The Ultimate guide to Church Toddler Group Resources is all about getting back in the swing of all things toddler group after a few weeks away.
Follow the links for extra ideas for toddler group Bible stories and toddler Bible story crafts. At the end of the post I’ve added a friendly toddler group checklist so you can see what you’ve achieved and what you might need to do.
Toddler Group Resources – set up ideas
Every toddler group is unique, different spaces, different people but here’s some ideas that can be copied or adapted. Setting up a toddler group in a church or community hall can be really hard work. Toddler group leaders become furniture movers and it can take it’s toll. If you can get some help.
Below are some photos of our set up and the toys we have out each week.
One of the groups I help with meets in a community hall but is run by a church. To help parents and carers know who we are we have a notice board. It’s good to display something about your group so people know what they are coming to. We like to have this behind our welcome table.
Some ideas for your toddler group welcome table
A leaflet or booklet with key details about the group including dates when you are running and phone numbers of leaders or a website address. Include details of your church.
Information that is helpful for families from your local area including details of other toddler groups
Sometimes you can make use of toddler group toys for props such as a toy lion for a bible story about Daniel or things you borrow from home such as a pan and wooden spoon for a bible story about Mary and Martha.
Choose a story bag or basket that is easy to use. I have a few favourites – it is easier for me if they are bags/baskets that hold their shape.
It better to have fewer props – don’t feel that you need a prop for everything in the story or you’ll just have so much to remember and get out of the bag you risk losing the flow of the story.
Plan which bible stories you want to tell in your toddler group.
We recommend planning a term at a time – include seasonal things like Harvest and have a few weeks for Christmas and Easter.
There are lots of toddler group bible stories on the blog. Here are some for you to try that have been put in handy six week segments. One is all about saying ‘thank you’ to God for our bodies – it’s a great series if you want to introduce a bible story time in your group. The other story series is all about what God is like.
At the beginning of every term it’s a good idea just to check your craft resources. Here are a few basics that we use nearly every week at toddler group and consequently often need topping up.
Paper – coloured sugar paper, plain white A4 paper for printing
Glue sticks
Coloured tissue paper
Wax crayons (remove any that have broken into small bits)
Jesus goes back to heaven is the retelling of the ascension. After Easter it’s good to continue the story to explain what happened next. There are several stories that you could tell; The Road to Emmaus, Thomas and/or Breakfast on the Beach but you can also go straight on to the Ascension.
It’s important that we teach that The Lord Jesus didn’t die again. He lives forever! And he will come back again. The story is based on Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11
Jesus goes back to heaven – story idea
We have used a set of pictures from Lamp Bible Pictures to help tell the story. They are a powerpoint but we print the pictures onto card and add a lollipop stick so they can be held easily when telling the story. I put them in a story bag/basket and take them out when I need them.We have also used the set of disciple pictures (omit Judas) also from Lamp Bible Pictures. These can be used for lots of stories so worth having. If you can have someone to help hold the pictures do.
Jesus had died but was alive again! His friends saw him and spoke to him. Lots of people saw him. He wasn’t a ghost. He could eat food! He was really alive again.
He had a job for his friends to do, ‘I want you to tell other people all about me. Tell them about the things that I said and the things that I did. Tell them how I died for them and came alive again.’
Jesus told his friends to tell everyone the Good News that he was the Saviour. They were to tell everyone in all the world starting right where they were. Jesus was going to send The Holy Spirit to help them.
When Jesus had spent time with his friends they went for a walk together. Then something very special happened. As they were standing Jesus blessed them. And as he was blessing them Jesus began to go up, up, up and Jesus was taken back to heaven. He went up, up, up and into the sky and was gone. They couldn’t see him anymore.
While they were looking up into the sky two angels came and spoke to them, ‘Why are you looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has gone up to heaven will come back again. ‘
Jesus is still alive. He is the King over everything and is seated on his throne in heaven. But one day Jesus will come back to earth again. He won’t come as a baby. He will come as the King of everyone.
Sarah laughs when she is told she will have a baby. She is old, too old to have any children and she just can’t quite believe the message of the three visitors (who we know are messengers from God) and so she laughs. This is where our story begins.
It ends with the birth of Isaac whose name means ‘laughter’. God kept his promise to Abraham and Sarah; God always keeps his promises.
Are you ready to hello to Sarah? she was a real person who lived a long time ago. Let’s get ready to meet her! Say ‘hello Sarah!’
Sarah was married to a man called Abraham. They had lots of things – lots of people working for them, lots of sheep, lots of goats, lots of money. But there was something they really wished that they had. They really wanted to have children. Now God had promised that they would have a huge family but they were getting really old and still no family of their own. It was difficult for them to believe God and to wait patiently.
Days and days went by. Months and months. Years and years. Then one day Abraham was sitting outside his home. (He lived in a tent!). It was a warm, sunny day. Abraham wasn’t really doing anything in particular when he saw three men walking along. He got up and started running. He wasn’t running away he was running to them. ‘ Please come to our home and have something to eat’, Abraham said. ‘Yes’, they said.
Abraham hurried back to his tent and asked Sarah to make some bread. He went to his servant and asked them to make some hot food. The visitors sat outside and ate the lovely food.Now, they weren’t just people like us – these men were sent from God with a special message. ‘Where is Sarah? they asked. She’s in the tent, Abraham replied. ‘This time next year she will have a baby son’, the LORD said.
Now Sarah heard what was said. She thought, ‘I’m too old to have a baby!’ and she laughed.
But nothing is too difficult for God and a year later Abraham and Sarah welcomed a new baby son. They called him Isaac which means ‘laughter’! God always keeps his promises.
Sarah laughs bible story props
Have dolls or puppets representing Sarah, Abraham and baby Isaac. Make a tent by draping a blanket over a clothes horse.
Craft idea
Make a tent – this is a fun ‘lift the flap’ craft. All you need to make this lovely craft is
A4 paper for the background
Different coloured paper for the tent. Fold this as shown in the picture
Abraham, Sarah and Isaac printed out. (downloads at the end of this post)
You can add actions to the story and ask the group to repeat phrases (I’ve written these in Bold).
Abram leaves home story idea
Say hello to Abram! Hello Abram. Abram lived a long, long time ago with his wife Sarai.
One day God spoke to Abram and said to him, ‘Leave where you live and go to a new place that I will show to you. I will bless you and make your family a great nation and bless all the world through you.’
Wow! That was a big promise.
Abram listened to God. Abram got ready to do what God had said.
He packed up his bags. He said goodbye to his neighbours and friends and off he went! Can you wave and say goodbye. He didn’t travel in a car or aeroplane. He didn’t even use a boat. But he probably had a donkey or camel to ride on and sometimes he would have walked.
Abram trusted God and was sure that God would be with him and keep his promise.
Every day he and Sarai travelled and every night they put up their tent and went fast asleep.
Today God speaks to you and me in The Bible and we should do what he says. We can trust God to keep his promises just like Abram.
I have added a download for you to print and use for Abraham standing in his tent. For full craft instructions see this post. This is one of my favourite crafts – the children really love the lift the flap element!
(during the story if you have someone who can speak a language that you don’t understand ask them to help you – they could give you some building instructions!)
Do you remember how Noah and his family came out of the Ark? They were so happy to be back on dry land again. God told Noah and his family that they should spread out over the whole earth. Do you think they did what God said? No! They wanted to stay altogether.
Time went by. Soon there were lots of people. They all spoke the same language. When someone said ‘hello’ everyone understood. They were clever too. They learnt how to make bricks that were strong. (Have a brick to show)
‘Lets build a huge city with a big tower that reaches up to heaven’ they said. Everyone understood. They all agreed that this was a really good idea!
They started work.
‘Pass the bricks’, ‘Lend me a hammer’, ‘is that wall straight?’ Everyone understood all the instructions.
God looked at what the people were doing. He wasn’t pleased. He had told them to spread out and they hadn’t listened. So God did something that only God could do. He made the people start to speak in different languages.
It was so hard to build the huge city and the big tower up to heaven now that some people were saying words that other people didn’t understand. (Ask your friend to give you a couple of instructions here)
The people gave up. They got together in smaller groups with others who had the same language and they began to spread out over the whole earth.
Big Tower up to Heaven building activities
This story is a great opportunity for the children to do some building! Use boxes, wooden blocks and empty cereal boxes! If you have the space create a building area and provide some toy tools and hard hats too.
‘Noah Built an Ark’ is the third story in our ‘What’s in God’s Big Book?’ series that we have used with under 5’s. We began by making a big book that could be used to hold each page. Take a look here. It is really oversized – you could get away with making a smaller big book (especially if you need to take it on the bus!)
In the story bag – Noah, a tool kit, wood, a variety of animals
Say hello to Noah! He lived a long tome ago. All around him and his family people were always cross. They argued, they shouted, they sometimes started fighting! It was horrible. No one cared about anyone else. No one listened to God anymore. They ignored him.
But God saw them! God sees everything. So God decided to wash everything way. He was going to end all the arguing and fighting.
Now Noah was not like everyone else. He did care about what God thought. Do you think God noticed Noah? Yes, he did. And God decided to save Noah.
He told Noah what to do – and Noah started to build! He sawed wood, he hammered, he measured.He sawed more wood! He was making something really, really big! It wasn’t a house. It wasn’t a tower. It wasn’t even a boat. It was an Ark.
It was like an enormous wooden box with rooms inside that would float.
It took a long time.
Then the Ark was finished. God sent some of the animals to go inside. (You can show some here – and maybe make the sounds they would make). Then Noah and his wife and family went inside too. And God shut the door – bang!
They waited – and then it started – the rain poured down. There was so much rain! Soon the whole world was covered in water. Everything was washed away except for Noah and his family and the animals in the Ark.
Days and days went by. Then God stopped the rain. Slowly the water went down until it was finally safe for Noah to come out of The Ark. Noah was very grateful. He said, ‘Thank you God’. And God made a very special promise to Noah, ‘I won’t destroy everything again. While the earth is here, there will always be seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.’ And God put the rainbow in the sky to remind Noah of his promise.
That special promise is for us too! When you see a rainbow in the sky remember that God always keeps his promises.
Noah built an Ark craft ideas
A great craft to go with this story is a paper plate Ark that rocks! If making with under 5’s pre-cut the Ark shapes. You can also make the water using tissue and crepe paper on a blue sheet of sugar/construction paper. There are some great animal stickers that the children can enjoy adding to their Ark. These stickers are often sold on a roll so cut them into singles beforehand. Or use cut outs of animals for the children to colour and glue to the Ark.
We’ve also made a large Ark that you can use during the story and decorate with animal stickers.
Older children can have a go at making the rainbow cloud. We used cloud shaped gift tags and rainbow ribbon.
Celebrate Epiphany with some lovely crafts and tell the Bible Story of the Visit of the Magi. The visit of The Magi (also known as Wise Men or kings) is found in Matthew 2.
Celebrate Epiphany Bible Story
To tell the story you need – some Wise Men, toy camels and a star. You can add some actions too – stars with hands (like in twinkle, twinkle little star), running, looking, kneeling.
Far away from where Jesus was born there were some Wise Men. They read books and knew a lot. They loved to look at the stars in the dark night’s sky. One night they saw a new star! They looked at the new star and they looked at each other. ‘Wow! they thought, ‘this new star means that a new king has been born in Israel. Let’s go and worship him’.
So they packed their things and set off for the important city of Jerusalem. They travelled for a long time. It took days and days to get there. When they arrived in Jerusalem they asked everyone they met, ‘Where is the new baby king?’
Now, there was a king in Jerusalem called King Herod but he wasn’t a baby; he was a grown up and he wasn’t at all happy. He didn’t want a new King! He heard that there were men from a far away place who were asking people, ‘Where is the new king?’ This upset him and it upset the people who were living in Jerusalem. He sent for the men from the temple. ‘Where is this new King to be born?’ he asked. The men from the temple knew the answer because it was written in the Bible. ‘In Bethlehem.’ they said.
Herod sent for the Wise Men and he told them to go to Bethlehem and find this new King and then come back and tell him where the new King was so he could go and worship him too.
So off the Wise Men went. It wasn’t too far to go now. As they got nearer something very special happened. The star was there again and this time it went before them and shone right over the house where Jesus was. The Wise men had found Jesus and they knelt down and worshiped him. They took their treasures out of their bags and gave them to Jesus. They gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. These were special gifts for a King.
The Wise Men never told Herod where Jesus was. God warned them not to in a dream and they travelled home.
Herod didn’t want to worship Jesus. He wanted to get rid of him. An angel told Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and run away to a different country till it was safe to go back home.
Celebrate Epiphany Craft Ideas
Decorate crown shapes made from air- drying dough. Make crowns from card of buy crowns to decorate with circle stickers. The King is make from a Pringle Container.
Decorate wooden stars with paint and/or sequins. Put the decorated star on named envelope to dry and then put in the envelope to take home. The sequins stick best with PVA glue.
Use a square black paper plate to make these star stained glass windows. Cut out the star shape and then glue brightly coloured tissue paper over the gap on the reverse side. To make this even easier for young children use some clear sticky back plastic in the gap and then add small pieces if tissue paper (it won’t be as neat but it is easier)
First sad day story and craft is the second ‘page’ in our ‘What’s in God’s Big Book? ‘ story series. We began with ‘God made everything‘. This story is based on Genesis 3
To tell the story
We had our Big Book with this page inside to show at the end of the story and read. We used props to tell the story – Adam, Eve, an apple (it was just fruit in the story but an apple is easy to take a bite from), a toy snake.
First sad day story
Adam and Eve lived in the beautiful garden. Everything was very good (thumbs up). There were trees and flowers and animals. They were happy (can you look happy?).
God had made everything and he had one rule for Adam and Eve to keep. Just one! He said to them, ‘Don’t eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. If you do you will die.’ They listened and they heard what God said.
Everything was lovely. But then one day a snake began to talk to Eve! ‘Did God really say that you can’t eat the fruit from all the trees in the garden?’
‘We can eat all the fruit from all the trees, except from the tree in the middle of the garden’, Eve replied. ‘If we eat from the tree in the middle of the garden we will die’
‘No you won’t’, said the snake, ‘you’ll become just like God’.
Eve looked at the tree in the middle of the garden. The fruit looked good! So she reached out her hand and she …. picked some of the fruit …. and she …took a bite! (you can ask another leader to play the part of Eve and act this out as you tell the story)
Adam was with her so she gave some to him and he took a bite too!
Adam and Eve had broken the one rule that God had given them. And everything changed. They felt sad. (Can you look sad) They had to leave the beautiful garden. And one day many years later they would die. It was a very sad day.
But God still loved Adam and Eve and he promised that he would send a Saviour to make everything good again.
First sad day craft idea
To make the spiral snake you need fairly sturdy paper plates (you need to be able to cut them but you don’t want them to fall apart when the toddlers start glueing on tissue paper!), tissue paper squares in lots of colours, snake tongue shapes cut out and some crayons/felt tips to draw on an eye. Adults can add the wool/string at the end of the make.
(You can add the string/wool beforehand if you prefer. An easy way to do this is to thread a darning needle with the wool and punch it through the plate. Tie a knot and cover the knot with cellotape.)
Make a big book to use at story time! I’m always looking for a new idea for story time. I like something visual and easy to use. I think it’s important to have props that help children and adults listen to the story and enjoy story time. We’ve completed a Bible Alphabet (a story for every letter of the alphabet). It was great having a long story series. So for the next series we are going to think about ‘What’s in God’s Book’. We will start with creation and then tell stories in chronological order as we go through the Bible. Characters will appear, big events will happen and although every story will stand alone they will also fit together as the story of God’s book.
We will have storybags and props each week but we will also have a big book. And each week a picture or page will appear out of the big book.
How we made the big book
We used blue mount board and yellow paper (150g) and pritt stick (a great glue for this as you can move the paper around just after you have glued it. It’s very forgiving)
The book is actually more of a pocket or pouch. The yellow paper is folded and then glued to the mount board which will make it easy to take pictures out of the big book.
It’s definitely a big book but it will be a great size for our toddler group story time as we have a big group!
Big Book Story Ideas
We are starting with Creation but will then do the following stories
Story Bag Ideas that are easy to find and use! If you tell Bible Stories in a Toddler Group setting or with young children in Sunday School you will probably have used a Story Bag. (It’s slightly different from providing a Story Bag for sharing in a small group or one to one as you will probably be telling the story rather than reading it from a book. In a large group the storyteller should be in charge of the props, make sure everyone can see them. Also there is no need to include a copy of a book!)
A Story Bag is a very useful tool in keeping children engaged with a story. Items appear from the bag throughout the story. These items can aid understanding; an unfamiliar object is often easier to show than to explain.
Easy Story Bag Ideas for the beginning of the story
Taking things out of a bag can build excitement and anticipation. When I begin a story I often start by introducing the main character…for example
I’ve bought someone with me today who is in our story. Are you ready to say hello to Mary? Let’s practice.. ‘Hello Mary’. I’m not sure she can hear you! Let’s try again, ‘Hello Mary’. (I take Mary from the story bag)
This makes a good start to the story. Everyone has joined in with saying hello to the main character. Children (and adults) are waiting to see what happens next.
Another way to begin is by taking an object out of the bag that is central to your story such as a model of a Bible time house or a boat. You could begin story time like this…
Today in our story bag is somewhere that Jesus often visited! Let’s find out where? (Take the house from the bag) It’s a house! It’s where his friends Mary and Martha lived. One day they invited Jesus to come and see them…
Story bag Ideas for the middle of the story
If you have started your story by introducing the main character or place then the next items in the story bag should help the story move along.
For example – having said hello to Mary you could help the children think about what she was doing..
Mary was having an ordinary day – she might have been cleaning (take a duster from the bag and pretend to dust and a brush and brushpan and pretend to sweep)..
There are lots of things that people in Bible Stories do that are ordinary and every day like cooking and eating so you can include everyday items in the story bag to help children understand the story.
Here’s a list of items I’ve used
Bread rolls
Purple cloth (Story about Lydia)
Large blue cloth (Sea, lake)
Play boat
Pans
Bowls
Dusters/Cloths
Sewing supplies (Tabitha/Dorcas)
Fruit/Veg (Harvest)
Pringle carton characters
Knitted dolls
Toy camels
Knitted donkey
Toy sheep
Model of flat roofed house (Make your own from a cardboard box or use duplo)
Mat – for man to lie on (Man with four friends)
Toy animals
Model of Noah’s Ark
Rock/Stone
Sand
Coins
Large leaves (Palm Sunday)
An apple
A toy snake
A crown
Toy boat
Toy building tools (useful for lots of stories – Tower of Babel, Noah, Building the Temple, Nehemiah, Parable of the Builders)
Red cord/yarn (Rahab rescues the spies)
Cushion/Pillow (Jesus asleep in the storm)
Characters made from wooden spoons
Concertina people (great for crowds – Feeding of 5,000)
Paper plate faces (use to explain feelings)
Puppets – bought or make your own by adding a lollipop stick to a cut out character
There are so many things you can use in a story bag to help bring the story to life.
At the end of the story
Finishing a story well can be more difficult than getting started. So it’s worth thinking through an ending that is clear. If you know how to finish your story it won’t just trail off…
A Story bag is really useful at the end of a story. If you have used a character then you can end with ..
Mary had an amazing day. Let’s say goodbye .. (and everyone joins in with )’Goodbye Mary’, as you place her in the story bag
If you have used an object like a model of a house you could end the story something like this..
Jesus had been to visit the house. (Put it back in the bag) I wonder where he will go next?
You don’t have to use a story bag every week but it is a great way to keep children and adults listening to your story. Choose a bag that you like and that will be easy to take items from. A basket works well – you can cover items with a cloth to hide them.
My Story Basket!
My Story Bags!
Here’s a Bible Story using props –
Here’s a collection of Story bag Prop Ideas on Pinterest
Bible Truth for Toddlers – God hears us when we talk to him
In the story bag we have Hannah and baby Samuel.
‘Are you ready to say hello to the person in our story? Her name is Hannah. ‘Hello Hannah’. (Take Hannah from the story bag)
Hannah lived a long time ago with her husband. She had nice clothes, and a lovely home but she was very, very sad.
Hannah didn’t have any children and this made her very sad.
What could she do?
No one seemed to care about how she felt.
Who could she talk to?
Hannah decided to talk to God. Sometimes we call that praying. She told him how sad she was. She told God how much she wanted to have a baby. She told God all about how she felt.
God always cares about how we feel. He is always able to listen to us when we talk to him. Even though we can’t see God he is there – he is real, and he is kind and good and powerful.
When Hannah had told God all about everything she felt much better.
Now God doesn’t always give us exactly what we ask him for but he heard Hannah’s prayer and she had a baby! (Take Samuel from the story bag) Let’s quietly whisper, ‘hello Samuel’ – because he’s sleeping!
Hannah called her baby Samuel. She loved him very much.
Let’s say bye, bye to Hannah and Samuel. (Place them back in the story bag)
Hannah prays story – Craft Idea
We have a picture of Hannah to decorate and baby Samuel to add. If you can, have some Skin Coloured Crayons for the children to use – these are really good for all crafts that include pictures of people.
There is another Bible Story Idea about Samuel here. It’s all about Samuel hearing God’s voice and how God speaks to us today. You could tell these stories on consecutive weeks to teach that we can talk to God and God talks to us.
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David defeats Goliath is a well known Bible Story found in 1 Samuel 17. This is a simple retelling of the story for toddlers
Bible Truth for Toddlers – God helps us
God’s people were in a lot of trouble! They were hiding in their tents! Every day their enemy laughed at them. Their enemy was a huge fighter called Goliath (everyone repeat the name together)
Goliath was taller than everyone else
Goliath was stronger than everyone else
Goliath was scarier that everyone else
What could God’s people do?
They felt small
They felt weak
They were scared
But David was brave. It wasn’t because David was tall (he wasn’t!). It wasn’t because David was strong (he wasn’t). David was brave because he knew God would help him.
‘I’ll go and fight Goliath,’ David said. And he did. He took 1,2,3,4,5 small stones and his sling. He walked towards Goliath and he threw a stone.
It whizzed through the air and plonk! It hit Goliath and he fell down! David won! God’s people didn’t need to hide anymore. God helped David. God is able to help you too.
Josiah reads God’s book bible story. Josiah was King in Judah at a very difficult time. The temple was in need of repair and God’s people were not following God’s law. This Bible Story tells of how God’s Book was found and how Josiah read God’s Book to the people. It’s taken from 2 Kings 22:1 – 23:2. As this story is intended for toddlers a lot of detail has been left out. There are some fun actions to do during the story so that everyone can join in.
Josiah reads God’s Book – story idea
Bible Truth for Toddlers – God’s Book is for Everyone
In the Story Bag – King Josiah puppet/doll, a toy hammer, a brush, a Bible(Take these from the story bag as you need them)
Before you begin – explain to everyone that there are some things to join in with during the story; some sweeping, hammering and saying ‘no’.
‘Let’s say hello to King Josiah! Josiah was King a long time ago. He was very upset that the Temple, where people went to worship God, was really messy and untidy. Parts of it needed cleaning. Parts of it needed mending. Josiah said, ‘Let’s fix and tidy the Temple,’ and so work began.
There was sweeping!
There was hammering!
Everyone was busy!
But then they stopped…… Everything went quiet…..They had found something.
What could it be?
Was it silver? NO!
Was it Gold? NO!
Was it lots of money? NO!
It was even better than those things.
They had found God’s Book. (It didn’t look exactly like this Bible but the words inside are the same)
Josiah read God’s Book. ‘This is so important that everyone should hear it’, he said
All the people came to the Temple – the important people, the ordinary everyday people, the old people, the young people. People just like you. People just like me. And King Josiah read God’s Book to everyone.
God’s Book is for everyone!
Here’s a blog post all about making Pringle people. Josiah is made from a Pringle tube – you could use a bread stick tube too. The advantage of using a pringle tube is that it is fairly solid so a pringle person will stand up easily leaving your hands free for storytelling actions.
X is for Xerxes is part of our Bible Alphabet. The following is a much shortened telling of the story of Esther, King Xerxes and Haman. When you are telling a story in a toddler group you have to shorten the narrative and find a way to tell the story simply. To read the full story see Esther
X is for Xerxes story idea
Our story happened a long time again in a country called Persia. There was a powerful king called King Xerxes. He was in charge of a huge kingdom and in his kingdom lots of God’s people lived. They were a long way from home.
Now one of God’s people had married the King (he didn’t know that she was one of God’s people – he had married her because she was very beautiful) Her name was Esther.
And there was another man whose name was Haman. The king liked him very much but he was a very bad and horrible man.
Haman didn’t like God’s people at all. He wanted to get rid of all of them. And so he asked the king, ‘Can we get rid of all these people?’ And the King said, ….. ‘yes!’
Now Esther was very sad and worried. She had to find a way to keep God’s people safe. She knew that she needed help. But who could help her? She sent a message to her family – Pray to God. Ask him to help me. And I will pray too.
Esther asked God to help her. She went to see King Xerxes. She told him what was going to happen to God’s people and how she was one of them. The King was horrified. He was angry with Haman and he protected God’s people. They were kept safe.
King Xerxes was very powerful – but not as powerful as God who is able to keep his people safe and hears them when they ask for his help.
X is for Xerxes props for story telling
King Xerxes and Queen Esther are made from Pringle Containers. Xerxes is a regular Pringle container and Esther is a whole wheat Pringle tube which is slightly smaller (perfect for making storytelling people of different heights!)
To make you just cover the tube in coloured paper (I used a glue gun to stick this) and then add a face , hair and some clothes. Pipe cleaners are very useful for holding everything together. As they are royalty I added crowns but often it’s just a piece of material held in place with a pipe cleaner as in the case of Haman. There are instructions here
The People of God were in the wilderness. They had escaped from Egypt but were thirsty. They moaned! God told Moses to strike the rock and out came water. The story is from Exodus 17:1-7
W is for Water from the Rock – story idea
Have you ever felt hungry? God’s people had been hungry and so God had given them food to eat.
Have you ever felt thirsty? God’s people felt thirsty. But instead of asking God to help them find water they moaned and groaned! Why isn’t God helping us? they said to Moses.
Why are you moaning and groaning? Moses said
Then Moses asked for God’s help. What shall I do with all these moany and groany people?
God heard Moses. God helped Moses. God said, ‘Moses, take your staff and hit the rock’.
Moses did what God said. He lifted up his staff and struck the rock and out came water!
God gave the people water to drink. He looked after them.
God is able to look after you and me too.
Water from the Rock Craft Idea
A simple collage to make. Beforehand prepare the rock from brown paper, a sun, some blue paper strips for water and Moses (Pdf below). The children can build the scene.
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.
This parable of the builders is from Luke 6:46-49. It’s a great story to tell as you can dress up as a builder, use actions, sing the song ‘The Wise Man Built His House Upon The Rock’, and, if you are feeling adventurous, use sand rock and water. But it is really helpful to explain why Jesus told this story – so that is where we began. A simple sentence – ‘Jesus told this story to show how important it is to listen to and do what he says.’ It’s also helpful to finish by saying , ‘If we listen to and do what Jesus says our lives last, just like the house on the rock lasted’.
We can’t always explain everything about the parable in the way we might like because the children are so young but we can say something to encourage the adults listening to begin to think further about Jesus.
The Parable of the Builders Story Idea
We had two people to act out the story. One of them also narrated what was happening. We dressed up as builders! Everyone joined in with actions of building, the rain, the floods and the crash as one of the houses fell.
Once upon a time there was a builder who just wanted a house as quick as possible! He chose to build on the sand. It would be quick and easy to build a house. He did a bit of digging and found some stones to make a house on the soft sand. Soon he was finished and sat down to have a rest!
There was another builder who also wanted a house. This builder wanted to build the house really well and so he built his house on rock. He worked so hard digging the foundations, cutting the stones, building them on top of each other. It took a lot longer to complete the build! But then the house was finished and he sat down to have a rest.
Suddenly the rain came and the floods. The house on the rock kept standing! But the house on the sand fell down with a crash!
If there is just one person telling the story they could stand in a different spot for the foolish builder and act out the part and then move to a different spot for the wise builder.
Parable of the builders Bible Story props
The builders craft idea
For the craft we made a house – print out the outline and cut up loads of paper to make bricks that can be stuck on the house.
Lost Sheep Bible Stories with two craft ideas for different age groups.
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 Lost Sheep is a story that Jesus told. Jesus often told parables; stories that have one hidden meaning. In Luke 15:1-7 Jesus tells the story about the lost sheep to show the self important Pharisees that the Tax Collectors and sinners who he socialised with were welcome in the Kingdom of God. The latter often knew that they needed a Saviour while the former thought they were already righteous. When we tell this story we can and focus on the joy in Heaven when something lost is found. In this case the sheep is like us, we need to be found.
The Lost Sheep Story Idea
‘One day there were some very moany, groany people who were cross with Jesus. They thought that they were very important, special people and that Jesus should spend all his time with them. But Jesus was busy spending time with people who had done bad things! ‘How can he spend his time with these awful people?’ they said.
Jesus knew that they were moaning and groaning about him so he told them this story…
‘Once upon a time there was a shepherd who had a 10 sheep. He looked after them really well. He gave them food to eat and water to drink. Every day he counted them – 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 – just to make sure they were all safe and sound.
But one day there was a problem. The shepherd was counting his sheep, one – then two – then three and so on – all the way to nine! And then… where was 10? One sheep was lost. Oh No! What could he do?
He missed his lost sheep and so he went off to find it. The Shepherd was determined to find his lost sheep. He looked here and he looked there, he looked everywhere! He walked over the hills, through the forest, behind the rocks. Looking and looking!
And then he found the sheep that was lost! He picked it up and carried it home. Can you imaging how he felt?
He was so happy that he called all his friends and they celebrated! All his sheep were now safe and sound.’
Jesus had finished telling the story. Jesus looked at the moany, groany people and he said to them, ‘There is lots of happiness in heaven when someone who knows they are lost comes back to God.’ ‘
The Lost Sheep Craft Idea
Lost Sheep Craft- download the image and decorate with yarn, crayons and/or cotton wool
An idea for older children – Lost Sheep Collage– the download for the small sheep is below. I used a gardening catalogue for the tree and flower photos and coloured paper for the hills and sun. The paper is from A4 Coloured Paper
All you need – glue, paper to make the hills (different shades of green), blue paper for background, yellow for sun, pictures of flowers and trees, tissue paper for grass and a sheep to hide.
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..
Characters for telling the good Samaritan story
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!
The children can select pictures and glue them onto A4 Sugar Paper/Construction Paper. Here’s a link to some recycled paper that’s great for the background.
This story is one of several in a series for toddler groups ‘Stories Jesus Told‘ – the others are linked for you below
It’s a lovely set of stories to tell and fits nicely in a six week half term.
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.
God knows when I feel thankful is a story from Luke 17:11-19.
God knows when I feel thankful story idea
I used 10 wooden spoons to represent the ten men that asked Jesus to help them. On one side there is a sad face and on the other a happy face. Turn the spoons around as the men are made well. You can stand the spoons in some foam, oasis or a wooden block with drilled holes.A wooden block will last a lot longer so if you can go for that option.
One day, as Jesus was walking along the road, 10 men called out to him. They didn’t come close because they weren’t very well and they didn’t want anyone to catch what they had. They called out to Jesus, ‘Please help us.’
Jesus saw them. Jesus heard them. And Jesus helped them. He made all 10 men better! They were so happy! They started to go back to their families and friends. But one man stopped. He turned round and came to where Jesus was. ‘Thank you’, he said.
It is always good for us to be thankful for the things we have and to say, ‘thank you’.
God knows when I feel scared. God really does know how we feel. This week’s story is from Luke 8:22-25 when the disciples were scared. Even though Jesus was sleeping during the storm he is the Son of God, and he still knew how the disciples felt.
God knows when I feel scared story idea
In the storybag – disciples, a boat, a cushion and the emoji face. There are lots of actions you could do during this story. Encourage everyone to join in.
To begin – I wonder if you have ever felt scared or frightened? – show the emoji face. One day Jesus’ friends were very scared. Let’s find out what happened…
Jesus and his friends got into the boat. ‘Lets go across the lake’, Jesus said.
They began to row. But Jesus wasn’t rowing. He was doing something else. He was sleeping.
Jesus’ friends kept rowing.
And then something started. Drip, drip, splash, splash. It was raining! Whoosh, whoosh! The wind was blowing! The boat was rocking. The boat was fillng up with water!! Oh no! They were in danger. And they were scared.
‘Wake up, Jesus!’ they said, ‘We are in danger and we are scared.’
Jesus knew they were scared. He cared about his friends.
‘Stop!’ Jesus said to the wind, the rain and the stormy waves. And they stopped. And everything was calm.
Jesus cares when we are scared. We can ask for his help.
Jesus calms the storm craft idea
All you need for the craft..
Background paper – Grey or white
Selection of blue paper waves
Boat shape
Lollipop stick for the mast
Triangles for sails
Crayons to colour rain
Glue
‘God knows when I am scared’ printed out
The labels are available for download. Either print on paper and cut out or print onto a sheet of labels.
God knows when I feel busy! This term we are telling Bible Stories that remind us that God knows how we feel. We start with Martha feeling busy. The story is from Luke 10: 38-42. Each week there will be a different emoji paper plate face that represents how the character in the story is feeling.
I’m not sure that toddlers dislike feeling busy but the adults listening in to this story will probably relate to Martha.
God knows when I feel busy bible story idea
In the story bag I had – the emoji paper plate face, Martha, Mary, pan, wooden spoon and an apron that I put on during the story. As you introduce the characters take them from the story bag and say ‘hello.
One day Martha invited Jesus to come to her home for a meal. She lived with her sister Mary
Jesus was very happy to go to Mary and Martha’s house.
When he got there Jesus began to talk about God. Mary so wanted to listen to everything that he had to say. She sat down and listened.
But Martha had a lot to do! There was tidying to be done. There was the cooking to be done. Pans needed stirring!(Use the props from the story bag – encourage the children to mime the actions too) Food needed chopping! Plates needed wiping! Water needed pouring! She was busy, busy, busy! (Can you say that with me? She was busy, busy, busy!) – show the face of the busy person.
Mary sat still and listened to Jesus.
Martha was not happy! She was so busy and no one was helping!
She said to Jesus, ‘Tell my sister to help me!’
But Jesus didn’t do what Martha said. Instead he said to Martha, ‘You don’t need to be so busy. You need to sit and listen to my words too.’
Today we can stop being so busy and instead listen to the words of Jesus by listening to stories about him and reading the Bible.’
Martha – God knows when we are busy
The print out is from pixabay. Here’s the link to the plate for you to print
I cut out lots of food pictures from magazines for the children to choose from to decorate their plates. Here’s a photo of the craft table set up (minus the glue which I always put out last so I can put the lids away – they are small and could be a chocking hazard)
The Man with Four Friends is our next Bible number story in the series. We are up to the number four! For the other numbers we have told stories about have a look at these links – Number One, Number Two, Number Three
This week the Bible Story is from Mark 2:1-22. The Bible Truth for Toddlers is ‘Jesus can forgive the wrong that people do’.
Man with four friends story bag ideas
To tell the story you need 5 puppets/dolls, a bed/mat and a model or picture of the house and a storybag.
The four friendsThe man on his matBible time house
The Man with Four Friends – story idea
Can you do some counting with me? Let’s see – use your fingers to count – 1,2,3,4! Today our Bible Story is all about the number 4. Listen to find out when to join in with some counting.
Our story begins in a house with a flat roof and some steps up the side. It had windows and a door. I wonder what could be happening in this house? We are not told who lived in this home, (show the house) but when Jesus arrived lots of people went to the house to meet him. They squashed themselves inside. There was hardly any room. The house was full!
In another part of town there was a man who couldn’t walk. He lay on his bed. (show the man on his bed) He needed the help of his friends everyday. Let’s count the friends together as they come out of the story bag – 1,2,3,4
His friends wanted him to see Jesus.
So, they picked him up and carried him to the house where Jesus was – carefully, carefully they carried their friend through the town to the house where Jesus was…
…they believed Jesus could help their friend.
When they arrived at the house they could not get in the front door because of the crowd. They didn’t give up!
They carried him up the outside stairs and onto the roof – slowly, slowly – carefully, carefully…
…they made a hole in the roof, then – slowly, slowly, carefully, carefully they lowered him down in front of Jesus!
When Jesus saw that they really believed he could help the man he said, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Some people in the house didn’t believe that Jesus could forgive the wrong people do. So, Jesus said to the man, “So that you can be sure that I can forgive sin, get up, pick up your mat and go home.” Straight away and really quickly he got up and walked home!
All the people in the house were amazed!!
We never saw anything like this! They said to one another.
Craft Idea – free download to colour and/or decorate with tissue paper
Jesus and three disciples is our next Bible number story. We are up to the number 3. This Story is from Matthew 17:1-13. (We have already thought about Jonah and One Big Fish and Noah and Two of Every Animal.) This week’s Bible Truth for Toddler’s is, ‘We can listen to Jesus.’ To tell the story you could have three people to take out of a storybag – say hello to them and count them too.
Jesus and three disciples story idea
Meet three of Jesus’ disciples (friends) – Peter, James and John. They knew each other really well.
One day they went for a walk up a mountain – up, up, up they went. No one else was at the top. Just the three of them.
And then something extraordinary happened. Jesus began to shine really brightly.
Peter and James and John looked at Jesus. Something very special was happening. Although Jesus was a man just like them, he was also the Son of God. They were seeing a little bit of his glory. They were seeing just how special Jesus is.
And then they were surrounded by a bright cloud. Not an ordinary cloud – but one that was shining. And they heard God’s voice say, ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him.’
And then it was over – and they walked back down the mountain.
Jesus really is God’s Son and we can listen to him today by reading God’s Special Book – the Bible.
Three Friends of Jesus – Peter, James and John
Craft Idea
We made shiny pictures – using various types of paper and celophane. Wrapping paper is really good for this. We also had a colouring sheet with the three disciples/friends of Jesus. This is a free download.
Noah and two of every animal is our second bible number story. Last week we thought about the Number One and told the Bible story about Jonah and the One Big Fish. This story is all about counting to two! The Bible Truth for toddlers is, ‘Those who trust in God are rescued’. You can read the story from Genesis here.
To tell the story you can use – an ark, animals in pairs, Mr and Mrs Noah, a toy saw and hammer.
Storytelling props for Noah
Noah and two of every animal toddler group story script
Say hello to Noah! God told Noah to start building. He needed to cut lots of wood and use a hammer and a saw. But what was he making? It wasn’t a house. It wasn’t a new bed. It wasn’t a table. It wasn’t even really a boat! It was an ark. It was like a big, big box that would float. God had told Noah to build an ark, he told him exactly how big it should be and what sort of wood to use.
Noah worked hard. He trusted God and he did what God said. Everyday he sawed and hammered. Every night he went fast asleep. Then he woke up and sawed and hammered until one day the Ark was finished. It was huge!
It was too big for just Noah and his family. Who else was it for?
God sent animals to go inside the ark. Two of every kind. Let’s count them! (show animals in pairs and count – 1,2). They went into the big ark that Noah had built. Noah collected all the food that they would need and put in safely in the ark and then Noah and his family went inside too. And then God shut the door.
Everyone inside the Ark waited. They waited. And they waited.
And then it began. It rained and it poured. It rained for such a long time. But Noah and his family and the animals were safe in the ark. God took care of them and rescued them from the big flood.
And when the flood had gone they were able to come out of the big ark that Noah had built. God had rescued them from the big flood.
We added tissue paper in different shades of blue for the water and used animal stickers. I liked that they were photos of animals. Lots of opportunity for naming animals while making the craft.
Song Idea
Instead of ‘Old MacDonald had a farm’, we sang ‘Mr Noah had an ark’ and added the animals that we had used in the story with any sounds that they make.
Noah’s Ark shape sorter that we used as a storytelling prop.
Jonah and the One Great Big Fish – A Bible Number Story. We are thinking about counting in toddler group. So we have some Bible Stories with numbers. First up is Jonah. The Bible truth for toddlers in this story is ‘God always knows where we are’. The story is from the book of Jonah.
To tell the Story you need –
Jonah (we used a figure from happyland),
a big fish (the one pictured is VERY big – made over a tent) and
a toy boat.
Jonah and the boat to NinevahThe big fish that swallowed Jonah
Jonah and the One Great Big Fish story
God said to Jonah, ‘go to the big city called Ninevah (can you say that? repeat the name together) and tell everyone there about me.’
Jonah listened to God.
But Jonah didn’t like the people in the big city of Ninevah.
‘I don’t want to! I’m not going to go!’ He said (have you ever said that?)
Jonah thought to himself, ‘I will go far away – so far away that God won’t know where I am.’ He went and got on a boat and sailed away, far, far away from Ninevah.
But then the rain came and the wind blew – and out of the boat came Jonah – and splash into the sea!
Down, down, down he went. ‘Please God, help me!’ he prayed.
God knew exactly where Jonah was, God always knows where we are; and he sent something to help. It wasn’t a boat – it was one great big fish. The one great big fish opened up it’s mouth and swallowed Jonah. He was safe!
The one great big fish took Jonah back to land. God said, ‘Jonah, go to Ninevah’. And this time Jonah did exactly what God said.
Taking items out of a storybag during a story builds interest. Use a bag that’s large enough and attractive for the children and easy for you to use. No plastic bags!
Elisha and the widow’s oil is a story from 2 Kings 4:1-7 where we read about Elisha helping a widow who needed to pay her debts. He told her to borrow as many empty jars of oil as she could from neighbours and then go inside her home and close the door. What happened next shows us God’s care for his people.
Elisha and the widow’s oil Bible Story
Bible Truth for Toddlers – God cares about us
To tell the story to young children – you need a bottle of oil.
‘There was once a woman who had two sons. Sadly, her husband had died and she was in trouble. She owed some bad people money and she had no way of paying them back.
She went to see Elisha. He was God’s prophet. ‘I am in trouble. Can you help me?!’ she asked
What do you have at home? Elisha asked
I have one jar of oil. (Show the oil)
Elisha told her what she must do. ‘Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your neighbours. Then go home. Shut the door and start to pour the oil into the empty jars and then sell the oil and pay your debts’
What would the woman do? She started to borrow empty jars. She went to one home and then another and then another. Soon she had lots of empty jars.
Then she went home and closed the door.
Her sons helped her start to pour the oil into an empty jar. And something amazing happened. As they filled the empty jar the oil that they had started with didn’t run out. They filled another jar and still it didn’t run out. Soon all the jars were full of oil. And once they were all full the oil that they had started with stopped flowing.
Now oil is expensive and the woman was able to sell all this extra oil. She had enough money to pay her debts and money left over for her and her sons to live on.
Elisha was able to help because he was God’s prophet. God cared about this woman and her sons. God cares about you and me too.’
Craft ideas – free downloads
One idea is to colour/decorate jars of oil. The other is to add more jars of oil to the picture and then colour or decorate.
To tell the story you need – some Wise Men, toy camels and a star. You can add some actions too – stars with hands (like in twinkle, twinkle little star), running, looking, kneeling.
The story
Bible Truth for Toddlers – Jesus is King
Far away from where Jesus was born there were some Wise Men. They read books and knew a lot. They loved to look at the stars in the dark night’s sky. One night they saw a new star! They looked at the new star and they looked at each other. ‘Wow! they thought, ‘this new star means that a new king has been born in Israel. Let’s go and worship him’.
So they packed their things and set off for the important city of Jerusalem. They travelled for a long time. It took days and days to get there. When they arrived in Jerusalem they asked everyone they met, ‘Where is the new baby king?’
Now, there was a king in Jerusalem called King Herod but he wasn’t a baby; he was a grown up and he wasn’t at all happy. He didn’t want a new King! He heard that there were men from a far away place who were asking people, ‘Where is the new king?’ This upset him and it upset the people who were living in Jerusalem. He sent for the men from the temple. ‘Where is this new King to be born?’ he asked. The men from the temple knew the answer because it was written in the Bible. ‘In Bethlehem.’ they said.
Herod sent for the Wise Men and he told them to go to Bethlehem and find this new King and then come back and tell him where the new King was so he could go and worship him too.
So off the Wise Men went. It wasn’t too far to go now. As they got nearer something very special happened. The star was there again and this time it went before them and shone right over the house where Jesus was. The Wise men had found Jesus and they knelt down and worshiped him. They took their treasures out of their bags and gave them to Jesus. They gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. These were special gifts for a King.
The Wise Men never told Herod where Jesus was. God warned them not to in a dream and they travelled home.
Herod didn’t want to worship Jesus. He wanted to get rid of him. An angel told Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and run away to a different country till it was safe to go back home.
Joseph did what the angel said and took Mary and Jesus to somewhere safe far away from Herod. When the danger was past they went to back home to Nazareth.
Some star craft ideas
For a star craft – decorate a star wreath shape and add some tissue paper for a stained glass window effect. Or use Christmas card pictures to decoarate a star.
Jesus heals the Centurions Servant video. This is the last short story in the Homes Jesus Visited series. The house that Jesus never visited! The story is from Luke 7:1-10. The pictures used in the video are from Free Bible Images
It’s a lovely series of Bible Stories for toddler group and pre-school. Young children know what home is and so we are starting with something familiar and building the story around that.
The pictures in the video are from Free Bible Images. A great website full of useful resources. The words are my own based on Luke 5:27-32. The name Matthew has been used for simplicity.
Zacchaeus story, video and craft for young children.
Zacchaeus story telling idea
Jesus was walking along the road to a town called Jericho. Lots of people wanted to see Jesus as he walked through their town. They had heard a lot about all the amazing things that he had done.
One man really wanted to see Jesus. His name was Zacchaeus (can you say that name?) Let’s say hello to Zacchaeus as he comes out of the story bag.
Now Zacchaeus was very, very rich. He had loads of money. Some of his money he had by taking what wasn’t his! So people didn’t like Zacchaeus.
But that wasn’t all. Zacchaeus was a short man. So when Jesus was coming to his town he had a problem! He couldn’t see past the crowds! The crowds of people didn’t like Zacchaeus so they weren’t going to let him get to the front. Standing on tip toe didn’t help either. So Zacchaeus began to run. He ran to a tree. Then he did something that he hadn’t done for a long, long time. He climbed the tree. Now he could see Jesus.
And there Jesus was, walking along the road. And then Jesus stopped! Right under the tree. ‘Zacchaeus, come down. I’m coming to your house today!’ said Jesus.
Zacchaeus came down the tree. ‘I will give back all the money that isn’t mine and I will give extra money too’ he said.
Zacchaeus was a different person now that he had met Jesus.
Jesus said ‘I came to look for and to save the lost’. All of us are lost without Jesus. He is looking for us and is able to find and save us.
Zacchaeus story video
Zacchaeus craft idea
Craft Idea – download and print the tree and Zacchaeus. Decorate with tissue and /or sugar paper and colour. Stick Zacchaeus in the tree.
Homes Jesus visited – the crowded house is a short video story for young children to enjoy. It is a retelling of a Bible story from Mark 2:1-22
Take a look at the other videos in the series by vising let their light shine’s You Tube channel where you will find stories for young children and some short videos about telling stories.
The Crowded house craft ideas
Here’s a link to an easy craft based on this story
Here’s a craft using an envelope. This is better suited to older children (we made it with reception age – 4/5 year olds) To make you need…
Blank square envelope
Face stickers
Man on a mat
Yarn
Tissue paper for the bricks (or colour these with crayons)
Turn the envelope into a house by adding windows and a door. Add faces to the windows so the house is full. Add yarn to the man on his mat and colour. The children can enjoy making this craft and suing it to retell the story.
Homes Jesus visited – the crowded house craft step by step
If you would like to use the man on the mat visual go to Teachkids.eu by clicking this link. Download Little kids can know God through his miracles. It’s a free download. Then go to page 79 where you will find the man on the mat. There are lots of other things in the download too!
I’ve had a go at making a short video to share with our toddler group parents. If you like it and want to use it feel free! I’m still learning how to do this so any hints and tips welcome 🙂
The pictures are from Free Bible Images. The words are my own.
What is God like? Story series for toddlers. This is a great way to teach young children some basic truths about God’s character.
There is a story from the Bible that teaches one truth about God each week. An alternative title would be ‘What does the Bible tell us about God?’
We answered the question by teaching that –
God is everywhere, God knows everything, God is holy, God is powerful and God is faithful. Of course the Bible tells us more about God than we have included here. We finish with the Christmas story explaining that God has made a way for us to know him.
This series would make a great run in to Christmas but I also think it would be fine to tell the Christmas story at a different time of year.
Each week you can use a story bag and a character or two. These can be Pringle people, happyland characters, a mini Moses (toilet roll!) and knitted characters. I think the children like the variety.
You could easily tell these stories to young children at home too.
Week One JONAH Story of Jonah and the big fish
Bible truth for toddlers – God is Everywhere
God is everywhere is a truth we learn from the Bible. We are using the story of Jonah to illustrate this truth in a way that is easy for toddlers.
To tell the Story you need –
Jonah (we used a figure from happyland),
a big fish (the one pictured is VERY big – made over a tent) and
a toy boat.
Jonah and the boat to NinevahThe big fish that swallowed Jonah
Jonah and the Great Big Fish story
God said to Jonah, ‘go to the big city called Ninevah (can you say that? repeat the name together) and tell everyone there about me.’
Jonah listened to God.
But Jonah didn’t like the people in the big city of Ninevah.
‘I don’t want to! I’m not going to go!’ He said (have you ever said that?)
Jonah thought to himself, ‘I will go far away – so far away that God won’t know where I am.’ He went and got on a boat and sailed away, far, far away from Ninevah.
But then the rain came and the wind blew – and out of the boat came Jonah – and splash into the sea!
Down, down, down he went. ‘Please God, help me!’ he prayed. Could God still hear Jonah from inside the great big fish? Was God too far away? No he was not far away. He was right there with Jonah.
God is everywhere. Jonah couldn’t run away from God.
God knew exactly where Jonah was, God always knows where we are; and he sent something to help. It wasn’t a boat – it was one great big fish. The one great big fish opened up it’s mouth and swallowed Jonah. He was safe!
The one great big fish took Jonah back to land. God said, ‘Jonah, go to Ninevah’. And this time Jonah did exactly what God said.
God is everywhere, all of the time. So wherever you go God is already there!
Say hello to Pharaoh! Pharaoh was a very important man. But he was upset. He had had a dream. It was a strange dream and it worried Pharaoh. He wanted to know what his dream meant. What could he do? He sent for all the magicians and wise men. ‘They will tell me what the dream means,’ he thought to himself.
But they had no idea what the dream was all about! No idea at all.
Oh no! What could Pharaoh do? One of his servants was thinking. He was remembering someone he knew. He had an idea.
‘Pharaoh I know someone who can help. He is in your prison. He is able to tell people what their dreams mean.’ Who was this man? His name was Joseph.
Pharaoh sent for him right way. Can you tell me what my dream means? he asked Joseph.
‘No! I can’t. But God can tell us what the dream means’. How can God do that? He can because God knows everything. God told Joseph what the dream meant. He told Pharaoh.
God knows everything about you and me too. He knows our names and he cares about us.
(Pharaoh and Joseph are made from pringles cartons)
God knows everything craft idea
This craft relates to the story – children can make their own Pharaoh puppet
Moses and God’s people were in a hurry. They were escaping from being slaves in a place called Egypt. They were leaving as fast as they could taking all their things with them. There were mums and dads and grandmas and grandads and babies and children just like you hurrying away from Egypt. Moses was their leader.
But Pharaoh, the king of Egypt was coming after them! He wanted his slaves back.
Moses and the people hurried. Pharaoh and his armies hurried after them!
Then something awful happened.
Moses and God’s people came to a huge sea of water. They couldn’t go round it. They couldn’t go under it. They couldn’t go through it! They were scared. They said to Moses, ‘ Why did you bring us here to die!
Moses said.’ Don’t be afraid. Stand still and see how God will work to save you today.’
What was God going to do?
God is powerful. He is more powerful than anyone. He moved the sea. The water separated and it stood up like towers. The land became completely dry. God is so powerful. He was able to rescue the people. They walked on the dry land, with the water either side of them – all of them got safely to the other side.
One day a man called Zechariah was in the temple. It was a very special place where people went to worship God. Zechariah had a special job to do there – just once in his life! He was a priest and he had been chosen to go and burn some incense that would make the temple smell beautiful. He was all by himself. All the other people had to wait outside.
Suddenly an angel was there with him. Angels are big, strong messengers from God. Zechariah was frightened!
‘Don’t be afraid’, the angel said, ‘God has heard your prayers and you and your wife Elisabeth are going to have a baby son. You will give him the name John.’
Now Zechariah should have believed the angel but he didn’t! ‘How can that happen?’ he said, ‘Elisabeth and I are far too old to have children!’
The angel said, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in God’s presence everyday! I was sent to give you this good news. Now since you haven’t believed me you won’t be able to talk until the baby is born.’ Then Gabriel went away.
Zechariah finished what he was doing. He went outside but he couldn’t tell anyone what had happened!
He went back home. Time went by. Would God keep his promise?
God always keeps his promises. God is faithful. Zechariah and Elisabeth had a baby boy and they called him John.
God is faithful craft idea – Elizabeth and Zechariah
Make a picture of Elizabeth with her baby
To find printable PDF’s to use for Elizabeth and baby go to this post about Hannah. I’ve used the same pictures but for a different story.
Week Six Luke 2 God has made a way for us to know him
Bible truth for toddlers – God has made a way for us to know him
We have heard about how God is everywhere. God knows everything. God is powerful. God is holy. God is faithful. Today we find out that God has made a way for us to know him.
‘Mary and Joseph were in the stable. That night something amazing had happened. Jesus had been born as a baby. Jesus was not just an ordinary baby – he was God’s Son sent from heaven.
Out in the fields there were some shepherds looking after their sheep. It was dark. There were stars up in the sky. Suddenly an angel was there! This angel had a message from God.
The shepherds were scared!
‘Don’t be afraid,’ the angel said, ‘I bring you good news of great joy that is for everyone. Today in the Town of David a Saviour has been born to you!’
Who is this Saviour? It is Jesus
The angel told the shepherds ‘ You will find the baby wrapped in cloths and in a manger’.
Then there were lots and lots of angels in the sky singing. It was such a special night – the Saviour had been born.
Then the angels were gone. The shepherds looked at each other. ‘let’s go and find this special baby’, they said to each other.
They dashed into the town and they looked. And they found him – the Saviour sent from God was there. God had sent Jesus to be our Saviour so that we can know God. The shepherds found Jesus. You can find Jesus too.
(The characters are from Early Learning Centre. The ‘straw’ is shredded tissue paper.)
God has made a way for us to know him – craft Ideas
As this is the Christmas story there are so many craft ideas to choose from! Here’s a link to several ideas.
We’ve arrived at Easter! We have traveled along the road to Jerusalem to reach the first Easter. Each week we’ve met different people that Jesus met on his journey and now we are at the end of our journey.
This weeks story is the Easter Story .. to tell it you need puppets or dolls to represent Peter, John and Mary and the paper plate visual (or something similar.) If you have been making the paper plates display all of them together and then add the one from this final story.
Bible truth for toddlers – Jesus died and came alive again
‘Our story has a sad beginning – can you look sad? Jesus died on the cross on the Friday. He was put in a tomb (cave) and a big stone was put over the entrance.
His friends were very sad and frightened. A whole day went by – that was Saturday.
The next day was Sunday. A woman called Mary went to the tomb very early in the morning. When she got there something had happened. The big stone had been moved. What could she do? Who would help her?
Mary knew someone who could help her – Peter! She went to find Peter and John and told them what had happened.
They listened. Then they started to run. They were running as fast as they could to the tomb. John got there first and looked inside. It was empty.
Then Peter got there. He didn’t just look inside. He walked right in to the tomb. It was empty!
Jesus wasn’t there anymore. The Bible tells us that that he had died and then come alive again. This is happy news for you and for me.’
The paper plates that have been used to show Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem can be displayed altogether!
‘Jesus and his friends were almost at the big city of Jerusalem. Lots of people wanted to see Jesus. But how was Jesus going to arrive in the city? Was he going to arrive in a car? No! Was he going to arrive in a helicopter? No! (they didn’t have those!) Was he going to ride into the city on a big, strong horse? No!
Jesus sent two of his friends to borrow a donkey. (What noise does a donkey make? Hee-haw) They bought the donkey to Jesus and put their cloaks on it’s back. Jesus sat on the donkey and he rode into the big city.
Crowds and crowds of people were there. There were mums and dads, grandmas and grandads and children just like you! Some of the people took their cloaks off and put them in the road for the donkey to walk on. They called out, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ as Jesus passed by. They shouted, ‘hosanna!’ (which means ‘God saves’). Can you say ‘hosanna’? They waved palm branches in the air. The people in the crowd were welcoming Jesus into the big city. They were excited!
Jesus had almost arrived at Jerusalem! He had travelled a long way. How lovely that he was able to go to his friends house. Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha were good friends of Jesus. They wanted to do something special for him so they had a dinner for him. Martha served the food and everyone enjoyed what she had made and they ate everything! Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus. But where was Mary?
Mary wanted to show everyone how special Jesus was. In those days when you went to someone’s house they always gave you some water to wash your feet. The roads were very dusty and people got their feet dirty.
But Mary wanted to do more than just give Jesus water to wash his feet. She had some very expensive ointment that she poured onto the feet of Jesus. The Bible tells us that the perfume from the anointment filled the whole house.
Mary was right to do this special thing for Jesus because he is God’s Son who would soon die to save us.
Paper plate picture to add to the others
Craft Idea – a perfume bottle made from a paper plate. Spray the bottle shape with perfume and allow to saok in and dry. Then decorate!
Jesus is now in Jericho on his way to Jerusalem. Last time he met Bartimaeus. Now he meets Zacchaeus. Two very different people!
To tell the story… from Luke 19:1-10
Have a tree – you can make one from a pringle container or draw one – and a person to represent Zacchaeus. Place Zacchaeus in a story bag.
Jesus was now getting nearer to Jerusalem. Lots of people wanted to see Jesus as he walked through their town. They had heard a lot about all the amazing things that he had done.
One man really wanted to see Jesus. His name was Zacchaeus (can you say that name?) Let’s say hello to Zacchaeus as he comes out of the story bag.
Now Zacchaeus was very, very rich. He had loads of money. Some of his money he had by taking what wasn’t his! So people didn’t like Zacchaeus.
But that wasn’t all. Zacchaeus was a short man. So when Jesus was coming to his town he had a problem! He couldn’t see past the crowds! The crowds of people didn’t like Zacchaeus so they weren’t going to let him get to the front. Standing on tip toe didn’t help either. So Zacchaeus began to run. He ran to a tree. Then he did something that he hadn’t done for a long, long time. He climbed the tree. Now he could see Jesus.
And there Jesus was, walking along the road. And then Jesus stopped! Right under the tree. ‘Zacchaeus, come down. I’m coming to your house today!’ said Jesus.
Zacchaeus came down the tree. ‘I will give back all the money that isn’t mine and I will give extra money too’ he said.
Zacchaeus was a different person now that he had met Jesus.
Jesus said ‘I came to look for and to save the lost’. All of us are lost without Jesus. He is looking for us and is able to save us.
Craft Idea
The tree and Zacchaeus are available to download. The tree can be decorated with tissue paper, crepe paper and/or leaves cut from sugar paper with brown tissue paper for the tree trunk.
On the Way to Easter Bartimaeus. We are beginning to get ready for Easter at toddler group. This year we are going on the last journey that Jesus made into Jerusalem, meeting some of the people that Jesus met. Last week we met the Rich Young Man. This time on the Way to Easter we meet Bartimaeus. The Story is from Mark 10:46-52.
On the Way to Easter .. Bartimaeus Story Idea
Jesus and his friends were in a big crowd of people going to the city of Jerusalem. By now lots of people had heard about Jesus and the amazing things he said and did. (Do you remember the rich man from last time? – if you are using the paper plate visuals have this already displayed so you can refer to it briefly)
This time we are going to find out about another person that Jesus met as he travelled to Jerusalem for the last time. Say hello to Bartimaeus! (Take Bartimaeus doll or puppet from the Story Bag)
Bartimaeus wasn’t able to see and couldn’t work so each day he sat with his bowl and begged for money. He had heard about Jesus. He started to call out as loud as he could, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’
There were other people there too who wanted to see Jesus and they didn’t want to hear Bartimaeus. They said ‘Shush.’ Can we all say ‘Shush’?
But Jesus listened. He stopped. He asked to meet Bartimaeus.
‘Get up quick!’ the people said
Bartimaeus threw off his coat and jumped up and came to Jesus.
‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked.
What would Bartimaeus say? Did he want money? No! Did he want a chat? No!
‘I want to be able to see!’ he said.
Could Jesus do that? Yes! Jesus was able to make Bartimaeus see. Bartimaeus believed in Jesus. He believed that Jesus had the power to make him see. We also need to believe in Jesus.
Our paper plate visual aid is Bartimaeus by the road that Jesus was travelling on. We will add this to the paper plate of the Rich Young Man.This is all the stories put together – next time it’s all about a short man and a tree. Any guesses?!
We are beginning to get ready for Easter at toddler group. This year we are going on the last journey that Jesus made into Jerusalem, meeting some of the people that Jesus met. Our first story is from Luke 18:18-23 and Mark 10:17-22. A rich young man comes to find Jesus as he is travelling to Jerusalem and asks him a question…
One day a young man came to speak to Jesus. He didn’t walk up to Jesus. He ran to Jesus. (Run on the spot) He wanted to ask a question. He thought that Jesus was important so he knelt down in front of him and asked ‘Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?’ (kneel down)
It was a good question and the young man really wanted to know the answer.
Jesus said to him, ‘ You know what the Commandments are that God gave us, to tell us how to live to please him.’
‘I’ve kept them all since I was a young boy.’
Jesus looked at the young man. Jesus cared about him. Jesus wanted to help him. ‘Go, and sell all you have and give your money to the poor and then you will have treasure in heaven and come and follow me.’
But, oh dear, the young man had a lot of money.(Show money bag) He loved all his money very much. (Hug money bag to yourself) What a choice! Sell everything and give all his money away and follow Jesus or keep all his things and his money and go back home. What would he do?
The young man walked away from Jesus. (Walk on the spot, looking sad and dejected) He felt sad. He chose to keep his money.
Man with four friends craft is ideal for young children to make with minimal help. Sometimes it’s nice to make a craft that you can also use for telling and retelling the Bible story and this craft does just that as you make the man and his mat!
The story is from Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:17-26.
Man with four friends story idea
Our story begins in a house with a flat roof and some steps up the side. It had windows and a door. I wonder what could be happening in this house? We are not told who lived in this home, (show the house) but when Jesus arrived lots of people went to the house to meet him. They squashed themselves inside. There was hardly any room. The house was full!
In another part of town there was a man who couldn’t walk. He lay on his bed. (show the man on his bed) He needed the help of his friends everyday. Let’s count the friends together as they come out of the story bag – 1,2,3,4
His friends wanted him to see Jesus.
So, they picked him up and carried him to the house where Jesus was – carefully, carefully they carried their friend through the town to the house where Jesus was…
…they believed Jesus could help their friend.
When they arrived at the house they could not get in the front door because of the crowd. They didn’t give up!
They carried him up the outside stairs and onto the roof – slowly, slowly – carefully, carefully…
…they made a hole in the roof, then – slowly, slowly, carefully, carefully they lowered him down in front of Jesus!
When Jesus saw that they really believed he could help the man he said, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Some people in the house didn’t believe that Jesus could forgive the wrong people do. So, Jesus said to the man, “So that you can be sure that I can forgive sin, get up, pick up your mat and go home.” Straight away and really quickly he got up, rolled up his mat, and walked home!
All the people in the house were amazed!!
‘We never saw anything like this!’ They said to one another.
All you need to make the man with four friends craft..
For the craft we made the man’s mat by decorating sugar paper with large pieces of tissue paper and then we made a man – on one side he was happy and on the other side he was sad. We used fabric for clothes and wool for hair.
People shapes – if you can get skin coloured shapes rather than bright white
Yarn for hair
Fabric for clothes
Crayons
Sugar paper for the man’s mat – you want to be able to roll and unroll this
Tissue paper
When telling the story I pretended to carry the man up the steps to the roof of a house and then lower him down to the feet of Jesus. The paper mat was rolled up as part of the story too.
The people shapes are from Baker Ross via Amazon. This is an affiliate link – if you click and purchase you won’t be charged any extra but I will receive a small commission to help fund the blog – so a big thank you if you support in this way. It’s much appreciated.
This is a short video of this story for young children to enjoy!
‘Jesus stops the Storm’ was another of our weather themed stories at toddler group. It’s from Luke 8. It’s a great story to tell – lots of drama with the wind blowing and waves crashing, frightened disciples, dark skies and Jesus sleeping!
Craft Idea
This craft is in two parts; the lake made from a paper plate – square paper plates with two shades of blue tissue paper – and mini boats. Round plates would be just as good but they need to be a bit sturdy. The boat is cut from card (done beforehand) and has a tab so it can be glued in place but still stand up. The label says ‘Jesus stopped the storm’.
It’s a very effective craft that’s quite easy to make.
Make the boat first and attach to the paper plate. Then add the waves and the label.
Jesus stopped the Storm Bible Story Idea
Introduce actions for the children to do during the story. It’s helpful to explain these actions before you start. Include them as you tell the story.
1. Move arms to represent waves (vary the size of the waves in the story)
2 Blow into closed hands for the wind
3 Pretend to be sleeping
4 Say, ‘shush’ – ‘be still’
You could play some sound effects during the story – thunder and rain recordings are available on MP3 downloads (usually used for relaxation). Make sure you listen to anything you plan to use beforehand.
‘ One day Jesus asked his friends to get in a boat and go to the other side of the lake. It was very calm and the water was gently moving the boat. Jesus was very tired. He laid down in the boat and rested his head on a pillow and went fast asleep. The boat moved slowly out across the lake. Some of Jesus’ friends were fishermen and they knew all about rowing boats.
Suddenly a the wind began to blow. the waves got bigger and bigger and bigger! Water was starting to come inside the boat! It was so scary. But Jesus was fast asleep.
Jesus’ friends felt the wind blowing, saw the waves getting bigger and bigger and they were frightened. ‘We are going to die!,’ they said.
Jesus was still fast asleep. So his friends woke him up. ‘Don’t you care about us? they said.
Jesus cares very much.
He got up and stood up in the boat. And then he did something that no one else could ever do. He told the wind and the waves to ‘STOP! Shush – be still.’
It was suddenly all quiet and still. No more wind blowing and waves crashing.
Jesus’ friends were afraid and shocked. ‘Who is this?’ they said to each other, ‘that even the wind and waves obey him!’
Jesus is God. He is the only one who can stop the storm’.
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