As a Catholic homeschooler, you're probably eager to incorporate the liturgical year into your schooling whenever you can. Am I right?? The challenge with Holy Week is to keep it simple yet meaningful. There are so many Holy Week traditions to focus on that you could end up at the Holy Saturday vigil Mass with a mass of sobbing family members. Not exactly the look you were going for. Here are some ideas for keeping it simple and less stressful.
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The first thing I do as Holy Week approaches is to realize that not a lot of traditional schooling is going to be done. I gave up on keeping our typical schedule and instead would focus more on the liturgical aspect of the week and consider that week an in-depth study of Religion.
Holy Week Traditions for the Beginning of the Week
Palm Sunday - When the kids were all younger, our homeschool group would participate in the local Easter parade. Every year we would get a float together and walk in the parade handing out holy cards, palms and roses. We would pick a rousing Christian song and blast it as we walked the route handing out our wares. The float would be piled high with little kids, while moms and dads with strollers would walk behind.
Our city's annual Easter parade.
I know that not everyone has this option, but if your city does have an Easter parade, consider being a Christian presence in it. We definitely made a statement with our huge cross. lots of kids and no bunnies.
Another option for this day is to go see a Passion Play, which many communities hold. For many years our family was a part of one called "The Seven Last Words of Christ" that was an amazing experience. If you ever have a chance to see something like that, go! It will be an unforgettable experience for your children and you!
Monday - School work is kept to a minimum on this day; usually just math :). When the kids were little and the weather was cooperative, we would take a field trip and do outdoor Stations of the Cross. We didn't venture into the indoor Stations until they were much older.
Tuesday - Another day to just do minimal school work and get ready for the rest of the week. At one point we had a felt set that had all of the main people in the Passion narrative. We would take that out on days like this and walk through the events of the week. The kids loved to act this out on their flannel boards for hours.
Wednesday - This is the last day of school work until after our Easter week break! In our diocese, this is the day that the parishes typically hold the Tenebrae service. When our kids were still young, a friend urged us to attend this service at St. John Cantius in Chicago. It was absolutely beautiful, but what we didn't know is that it lasted for about three hours! Okay, maybe not that long, but at least 2.5. A few years later we went to a more local one that wasn't quite as long.
If you have young children, make sure you look into the length of this service before you go, just so you know what you're in for. It is very peaceful and beautiful, especially if you are not accompanied by over-tired toddlers. Your kids might like the loud bang that occurs near the end.
Holy Week Traditions for the Triduum
Thursday - This is probably my favorite Holy Week tradition that we do. We did not start doing the Holy Thursday "church hopping", as we call it, until 1. the kids were older and 2. we lived near more than one church. I'll be writing a post about the history of this tradition on Wednesday, so I will only mention it briefly here.
That afternoon we make pretzels to take with us. After attending Holy Thursday Mass, we drive around to seven different parishes and visit their Altar of Repose. In between churches, we pray a decade of the rosary and eat our pretzels. Simple but something that everyone looks forward to.
We did not do this with little kids for obvious reasons. Getting seven kids unbuckled and in and out of a van that many times in an evening is beyond heroic. I know that many other families who have little kids will stay at home, too, and do a Seder Meal. There has been controversy over whether or not that is okay to do, so make sure to do your research if you are considering this tradition.
Friday - Going to the Good Friday service, usually in the afternoon around here, was always determined by whether or not my husband could join us and how many naps it would interrupt. If he couldn't join or there were too many sleeping kids, we would stay home and keep it as quite as possible for the afternoon. I would get a coloring book or Stations of the Cross pictures and we would talk about what happened, but we would stay home.
As soon as the kids were old enough, we've gone to the service and then come home and traditionally eat fish sticks and mashed potatoes. My mother-in-law always makes hot cross buns for us on Good Friday. If we are having Easter breakfast at our house, then we make our traditional Easter bread on this day, too.
Holy Saturday - My Polish relatives have always gone to church in the morning to have the Easter basket of food blessed. We've done that twice. It was nice, a lot more involved than I thought, but I never seem to have everything together in time.
This is the day we color our eggs and clean the house, if we are hosting breakfast or dinner. If not, we let that slide! Everyone gets their basket out and fluffs up the Easter grass. You know, the stuff that hangs around for the next five months!
I have never been one to go to the Vigil Mass. Some of the kids like to go, so whoever wants to go, does. This, too, is a late and long Mass so be forewarned if you have small kids and are considering it.
Keep it Simple
The key, again, is to keep it simple. It would be great to go to everything the church has to offer, and some day maybe you will. Take a look at your situation and determine how much you and your children can handle in one week. Don't let social media pressure you into doing more than would be enjoyable. I know we can look around and see friends trooping off to this event and that. If you know it really won't work for your family, no matter how much you might like it to, don't feel bad about not doing it.
If your children are a little older, say out of the toddler phase, then this might be the year you want to get adventurous and try something new. My top pick of something to add is the Seven Churches visiting on Holy Thursday. If you're up for that, and your kids can get in and out of the car by themselves, then go for it! Check back Wednesday for more on that.
Have a blessed Holy Week!