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)
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
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.
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)
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.
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.
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’.
I thought I’d put all the animal bible stories and crafts that we’ve done at toddler group in one place! These are all suitable for under fives. We have ravens, bees, big fish, lions, fox and sheep. Of course you could add Creation and Noah to the list for even more animals!
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Ravens
This Animal Bible Story is from 1Kings 17.
To put the story in context we had King Ahab and Queen Jezebel in the story bag and explained that they were a bad king and a bad queen who were horrible to people.
Elijah was also in the story bag.
At the beginning of the story these three people are introduced to the children.
Telling the Story
Elijah went to see King Ahab. He had a message for him from God. ‘King Ahab, God has said that there isn’t going to be any more rain for the next few years’.
There was going to be no more rain for King Ahab or Queen Jezebel. There was going to be no more rain for Elijah.
But, God told Elijah what to do. Go and hide in the valley. I will send ravens to give you food. You can drink water from the stream.
Elijah did what God said. He went to the valley where the stream was.
When he woke up in the mornings the ravens came and bought him bread and meat for breakfast. (Take ravens from story bag)
When it was getting near to going to bed at night the ravens came with bread and meat for tea.
God took care of Elijah. God is able to look after you too.
Raven made from a paper plate.
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Bees
Telling the Story
The story can be very simple – this was the basic outline (Judges 14:1-20)
1.God’s people were in trouble because they had ignored God
2. God still loved them so he sent someone to help them
3. God sent Samson. (At this point Samson is taken out of the story bag and we all say ‘hello Samson!’)
4. Samson wasn’t very tall, or very small, or very young or very old – he was very strong. (and we all flex our muscles)
5. One day Samson was walking along (make walking noises by patting hands on knees) when he heard a buzz, buzz, buzz. (everyone make a buzz sound)
6. He had found some bees (take paper plate bee from story bag) inside a dead lion – and they were making honey. ( I did mention that we should leave bees alone and then they won’t bother us)
7. God was going to help Samson use what he saw to rescue his people from trouble.
At the end of the story I told the children that they could find this story in Tesco, Asda etc and showed them the Lyles Golden Syrup tin.
The craft was a simple paper plate cut in half. I painted them yellow at home and the children added the stripes, head and wings. I found the idea on Pinterest – it’s from Happy Home Fairy. My bee is slightly different – I tend to steer clear of googly eyes as they are quite easy for an under three to choke on. I didn’t bother with feet either as I like to keep crafts as simple as possible.
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Pigs
This Story is The Prodigal Son from Luke 15.
To tell the story – use some props including money, party streamers/hats, pretend pigs, new robe/coat/ring/shoes.
Telling the story
Jesus told the people a story
‘There was a man who had two sons (count to two). The younger son wanted his father’s money. So the father decided to share all his things between his two sons. Now they had a lot of money. (jingle the money).
A few days later the younger son got his money and packed his bag and went far away. He loved spending is money! he had lots and lots of parties (show party streamers/hats). One day he looked in his pocket for more money but it had all gone! He had spent every last penny! He was in trouble.
He needed a job. He went to work looking after pigs. What noise do pigs make? oink,oink! He was so hungry that he could have eaten the food that the pigs ate. No one helped him. He was sad.
‘I will go back to my father’ he said. ‘He will give me a better job than sitting here with these pigs.’
So he walked and walked and walked till he could see his old home far away in the distance.
Someone saw him coming. Someone had been looking and hoping that he would come back home. It was his father. His father was so pleased to see his son that he ran down the road to meet him and hugged him.
‘I’m sorry’ said the son
‘I forgive you’ said the father. ‘Now let’s celebrate that you have come back home!’
The father gave his son new clothes to wear, new shoes and a ring.(show these items) He was so happy that he had a party.
‘My son was lost,’ he said,’but now he is found.’
When we come back to God it is like we were lost but are now found.
Craft Idea – paper plate pink pigs.
All you need
Paper plate
Pink tissue paper and crepe paper cut into square (roughly)
Glue
Circles from pink sugar paper for snout (I use a paper punch from hobbycraft.)
Ear shapes cut from sugar paper
Stickers for nostrils and eyes
Pink crayons (optional)
We allow plenty of self expression!
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Fox
Nehemiah was given the job of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. His enemies made fun of him, ‘if a fox climbs on your wall it will fall down!’ (Nehemiah 4:3) they said. But Nehemiah kept building and with God’s help the wall was finished!
In the story bag – wooden bricks for the wall (not in the photo – I used our toddler group bricks), two men – Nehemiah and Sanballat and a fox.
Craft Idea – fox collage – crayons and crepe paper. Free fox PDF to print – fox
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Lion
Daniel in the Lion’s Den from Daniel 6.
In the story basket there were Daniel, the King, an angel and some lions.
Craft idea – Paper plate lion
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Big Fish/Whale
For the telling of the Story of Jonah I’ve used a large prop. I saw a tent made into the big fish on Handsonbibleteacher.blogspot.co.uk so thought I would have a go at making one – my attempt doesn’t look as neat – I think my pop up tent was a little too square – but you have to use what you have! Jonah is made from a Pringles carton – I saw that idea on Pinterest. It’s originally from this blog Preachmanswife.blogspot.co.uk
Telling the Story
Say hello to Jonah! Jonah was given a job to do. God told him to go and tell the people living in Ninevah that God loved them.
‘No, I won’t’, said Jonah. ‘I don’t like the people who live in Ninevah’
So Jonah packed his bag and went the other way. He walked to the boat (make walking sounds by tapping hands on knees) and he bought a ticket and off he went.
Jonah was tired (yawn) so he went inside the boat and settled down for a sleep. (put hands on side of head as if sleeping)
Do you think God knew where Jonah was? God knows everything. He knew that Jonah was on the boat.
God sent a storm. The waves got bigger, the wind blew, the rain came down. The sailors were worried. ‘Someone has done something wrong’, they said, ‘and God is angry.’
They went to wake Jonah up. ‘Wake up Jonah!’ (ask children to repeat this)
Jonah opened his eyes. ‘Oh dear’, he said, ‘this is my fault. You must throw me into the sea.’
‘No!’ the sailors said.
But the storm got worse and in the end they had to throw Jonah into the sea. Splash!
The storm stopped.
Jonah sank down,down, down into the water. But God loved Jonah and he had somthing there to save him. A great big fish swam up and swallowed Jonah. He was safe. (Place Jonah inside the big fish)
Jonah knew he had done the wrong thing and he talked to God. ‘I am sorry’ he said.
Could God hear Jonah? Yes, God hears when we say sorry to him.
God sent the great big fish to the beach and it gave a big hiccup and out came Jonah. (take Jonah out of the big fish)
God said, ’Jonah go and tell the people of Ninevah that I love them.’ This time Jonah did what God said.
Craft Idea
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Sheep
Luke 15:1-7. Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep.
To tell the story
Very young children will probably benefit from using smaller numbers – maybe just up to ten with the number ten sheep missing. Before you begin hide a sheep but unless you have a small group give the task of looking for it to a helper (who knows where to look!).
You could dress as a shepherd or take have a picture of a shepherd to show (we had a shepherd’s crook to show too). Ask the children what sort of animal a shepherd looks after and if they don’t know after one or two tries tell them – a shepherd looks after sheep. Ask them to make the sound a sheep makes. Explain that Jesus told a story about a shepherd who had 10 (100) sheep. He looked after them. At the end of the day he counted them. Have some sheep to count and count them altogether 1,2,,3,4,5,6,7,8,9…..Oh no one is missing! Where can he be? At this point pretend to look for the sheep and find him.
Explain that Jesus told the story to tell everyone that he has come to look for people – to help them to know and love God.
Craft Ideas
Pegs for legs sheep – print on to card and cut out for young children. They can decorate their sheep. make sure an adult adds the legs.
Sheep collage – print on to paper and decorate with cotton wool and wax crayons.
So far we have had stories about Creation, the Fall, Abraham, the angel visiting Mary and the birth of Jesus. Our last story in our journey to Bethlehem series is all about the shepherds. Luke 2:8-20
‘The baby sent from God was tucked up in the manger. Mary and Joseph were there to look after him. Do you remember his name? He was called Jesus. There they were that night – just the three of them.
Meanwhile, out of the town, in the hills, there were shepherds. Shepherds look after sheep. What sound does a sheep make?
It was dark – the shepherds were making sure that all the sheep were safe.
Then suddenly something happened that made the shepherds really scared! There was an angel – and the angel was surrounded by bright light.
‘Don’t be afraid’, the angel said, ‘I bring you good news of great joy that is for everyone, everywhere. Today, a Saviour has been born. You will find him lying in a manger.’
Then lots of angels were there singing. And then they were gone and it was dark again.
The shepherds looked at each other, ‘Let’s go and see this thing that’s happened that God has told us about.’
So off they went – down the hill, through the town, looking here, looking there – until they found Jesus. They found the Saviour.
We can find Jesus too. He is still the Saviour sent from God for everyone, everywhere. We won’t find him in a manger – but we can know him as our Saviour.‘
Another paper plate…to add
All the paper plates from our Journey to Bethlehem
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!
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.’ His mane 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 the young man 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)
Last term in Toddler Group all our Bible stories were in answer to this question – ‘What is God like?’. We took a story from the Bible to teach 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. We finished with the Christmas story – God has made a way for us to know him.
Although it was Christmas when we told the last story I would think it was fine to tell the Christmas story at a different time of year.
Each week we used a story bag and a character or two. These varied from Pringle people, a mini Moses (toilet roll!) and knitted characters. I think the children liked the variety.
You could easily tell these stories to young children at home too.
Here’s a link to all the stories that I’ve put together in one post.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. View more
