and I was trying to teach G about the Stations of the Cross. Lacy’s idea provided the perfect blueprint for our own Stations of the Cross book. I had all the materials on hand so we spent the afternoon putting one together.
G adored her Stations book and decided to keep it even after Easter had passed. She squirreled it away in a box of treasures stashed under her bed, and there it lay, forgotten, until last week – when we cleaned her room. The girls and I looked at each page together, talking about the meaning of each station and why it’s such a powerful devotion. G even remembered how she chose the drawing for each page: “You asked me what symbol we should draw, and I told you. You drew them, and I colored them in.”
If the girls’ room hadn’t been such a disaster area, who knows how long our book would have remained hidden. In any case, I’m glad we found it, and I’m happy to share this little tutorial with you so you can make a Stations of the Cross Paper Bag Book, too!
How to Make a Stations of the Cross Paper Bag Book
Materials:
- Seven lunch-size brown paper bags
- Fourteen pieces of cardstock; cut into 4″x5″ rectangles
- Fourteen pieces of ribbon, cut 4″ long
- A standard size stapler
- Colored pencils, crayons, markers, stickers, etc.
Once you’ve stapled the bags together, you’ll have a book with 14 pockets. Each of these pockets will hold one piece of cardstock.
Set the paper bag book aside. Write the name of one Station at the top of each card, then decorate as desired. Fold the ribbon in half and staple the loose ends to the edge of the page, then insert each card into a pocket. When you’re done, you should have a book that looks something like this:
What I love the most about this book is the hands-on aspect. We’re all about manipulatives when it comes to prayer, and this is a perfect way to share the Stations of the Cross with little hands that like to touch, feel, and tug on things. If you’re a visual person and could use an instructional video, check this out:
In the end, the experience of finding our Stations of the Cross paper bag book brought back some really beautiful memories. It reminded me that even though my life with children is busy, hectic, and totally messy, it’s the chaos of this life that brings me closer to Christ. I’ll take the mess and the muss any day if it means I still have these little people around to sanctify me.
I’ve gotta get into heaven somehow.
Might as well be on the coattails of my kids.
If you’re looking for more Lenten resources to help your family grow, check out this year’s Catholic Mom Bundle. It’s 24 ebooks, printables, courses, activities and more – worth $333 – just for $25. Need a sneak peek?
Resources include:
- 8×10 Lent Digital Prints – SaongJai
- 40 Days of Loving Your Husband – Surprised By Marriage
- Celtic Trinity Knot Embroidery Pattern – Happy Nest Home Goods
- Divine Mercy Novena Journal – Prints of Mercy
- Easter Printables – Books Faith Life
- Family Scripture Spin-to-Read + Family Handbook – Catholic Mom Vibes
- Finding Tidy with the Saints – Sweeping Up Joy
- Jesus Tree Family Lent Devotion – Elizabeth Clare
- Lent 2020 Quote Journal – Lindsay Schlegel
- Lent Activities for Families – Faith and Fabric
- Lent Lapbook and Easter Bingo – Sara J Creations
- Letters of Love: A Lenten Meditation for Differently-Wired Families – Not So Formulaic
- Mentors of Mercy – Arma Dei
- Mission: Family Lent Edition – Heidi Indahl
- Montessori Geography Bundle – Elevator to Heaven
- Mother’s Mindset Course – Catholic Fit Moms
- Mother’s Routine Editable Schedules – Annunciation Designs
- Our Lady of Sorrows Novena Journal – Catholic Mommy Blogs
- Printable Valentine Mega Pack – Catholic All Year
- Romeo and Juliet Unit Study – Homeschooling in Florida
- Stations of the Cross Activity Bundle – The Kennedy Adventures
- Stations of the Cross Memory Game & Lenten Bingo – Catholic Paper Goods
- The Little Way of Prayer and Housekeeping – Lauren Nelson
- Walking Holy Week with Jesus Prayer Journal -To Jesus, Sincerely
It’s awesome, and you can find it all right here.
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Like this post? Looking for more Lenten resources? Read on:
70 Resources for Your Best Lent Ever
Letters of Love: A Lenten Meditation for Catholic Families
The post Lenten Craft for Catholic Kids: A Stations of the Cross Paper Bag Book appeared first on Not So Formulaic.
