- Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which means if you click on the link and purchase the item I will receive commission at no extra cost to you.
The Good Samaritan is one of the stories that Jesus told and is from Luke 10. It teaches one simple truth about how we treat other people. Here is a simple storytelling idea for young children..
The Good Samaritan Story Idea
To tell the story I had several of the characters (the man who was hurt and the three men who were walking on the road) and a donkey in the story bag. You can make the sounds of the men walking and the donkey going clippity-clop when you tell the story. Get everyone to join in with ‘Oh No!’ when it appears in the story.
‘One day a man asked Jesus a question – ‘how can I get to heaven?’ Jesus said to the man, ‘what do you think you need to do?’
‘I need to love God and love my neighbour. But who is my neighbour?’ The man was hoping that he had been good enough and that he really only needed to love the people that he liked. So Jesus told this made up story…
Once upon a time a man went on a journey and was hurt. He needed help but there was no one to help him. Oh No! (get the children and adults to join in with ‘Oh no’ each time you say it)
Then he heard footsteps. Someone was coming! A man was coming along the road. He looked, he saw that someone needed help but he kept on walking! Oh No!
Then he heard more footsteps. Someone was coming! Another man was walking along the road. He looked, he saw that someone needed help but he kept on walking! Oh No!
But then he heard something a bit different – it was clippity clop. A donkey was coming along the road and a man. The man looked, he saw that someone needed help and he stopped. Now this man was from far away and from a different place. But he was happy to help the man and he put him on the donkey and took him to a place to stay and gave him medicine until he was better.
Jesus has finished telling the story. ‘Who was a good neighbour?’ Jesus asked. ‘The person who helped’, said the man. And he knew he hadn’t loved other people like that.
We all find it hard to be a good neighbour to everyone. No one can never be good enough to earn a place in heaven. We need Jesus to help us.
Craft Idea
Lots of photos of people to make an ‘everyone is my neighbour’ collage. Use magazines and catalogues to find photos and cut them out beforehand. Try to provide a wide variety of people from different cultures, backgrounds and ages. The Good Samaritan is a great story to teach children to love others!
Glue the pictures of people onto A4 Sugar Paper/Construction Paper. Here’s a link to some recycled paper.
This story is one of several in a series for toddler groups – the others are linked for you