Printable Lenten Calendar for Kids (FREE!)

Observing Lent in our home is a cherished tradition to our family and an important season for us as Catholics. Celebrating the faith with kids in meaningful and engaging ways is a passion of mine, and this printable Lenten calendar is one of the first things I drew to celebrate the liturgical year with my kids! This is by far the most downloaded resource from Catholic Icing, even after 12 years of producing content for Christian children on the internet. Let’s take a look at this free printable Lenten calendar for kids. 

 

Print Your Lenten Calendar For Free Now!

This is my Printable Lenten Calendar for Kids. It’s free for everyone to print! This year, I’m offering it in black and white, in color, and also as a blank page so you can fill in any language! I have also updated the file to include Lenten calendars that readers have submitted in different languages.

printable lenten calendar for kids

2 Options For Downloading:

  1. Become an email subscriber and get the download for free (good for every Lent, not specific to the year 2022) 
  2. Purchase the pack for $2 from my shop (it also has a page with it for 2022)

This download is free on my subscriber bonus page, so all you need to do to gain instant access to this download is sign up as a subscriber to Catholic Icing. When you do, you will begin receiving a weekly liturgical newsletter to provide you with resources for Catholic kids throughout the year. 

When you subscribe, you get access to all of my free subscriber bonuses, including this Lenten Calendar for kids! Instant access… for free! Sign up now using the box below to get instant free access to this Lenten calendar! 

You can see how to access my free subscriber bonuses here

If you prefer not to subscribe for a free copy, you can purchase your Lenten calendar here for just $2

Special Page For 2022!!!

If you get the paid version of this download, the pack includes a special page that is specific to 2022! That allows the calendar to include days like St. Patrick’s Day, the Chair of St. Peter, St. Joseph’s Feast day, and the Annunciation. 

Post continues after this brief information about the Catholic Icing Monthly Membership


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I made this printable Lenten calendar for kids, and we use it every year. It has become a tradition now! It’s a fun visual for kids so they can see the 40 days of lent of lent going by, and Easter approaching. I left room in the squares to write in daily prayers or sacrifices if desired. The important days are brought to special attention with fun visuals for kids that symbolize what’s going on that day, and little fish symbolize days to avoid meat (although children are not required to do this). I also love how it shows kids that Sundays are not included in the 40 days of Lent. 

Lenten Calendar Variations

This Lenten calendar is now also available for Byzantine Rite Catholics! Check out this beautiful new page.

This Lenten calendar for children has been my all-time most popular post on Catholic Icing! It’s been translated into many languages and used by kids all over the world. So far, the following translations are available in my download:

  • Spanish
  • French
  • Portuguese
  • Polish
  • Swedish
  • Dutch
  • German
  • Italian
  • Indonesian
  • Slovak – not in the packet, but you can grab it by clicking on the link

If you would like to translate my Lenten Calendar into another language, that’s great! When you download the file, you’ll find a blank version that you can print, and write in any language. I only ask 2 things:

  1. Please do not remove “Catholic Icing” from the bottom of the page.
  2. You may post your translation on your website as long as you link back to my post about the Lenten calendar. Also, if you scan it and send it back to me, I will add it to this file to share with other as well! I will also add your language and a link to your site in the list. 🙂

Lent Coloring Page

Personalize Your Lenten Calendar: My kids like to color their own calendars each year! This is a great coloring page for the Lenten season and really gets kids involved in a hands on way! We also write in our own plans, sacrifices, feast days, birthdays, etc.
 
 

Days You Can Add To Your Lenten Calendar

Here are some dates you might want to add to your calendar if you don’t have the version from my shop that is specifically for this year. (Lent can start as early at Feb 4, and end as late as April 25, so not all of these dates will fall during every Lent). The printable Lenten calendar is good for every year because I didn’t include any actual dates on the printable version. The calendar pictured above already has some of these things written in, but they aren’t on the printable version.

  • St. Agatha- February 5
  • Our Lady of Lourdes- February 11
  • St. Valentine- February 14
  • Chair of St. Peter the Apostle- Feb 22 (If you write in this day, the liturgical color is white.)
  • St. Patrick- March 17
  • St. Joseph- March 19 (If you write in this day, the liturgical color is white.)
  • Spring Begins (March 19 or 20)
  • Annunciation of the Lord- March 25 (If you write in this day, the liturgical color is white.)
  • St. George- April 23

Again, the version in my shop has these days written into the 2022 version for you!

How To Use Your Printable Lenten Calendar

There are several ways to use your Lenten calendar at home with your kids! Here are just a few ways you can use this printable to count down the days until Easter:
  • Color each day on the calendar as you go
  • Color the entire calendar at the beginning of Lent, hang your calendar up, and use those cheap foil star stickers to mark off the days as you go. This is my favorite way to use this calendar!
  • Mark off each day as you go by drawing an “X” on that day
That’s it! It starts on Ash Wednesday and works its way all the way to Easter Sunday, one square for each day. These are great to pass out in your RE class so the kids can keep track of the Lenten season on their own as well!

More Lenten Resources For Families

And this year I have the new and improved Lenten Planning Pages, including a Lenten calendar for mom!!!
 
You might also enjoy these Lenten Resolution Tracker Pages. These can help encourage your kids to give up something for Lent, then stick to it!
 
 
And don’t miss my Holy Weeks In Handprints download! Kids illustrate the passion story in their handprints each day of Holy Week- this is a great learning tool and keepsake, plus it’s really fun!
 
 
 
You’ll find all of my Lenten resources for kids here

 

Comments

  1. I really enjoyed this! I am printing as we speak. This is a great resource for the kids and a great way to follow Lent. Thanks for sharing.

  2. The Fischer Family says

    Hi Lacey! I am really excited about this! I wanted to tell you I saw Catholic Icing mentioned in Catechist magazine this month. I was so excited and squealed "I read that every day!!!" I hope that brings you more traffic to your wonderful and inspiring site! God bless you and your family!

  3. Jennifer Gregory Miller says

    Just wonderful, Lacy!

  4. I voted! Can we vote more than once?

    Thanks for the link and reminder of what to get ready….lent will come fast!

  5. OK, I should clarify, I voted for YOU!

  6. Xhonane Olivas says

    I just shared your calendar in my post yesterday and I was thinking I wish you had that in Spanish, but now that you shared the one in Italian maybe I should try to translate it myself, if I have time! Congratulations!!

  7. Thanks Lacy! :)Love it

  8. When I try to print this Lenten calendar, it only prints the top portion. No one else here seems to be having that problem…

  9. Thanks, Lacy!!

  10. thank you thank you! I have used this in the past and am happy to see the reminder and print it off again for this year!! I love it!

  11. Awesome, awesome, awesome, I really love the lapbook idea! Thanks for all your inspiration and for making it all so cute!!

  12. Mama Bear, JD says

    Just printed it! I see I am not the only one gearing up for Lent….this is great! Thanks for the lapbook link too!

    I voted for you last week, even though I am really fond of some of the other blogs – but I have to say I get more out of this blog than all the others!

  13. Is it ok to distibute the Lent calendar at my parishes?

  14. Hi Lacey! Thank you for sharing this! I really hope you don't mind if I translate your calendar to spanish. I think it's a masterpiece and my little friends will definitely learn so much from it.
    bobo (blessings and hugs)
    MJ

  15. Lucy–I did the same thing. Make sure you have the whole document up then print.

    Lacey-We have one of these in a picture frame from last year. It will be on our family altar again. I printed some out for the kiddos to color. My daughter was asking about the fish. So it was a great way to introduce her to the practice of eatting fish during Lent. BTW— She says thank you:)

  16. Thank you so much for this! I just printed it out. (I also linked to it on my blog and went and voted for you. 🙂 )

  17. Thanks! using this for our Sunday school..I'm sure they will love it!! And saved us some money, which is always great!!

  18. Thanks! This is awesome!

  19. LOVE this calendar idea! My kids are excited to use it, and I feel that it will help me in my own Lenten journey. Thanks for sharing!

  20. Xhonane Olivas says

    Ready Lacy!!

    Your calendar is now offically translated into Spanish!!

    Here is the link:
    http://familiacatolica-org.blogspot.com/2011/02/calendario-de-cuaresma-de-catholic.html

    blessings!!

  21. Thank you, thank you for great printables! Just what I needed for my 2nd grade class!

  22. It's a really good idea!

  23. I'm sorry, I feel a little slow but you wrote that the calendar is good for this year but aren't St. Patrick day too late and March since we are starting in Lent in March this year. I don't know how to edit it before I print out.

  24. bibliobethica says

    Oh, thank you. I'm so glad I found your Catholic blog!!!! I'm using this starting Wed., March 9. Ryan, you don't need to change the numbers. They represent the 40 days of lent, not the numbers on a calendar. Hope that helps (i.e. #1 will be colored on Wednesday, March 9, 2011).

  25. I'm still confused. Isn't St. Patrick's day day 8 of Lent this year? But the calendar has it at day 29. Can someone help before I print.

  26. Thanks figured it out. I'm a little slow….kids will love this!!! Thanks,

  27. wahoo_mom says

    We used your Lenten calendar for our CCD lesson this evening. Imagine my surprise when my younger son came home with the same thing! Just proves that great minds think alike. Thank you for everything that you do to education us!

  28. Catequese Kids says

    Hi Lacy! I´m wrinting from Brazil and I really LOVE your idea. I will print and use in my catechism classes. Congratulations on your blog! This is the first catholic blog that I have seen in English!
    Thank You.

  29. Layse - BRAZIL says

    Hi Lacy! I´m wrinting from Brazil and a really LOVE this calendary. I will print and use in the cathecism classes in my city. Congratulations on your blog, there are excelent ideas…
    Thank You!!

  30. website design says

    Just wonderful, Lacy!

  31. This is really nice! Do you think you could make an Advent Calendar? The ones that they sell in the stores all have 24 days, and Advent is amywhere between 22 and 28 days long, so these are not true Advent calendars. Just something to think about.

    • I think about this EVERY YEAR! So true… it changes every year. The Lenten calendar would always work, but I’d have to update the advent calendar. We’ll see. 🙂

  32. I cannot wait to ACTUALLY use this this year! I downloaded it and even printed it last year and just never quite got around to it, but this year I am bound and determined to use it with the lapbook idea. 🙂 Keep up the amazing work!

  33. Also, just a quick note: I plan on adding in some of the major saint feast days, both cultural and liturgical. For example, we’re Irish, so St. Patrick’s Day is big, even in Lent and the Feast of St. Joseph is a major Church feast regardless of culture, even in Lent. Just a thought to share 🙂

  34. Michinori Mano says

    I have translated it into Japanese and adapted it for our Sunday School. Thank you so much! (Nagasaka St. Mary’s Church, Yokohama Diocese, Anglican-Episcopal Church in Japan)

  35. Hi Lacy,

    You’re website is great! Could you give me some ideas on how to use the calendar? The one idea that comes to mind is coloring a square for each day. Is this how you’d use it?

  36. Bethany Grover says

    I may be revealing my ignorance here, but aren’t there 40 days betweeen Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday, not Easter Sunday? I mean, shouldn’t Palm Sunday be Day 40 and then Holy Week is 41-46 (or 47 if you number Easter) or something like that?
    Thanks!

    • No, there’s more. Isn’t that interesting? I didn’t know until I designed this calendar actually. The Sundays really don’t “count”.

  37. Oh my GOODNESS! I’m DOUBLY glad I found your site! Totally linking you through my blog if you don’t mind. How fabulous! Your site is such a wonderful resource!!! Blessings to you!

    I can’t wait to utilize this for my class tonight – how lucky to have happened across this just in time for class tonight! The Holy Spirit has been kind to me! Thank you!

  38. I found you through Pinterest and am so excited to use this calendar with my son this year!!! Thank you SO much for sharing this with us!!!

  39. Hi Lacy,

    Thank you for the added suggestion. To my delight, our child’s Catholic kinder teacher actually gave your calendar out to her whole class (though she changed out some of the pics). The idea she gave the kids is the following: They colored the calender except for all the squares. Then, for each day of lent, they get to color a square and think of something they can do for God that day. Examples: obeying your mom and dad right away (we REALLY like that one!), giving up treats, playing a game that your sibling likes to play, etc… I have really loved the way the teacher uses your calendar! 🙂

  40. Nicole Morin Kramer says

    I love your printable Lenten calendar. I am currently doing placement for my bachelor of education, and I have been using it with my grade 4 class. It has been the perfect focus for Lent. Every day for bell work, the students fill out a square on the calendar with a Lenten activity they have performed. It serves as the focal point for Lenten reflection. Thank you!

  41. Sonja Campbell says

    I printed this out to teach my kids more about Lent. They really liked coloring the pictures around the calendar the first day and every day we color in another day for Lent. Since I can’t homeschool them, I get my homeschooling “fix” by doing crafts and activities with them at home after school and on the weekends when I can. Thanks for all of these great Catholic resources. Catholic Icing has helped me so much in teaching my sons about their faith.

  42. Laura Emmerling says

    Hi Lacy!
    Thank you so much for your beautiful Lenten Countdown Calendar! I took your idea and turned it into bulletin board where my first graders can track our Lenten Journeys together. They also keep personal track, using your print out. Thank you so much for all of your great ideas!
    Best-
    Laura

  43. Catholic Famliy Gifts says

    We loved this Calendar! We linked to it in a post to our Facebook page, Facebook.com/CatholicFamilyGifts. Such a great tool for children to get engaged in the Lenten season!

  44. Lisa Maria says

    Hi Lacy

    I followed this link from another blogger (Nicole from Just Like Mary) and I just wanted you to know there’s one more person using your calendar…thank you so very much! It is always nice to meet another Catholic blogger and I look forward to reading more.

    God bless!

  45. Stephie Flentje says

    Thank you for the great idea of the lent calendar. I will try to translate it into German!

    Stephie Flentje

  46. I have used this calendar for 2 years – but I’ve taken it a step further and have each student follow my instructions for coloring. I use it as a tool to explain Lent and ask questions along the way:

    1. Color all the fish GREEN:
    a. What days do fish appear on the calendar?
    b. What does it mean? What does Fast and Abstain mean?

    2. Color all Sunday’s YELLOW:
    a. Why aren’t Sunday’s included in the 40 days of Lent?
    b. Color Palm Sunday yellow, too.

    3. Leave Holy Thursday, Holy Saturday and Easter WHITE:
    a. What color vestments are worn on those days?

    4. Color all the days 2 through 37 PURPLE:
    a. What does the color purple symbolize?

    5. Color the words “Lent” and “40 Days” BLUE:
    a. What is the significance of the number 40?

    6. Color Ash Wednesday BROWN:
    a. What does putting ashes on our foreheads mean?
    b. Why do we fast from meat and abstain from full meals on this day?
    c. What are ashes made out of?

    7. Outline Palm Sunday and color Good Friday RED:
    a. Why does Palm Sunday have red around it?
    b. Why is Good Friday red?

    8. Color the “beads” of Holy Week ORANGE:

    9. Color the “beads of Triduum BLUE:
    a. What does Triduum mean?

  47. Gwendoline says

    THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for the awesome Lenten Countdown Calendar. It is exactly what my daughter and I were after. What a fantastic way for children to understand and appreciate the process of the Lenten journey. My daughter and I absolutely love CATHOLICICING.COM. Keep up the great work and for sharing such great Catholic resources with the rest of us. God bless you all. xox

  48. Cathy Weaver says

    Thank you so much for this adorable Lenten calendar! I am the Children’s Ministries Director at Hebron UMC and I will be sticking copies of these in all our kid’s worship bags this Wednesday. 🙂

  49. Thanks for the Lenten calendar. I am a convert and tools like your calendar make my faith journey SO much more meaningful! L:ove your site,too!

  50. Thank you for this excellent resource.

  51. Amanda Smith says

    Thanks for this – last year I used it with my choir kids – we were working on a song about giving of ourselves for Lent. They took it home with the goal of doing a good deed for someone each day. As a reward, their parent gave them a nickel for each good deed which they taped to the calendar. At Easter, we collected the calendars and used the money to purchase Spanish Bibles which we sent on a mission trip to South America.

    This year I’m going to use them to talk about, instead of giving up something for God, giving God something. Each day I want them to focus on giving God their love by setting aside a special prayer time. After they pray, they can tape a coin on the calendar. On Easter I’ll have them give their offering to God by putting their coin-covered calendar into the offering plate.

    Thanks!

  52. I had forgotten I had this pinned, until someone else repinned it! I was trying to come up with a “daily” project, and I already had one! When my son received ashes yesterday, the extraordinary minister simply said, “Follow Jesus,” and I wanted to tie into that. This is perfect!

  53. Is there any Palm Sunday Activities? I want to teach my first graders about lent. I wanted a picture with words that I can easily explain to them about Palm Sunday

  54. Cindy Coleman says

    I have been using this in my religious education classes for the last few years and haven’t yet found a truly successful way for the kids to list/reflect what they had done each day….anyone have some ideas to share please? I have them glue it into a manila file folder, then color and cut out a picture of Jesus to adorn the front of the folder.

  55. Dziękuję. Nie będę tłumaczyć kalendarza dzieciaki przy okazji pouczą się angielskiego. Pozdrowienia z Polski – Thank you.

  56. I have been using this for Lent this year, and my son (age 3) is so excited about getting to go “all the way up” to Easter. Thank you so much for sharing!

  57. Hi!

    I made a Hungarian version of the calendar.
    Thanks very much!

    Eszti

  58. Thank you so much for this. I have been trying to think of gentle ways to encourage spirituality in my seven year old son, and there’s nothing like “counting down” to inspire children’s devotion to a cause. <3 El

  59. I’m LOVin this! Thanks for making our homeschooling life a bit easier!

  60. Wow, thanks a lot for thinking of us non-Englishspeakers. I’ll translate it into Danish as soon as possible.

  61. Thanks for a wonderful product. It was very thoughtful of you to include a blank one and a translation as well. The only thing is that priest in Puerto Rico called the Holly Saturday sábado Santo. We no longer called it sábado de Gloria.

  62. Mary Ann Klein says

    I was planning to create a calendar for my second grade Faith Formation class but decided to check out your site before starting from scratch. And there was the most perfect calendar with visual cues, in a variety of languages and presentations. You are so very gifted and I love how you share your many gifts and talents so openly and freely with the world. You are carrying out God’s plan and you definitely make such a difference in the world. The ripple effect of your ideas and creativity is so far reaching. Thank you so much.

  63. I just love your content. It is so accessible and developmentally appropriate! Thanks for sharing!

  64. Wauw, you added a Dutch version, wonderfull! greetings from Belgium!

  65. I am so glad I found your site. I teach ESL to children in Poland at a private faith school, although I am not Christian myself. Your lessons and material are wonderful as they are not only engaging, but you explain everything clearly and in a way that I know I can help my students gain new language skills that reflect their faith – Thank you 😀

  66. Thank you for the Lenten Calendar. Our youngest is coloring copies for his older brothers…so sweet! God Bless You! <3

  67. Thank you for the Lent calendar! This is just what I needed for my First Grade Faith formation class tomorrow. It’s perfect!

  68. Cheryl Spessert says

    I love many of your ideas and was happy to subscribe, however, I have to accept Ask.com as my default browser in order to access any of your “free” printables. Are you aware of this?

    • Hi Cheryl,

      I wonder if you inadvertently clicked on an ad or something that took you somewhere else, as you should absolutely not have to use a particular web browser to be able to access printables from the site. All free printables either have a link in the post that takes you right to the printable, or they are free for subscribers, and so you’ll need to subscribe to the weekly newsletter to receive them. This particular printable is one that is free for subscribers, so you’ll need to sign up for the newsletter to get access to the subscribers’ page.

      I hope that helps!

      Angie, Catholic Icing Project Manager

  69. I can’t find the link to print the lentern calendar – please help !

    • Hi Louise –

      The link is on the subscriber page. You’ll need to make sure that you have subscribed to the weekly newsletter. If you have, you can look toward the bottom of any of the regular weekly newsletters (or the welcome email) and you’ll find the link and password.

      If you have not subscribed, you can do so toward the top of this post or through this link that goes directly to the sign-up form: http://madmimi.com/signups/148093/join

      Thanks,

      Angie, Catholic Icing Project Manager

  70. Dear Lacy,
    I came across your site via Jared D or some similar and like it very much.
    I fell in love 😉 with your calendar (and a lot of other things too)
    So I translated it into Slovak and send it to you.

    God bless you and your family, for all the things you do and all the good you share 🙂

    Good Lent and then Happy Easter 🙂

  71. I am unable to download the calendar. I have submitted my email address many times to subscribe. I’ve subscribed in the past because I currently get emails from you. How can I access the Lent resources for kids?

    • Hi Kelly –

      It looks like you’ve been an email subscriber since February 2018, so if you’re trying to sign up again, you won’t get an additional welcome email because you already got that when you subscribed three years ago.

      However, there is a link to the subscriber page with a password at the end of all of the newsletters. So, make sure to check out any newsletter you might have and scroll to the bottom for the link and password.

      Angie, Catholic Icing Project Manager

  72. desy dhenok says

    Wow, you made it in Bahasa Indonesia, too! We can use it for next year Lenten then. Thanks to God and thanks to you for being a blessed mom for others. Keep doing a blessing work Lacy. Jesus bless you and your family.

Trackbacks

  1. […] are tons of great printable countdown calendars. My favorite printable Lent countdown calendar comes from Catholic Icing and she has one for the Easter season, […]

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