Bible Crafts and Activities

Jewish Customs - King Josiah

Jewish Customs - Life in the Times of Jesus

Set Up

Jewish Music - Have Jewish music playing in the background. 

Bible Costumes – Let your children look through costume boxes and pick out whatever Bible costume they want to wear.  You may also want to include armor. Don’t forget to take pictures of all the children. Go to the Material Crafts Page for directions on how to make simple Bible costumes.

Decorations - Oriental Trading Company has dreidel decorations such as windsocks, string decorations, table cloths, and door hangers. Type in dreidel in the search box at the top of the page to find these items. They also have Star of David decorations. Type "Hanukkah" in the search box at the top of the page to find these items.

Crafts

Make Bible Scrolls - When the kids arrived, they decorated small scrolls.  The scrolls were created from popsicle sticks stapled (with tape covering the sharp staple edges) to doubled-over paper from the bathroom paper towel roll.  (It's a continuous roll and pretty sturdy paper)  On each scroll I had used a Sharpie to write, "Baruch atah Adonai!" which means, "Go with the LORD's blessing."  We asked the kids to draw things that reminded them of Jesus.  (All very original!) 

Menorah of Thanks Stickers - Children use stickers to make a picture of a menorah. Go to Oriental Trading Company to buy these stickers. Type 4/3470 in the search box at the top of the page to find them.

Learn Jewish Words

Teach your children to say, "Shalom" meaning peace and "Baruch atah Adonai!" meaning blessings (Bah-Rook aTAH Add O Nigh). Explain to your children that they are speaking peace into the lives of those they say Shalom to, and blessing them with Baruch atah Adonai!  Play-act knocking on the door and greeting visitors with Shalom and wishing them blessing as they leave.

Talk about Jewish Items - Pull items from a box and tell your children about them.

1. Dreidel  - A four-sided top played within the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Each side has a different letter. The letter together stand for "a great miracle happened there". Learn how to play this game on Billy Bear web site. You can buy 144 plastic dreidels from Oriental Trading Company for $12.95. Just type 36/1294 in the search box at the top of the page.
2. Mezuzah - Explaining that it was place on the doorpost of Jewish homes and held God's Word. The mezuzah is nailed to the door as a reminder that we are to keep God's Word in our thoughts in all our comings and goings.  I also mentioned the Bible verse about how Jesus says He is the door (John 10:9), and how He was nailed on the cross.  Jesus, the Word of God, nailed up to a cross that opened a doorway into salvation for us. 
3. Yarmulke – Jewish head covering.  Remind your children that we see other people wearing head coverings such as  Mennonites.  They're not being 'weird': they are honoring God.  I wanted to plant this in their minds now due to one of my kids asking why there were so many “pilgrims” in Wal-Mart last fall
4. Prayer shawl - My husband modeled the prayer shawl showing the children how he could enter into the 'closet' of prayer by pulling it down over his head to pray. We asked for prayer requests and praise reports, which we wrote on the dry erase board.  We reminded the kids that where two or more are gathered in His Name, He promises to be there with us. And, if we ask anything according to His Word and believe He'll do it; He will answer our prayers.  The kids came forward and laid their hands on the dry erase board and we said a prayer over everything written there.
5. Menorah - A seven branched light holder to be lit by olive oil. For more information go to Wikipedia.

Snack Time 

Flatbread - Cut flatbread into fourths.  Cover each triangle of bread with a light layer of cream cheese, honey, and raisins.  Top with another bread triangle and then heat them slightly in an oven.  Explain to the kids that today we were going to be trying an experiment. We were going to eat foods like Jesus ate when he was a boy. We nicknamed these "Jesus sandwiches".  Surprisingly, they weren't too bad!

We let one boy and one girl pray over the meal and then we put in an OLD movie showing portions of Jesus' life.  As the movie played, I narrated parts of the movie and told them to watch for certain things, such as a priest reading from a scroll.  This got the kids very excited about the scrolls again so they put away their trash and pulled the scrolls back out.  They wanted to make them even prettier!  We talked about how our Bible is in one book and that if each individual book of the Bible was on a scroll, we'd need sixty-six of them.

Search for the missing Body of Jesus - Before class place all the clues in numbered Ziplock bags. 

1. Two chess pieces – These represent the King and Priest, Jesus.
2. Nails - the nails that were used on the cross.
3. Crown of thorns - One of the boys had made a small crown of thorns from paper clips. It was very simple. The pointy ends of the paper clips really made an impression on the kids.
4. Coins in a bag - remind us about Judas' sin, and about the miracle of Jesus pulling coins from a fish's mouth.
5. Blue tassel - reminds us of the tassels on the prayer shawls, and how each string was a reminder of the Law of God.
6. Candle - reminds us that Jesus is the Light of the World.
7. Rags and myrrh  - represent Jesus' burial, as well as one of the gifts of the Magi.
8. Gold (King) and Frankincense (Priest) - the kids got to smell both the myrrh and frankincense.

Wrap-Up

As the kids left, we all shouted, "Baruch atah Adonai!  Go with the LORD's blessing!"

Ideas sent in by Brenda Darnell 

 

John the Baptist

John Baptizes Jesus Plastic Cup Craft

What you will need: Blue plastic "solo" cup, Popsicle stick, Paper, Markers, and Scissors
What to do:
Have the children draw a descending dove (1" by 1") and cut out. Glue on the top of the popsicle stick. Draw Jesus and John the Baptist (my daughter made John's arm large since he had muscles from doing lots of baptisms!) and cut them out. Have an adult cut a slit in the bottom of the cup. Slide the popsicle stick in the slit so that the dove is hidden inside the cup. Glue Jesus and John the Baptist on the outside of the blue cup (John might be a little higher so that it looks like he is baptizing Jesus). Then the children push up the popsicle stick and the dove is above them. Nance in Reno

"God has a Plan for Me" Bible Lesson on The Resource Room - In this lesson children learn that God knew John the Baptist before he was born and had a plan for him. God also knows them and has a special job for them. This lesson is available to members only.

Crafts:

1. Children make a "Tell others about Jesus" 3D locust Craft

Activities:

1. Before class prepare and bake some locust cookies.  (Recipe available to members only.) When children arrive tell them that you will be talking about a man who ate wild honey and locust. Tell them that they can also eat locusts like the man in the today's story. They will probably give you strange looks and say "yuk". Let them believe they will be eating real locusts until snack time when you pass out the cookies.

2. Play "Prepare the Way" Match Game. Tell the children how John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus by telling others to be ready because he was coming soon.  They are going to play a match game and clear the way for Jesus by getting rid of all the bees and locust in the way.  In order to clear the way, they have to turn over two cards that match.  When they make a match they will pick up the cards and keep them to get them out of the way. Before class make some honey bee and locust cards. Make half the cards with locusts on them and half with honey bees. A pattern for these cards are available on the Resource Room for members.   You can make this game as easy or as hard as you would like.  For the youngest children just use two types of cards, honey bees and locust.  There will be a lot of the same cards but they will have a 50 - 50 chance of getting a match. For older children you can make the game more challenging by having them answer a question after they get a match in order to keep the cards. 

Jonah - see the Bible Themes Page for Jonah

Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors

Crafts and activities:

  1. Look at and talk about fabric - Bring in fabric samples from a lot of different types of fabric.  Ask the children which samples they like the best.  Ask them which fabric they would pick if their daddy was giving them a shirt or dress.

2. Make a construction paper coat - Cut out a coat shape from a piece of construction paper. Have the children glue on lace, pieces of material, buttons, felt shapes, Ric Rac, etc.

3. Make a Fun Foam Coat. Cut out a coat shape from fun foam (thick fun foam). Cut out circles for buttons, pockets, or other decorative shapes. Mark dots on the fun foam around the edge of the coat about half an inch apart with a black sharpie. Punch tiny holes through the fun foam at the dots using a sharp upholstery needle. Turn the coat over and mark dots on the other side of the coat where you can see the holes. Have the children sew from dot to dot using plastic needles and embroidery floss or yarn. Ages 5 and up should be able to do this project with some help. Younger children will enjoy the project, but will need a lot of help.

4. Make a coat from pieces of material - I found some really ugly holey striped material in the $1 bin at Walmart and asked my daughter why anyone would ever buy it...then I realized that it would make a perfect coat of many colors. So I used about a yard to make 2 "coats." First I cut the yard in half down the middle and then I cut holes for arms almost in the middle of the material (I folded it in half and cut both arms at once so they'd be even) so that when the child put on the coat, it had a lapel that fell over the armholes so it looked as though it had sleeves. We pinned them closed at the top in front. They took almost no time to do (The fabric didn't need hemming) and the kids loved them. Sent in by Beckye Mosher

5. Color a picture of Joseph - Print out the picture (Large file or small file) and make copies. Have your children color them or use paint dobbers to paint them. This picture for this craft was sent in by Jeannette Boxall

Free Sunday School Lesson - Joseph - A Very Colorful Story - In this colorful story  your children will learn about Joseph and his brothers and how God can take a bad situation and turn it into something good. They will learn that God will never leave them no matter what happens or how they act. The lesson is reinforced by the crafts and activities that use the same colors mentioned in the story to describe the feelings and attitudes of the characters.

Joseph's Special Ability - Joseph interprets Pharaoh's Dream Bible Lesson on The Resource Room - In this lesson your children will learn about Joseph and the special abilities God gave him to help people. They will also learn that God has given each of them special abilities that he wants them to use to help others. Children can make a standup cow craft and color a "Healthy cow - Skinny Cow" color sheet. This lesson is available to members only.

Crafts and Activities Included in this lesson:

1. The King's Dream Color Sheet - Children color a picture of a healthy cow and a skinny cow. A printout is available to members only.

2. Find the Cow that is different worksheet - Children compare pictures of cows and try to find the one that is different. A printout is available to members only.

3. "God Gave Me Special Abilities" worksheet. Children color the sheet and circle the talents they think they might be good at . A printout is available to members only.

4. Make a standing cow from a TP roll. A pattern for this craft is available to members only.

5. Make a cow puppet from a white lunch bag. A pattern for this craft is available to members only.

"Joseph and God's Promise" Bible lesson on The Resource Room - In this lesson children learn about Joseph and his family and how God used Joseph to keep his promise to Abraham, his great grandfather.  They learn that God can take bad things and make good things happen. This lesson is about Joseph in Egypt after he was sold into slavery by his brothers.

Crafts:

1. Younger children make star pictures - Give the children black construction paper and star stickers. Tell them that Jacob brought over 70 family members with him to Egypt to escape the famine. Help the children count the number of stickers on their papers.

2. Children can also make a picture of Joseph and all his brothers using the printouts available on The Resource Room.  Children cut out faces and glue them onto different face shapes. Pattern available to members only.

3. Make a star man puppet to remind the children that God keeps his promises. Pattern available to members only.

4. Make a Family Tree - Children write names of their family members on leaves and glue them to a tree. Pattern available to members only.

5. Color "God Keeps His Premises color sheet

Activities:

Play "A Doggy, Doggy, Where's Your Bone?" type game - Pick one child to be Jacob. Jacob sits in front of the room with his back to the other children and closes his eyes. Place "Joseph" (a doll, bean bag, or paper doll) behind Jacob. Pick one child to sneak up and take "Joseph" and then go back and sit down hiding Joseph behind their back. All the children then say, "Jacob, Jacob, where's your son? Somebody took him, but whose the one?" Jacob tries to guess who took Joseph. If he is right he is takes another turn. If he is wrong, he takes the place of the child who took Joseph.

A memory verse review game is also included in this lesson.

Joshua - Go to the Joshua Crafts and Activities Page

Josiah