Before and After Easter: Activities and Ideas for Lent to Pentecost (utgåvan 1993)

Before and After Easter: Activities and Ideas – Lent to Pentecost by Debbie Trafton O’Neal. Library sectionj 9 A: Juvenile (gr. K-5), Religion and Values. Published by the ELCA’s Augsburg Fortress, this book offers lots of Lenten activities for elementary to middle school level youngsters, from Shrove Tuesday through Pentecost. The Lenten season is first explained. The word “lent” comes from the same root as “lengthen” and means that season of the year in which days lengthen and spring arrives. This time is then connected with Christ’s Passion, death, resurrection and ascension. Each activity begins with a bible verse, a story and then an activity in art, music, or cooking, a household activity such as an abundance inventory or cleaning out a closet, or an activity in the neighborhood – going to visit a shut-in, or a nature activity. Each activity has a good religious tie-in, a service to others component, and/or a living greener with greater simplicity message.
O’Neal has written several such activity books for kids with liturgical season themes. They are wonderful for Sunday School teachers and parents to provide children with meaningful activities that integrate daily life with religious faith. As an art educator, I also like that the art materials are respected and properly used. In a world where art activities for kids often produce the same mass result for each child, I like that patterns are not used, and that each child’s creativity is drawn upon. This allows a child to create art that is a product of his own feelings and brain – a child doesn’t merely color in a mass-produced picture or paste together precut shapes. Each child creates something that is exclusively her own individual expression, while learning about Lent, Easter and Pentecost, and in addition, creating something beautiful or useful, serving as God’s hands and feet, and giving to those with less. Win-win-win all around! I got this book on paperbackswap.com. It’s been on my list at least a year. ( )