Bible Crafts and Activities For
Sunday School

Bear One Another's Burdens
Jesus Heals the Paralytic

1. Build a Bible House to Act Out the Bible Story

This idea comes from Susan Vaughn. Construct a Bible-times house with two different sizes of large boxes. You can find them at appliance stores. Use duct tape to attach them to make a two-room home. Cut an opening between the boxes for an inside door and a window. Attach flowers and vines made from construction paper of different colors to the outside. Cover the roof with palm leaves cut from paper bags. The roof is removable. This house can be used for other lessons as well such as lessons on how to be friends.

2. Make a Sod House

I divided the children into groups of four and gave each group a copy paper box with a lid. The children painted the boxes with tan tempera paint and then sprinkled the wet paint with sand to give the house a sandstone appearance. The next Sunday we created construction paper windows, doors, and a staircase and glued them to the box. After the children left, my faithful helper and I wired the upturned lid to the bottom of the box. When the children returned on the third week, they filled the lid with potting soil and sowed grass seed. By the next Sunday, seeds had sprouted and the little houses truly appeared to have a sod roof. *Note-Make sure that the grass is watered a time or two during the week. Connie Melloway

3. Bear One Another's Burdens Sunday School Lesson

(This lesson is available to members only.) In this lesson children learn about how four friends bring their sick friend to Jesus. They learn that when they put their faith in Jesus and bring people to him Jesus will do amazing things.

Crafts

1. Make a 3D Bible scene with house and people to go with the story. Patterns and directions available to Resource Room subscribers only.

2. Make a House - Bring in boxes, paper, scissors, glue, etc. and pictures of houses in Bible times. Have the children make replicas of the house. Tell them they can use the boxes to make the house or just draw pictures of them. Children can use their house to act out the story.

3. Home school and Preschool children can work on the Letter B Worksheet (available to members only) in print or cursive or write the whole verse or write a story about how Big Bear bears the burden of Little Bear.

4. Color "Bear Burdens" Color Sheet (Available to Members Only) - Ask the children as they color why they think the little bear might be crying and what Big Bear might be doing to help little bear.

5. Older children can write a story about how Big Bear helped bear Little Bear's burdens on a special writing sheet available to members only.

5. Make a "Bear One Another Burdens " Bear Craft

These craft patterns are availabe to members only on The Resource Room

Activities

1. Learn What Burdens Are. - Place a wet paper towel or facial tissue so that two ends are secured between heavy objects. (Experiment before class to see how well your set up will work.) Ask the children to think of things that might be a burden to someone. When a child thinks of something, let him come up and place a quarter or some other object in the center of the wet paper towel. (Write down the suggestions as they are mentioned.) Let each child come up and place a quarter on the wet paper towel as he comes up with a burden. Keep going until the paper towel breaks or everyone has a turn. If the paper towel breaks during the activity tell the children that some burdens are so hard to bear that they can break a person. That is why it is important for us to bear each other's burdens. Start again with a new paper towel.

When every child has had a turn, go back and ask them how they can help bear the burden that they had mentioned earlier. Let them take a quarter off the paper towel after they give their ideas.

2. Read Bear Feels Sick by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman

Bear Feels Sick
By Karma Wilson / Margaret K McElderry Books

Bears friends come over and want to play but Bear feels achy and too sick to play. Hare finds him a warm cozy spot and mouse covers him up. His other friends all pitch in to help bear feel better. The next day he wakes up feeling good and wants to play, but all his friends are exhausted and not feeling well. Now it is bear's turn to take care of his friends.

You may be able to find this book in your local library.

After reading the story ask your children if they can remember what some of the animals did to "bear Bear's burden".

1. Find him a warm cozy spot and try to make him more comfortable.
2. Gives him a hug.
3. Try to comfort him by reassuring him that he will be just fine.
4. Get him water.
5. Cooks him some broth.
6. Put a cool wet cloth on him to cool him down.
7. Makes sure he is covered up.
8. Helps him drink from a cup.
9. Gather herbs for him.
10. Draw pictures for him.
11. Bird brings him a flower.
12. They whisper and walk on tippy toes so they don't wake him up.
13. Sing him lullabies.
14. And keep a watch over him.

Ask your children if they have ever done any of these things to help someone who was sick. Remind your children if they can't do any of these things, they can always pray for the sick person.