Holy Week is the most important week of the Church year and there are some great resources available to help support inclusive catechesis.
There are a number of great resources out there but the resources I have been using to prepare for Holy Week (and that would be great to use during Holy Week or in discussion about Holy Week) are as follows:
Holy Week (An Emotions Primer) by Daniell Hitchen and with art by Jessica Blanchard is published by Harvest House Publishers. This book was a recommendation from Emma Hartley Walton of Tanglewood Atelier and effectively tackled a big barrier I have faced in talking about Holy Week in relation to the emotions attached to the crucifixion. Previously I have experienced children feeling very overwhelmed at Jesus being betrayed, hurt and suffering until he died: this has caused upset and I have been looking for something that helps talk about the emotional side of Holy Week. This is marketed as a Baby Believer Board Book but actually the child I have been reading this to this year is much older. He was able to understand that Jesus gets angry when he sees people doing the wrong things (in the Temple) and that Jesus gets scared (at Gethsemane) and that people were sad after Jesus died but this is all put in the context of Jesus’ friends being joyful when he rises from the dead. The way that the emotions are discussed really helps to talk about uncomfortable feelings without causing distress and the illustrations are perfect as they are so clear and the emotions expressed so well. This was an absolute hit and thoroughly engaged the child (and I really enjoyed reading it too!). I can imagine this being great for younger children but I think this is a fabulous resource to use if supporting anyone who struggles with the idea of Jesus being hurt or to talk or just to talk about the order of Holy Week in a really clear way. (You may want to use a well placed sticker over the word ‘Baby Believers’ on the front cover if you are supporting readers!)
The next recommendation is the Lift High the Cross calendar from Redemptorist Publications. This can be used throughout Lent but we are using this for Holy Week and opening 2 windows every day (but if the child being supported wants to learn more and open all the windows up that’s fine too!) The rhymes are simple, the illustrations are lovely and I love the fact it makes a pop up scene. This format is something I have seen work on several occasions and this is good quality but inexpensive resource so even if it doesn’t pique interest you haven’t wasted too much money. Its also worth mentioning that depending on the child’s fine motor skills you may find they need a little help opening the windows but the tabs are big and not too finickity for the majority of children.
My final recommendation is to consider a subscription to the Twinkl learning platform. Twinkl have a huge variety of resources and you can search them under ability level: there is also a SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) section for a huge range of topics. You can pay monthly (I find that I get value for money with my subscription) and there are loads of downloadable worksheets on topics that support learning about the Faith eg Sacraments, Saints, The Trinity etc. Many resources are differentiated and you can choose the pages which would work best for the child you are supporting. I downloaded this Easter Story Ordering Activity but there other versions to choose from as well as PowerPoint presentations, crafts and display printables.
As always all views and opinions are my own and I bought all of these resources for personal use.
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