Category: Bible story

Engaging Toddlers with Bible Stories: Free Mini Course

Engaging Toddlers with Bible Stories is a free training course full of practical ideas for telling Bible Stories in Church based Toddler Groups.

Getting started in Bible Storytelling in a Toddler Group is sometimes daunting this training course aims to

  • Give you confidence in your storytelling
  • Provide practical ideas for including your audience of toddlers and their adults in the Bible Story time
  • Offer a simple way of putting together a Bible Story script for Toddler Group Bible story time.

There are four short videos packed with practical ideas. And by short we mean short – you don’t need much time to watch. 

Why a training course for Toddler Group Leaders?

I’ve been telling Bible stories to toddlers in baby and toddler groups for over 14 years and over that time I’ve learnt a lot. Being part of a team and listening to other people telling stories has been really helpful – we can learn so much from others. This mini course is really just what I’ve learnt so far!

Who’s it for?

Use this Toddler group training course as a refresher if you’ve been telling Bible Stories to Toddlers for years, or as a starting point if this is something you’ve never done before but would like to have a go. It is lots of fun to tell stories to young children and very rewarding and the more you tell Bible Stories to young children the better a storyteller you become.

Telling Bible Stories to young children in Toddler Group is very special. The Bible is full of wonderful stories about real people that are relatable. There are stories about families, animals, journeys, the ordinary everyday and the miraculous – and most importantly they are about the truth of Who God is and what he is like and how we can be in his family. Telling these stories is a privilege.

What’s included in this Toddler Group Training?

We cover how to put a story together, how to get your audience joining in and listening and we share some examples of stories to tell. 

What do I need to take part in the course?

You just need a bit of time, a way of watching the videos (all are in this post or on our You Tube Channel), a notebook, a pen and a Bible.

How much does it cost?

It’s free! So jump in and have a listen. Start at the beginning or skip to the video that interests you the most. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful.

There are four short videos – it won’t take too much of your time to watch. They are full of practical hints and tips. Beginning with thinking about our audience to finding the focus of your story to putting a simple story together and then telling it.

All you need is a pen, notebook and your Bible. You can watch them all in one sitting or spread them out.

Getting Started In Bible Storytelling to Young Children – Introduction

Session 2 – Finding your Focus

Session 3 – Engagement with the Bible Story

Session 4 – Build and Tell your Story

I hope that you enjoy this mini course for Toddler Group leaders and find it helpful.

See this page for some hints and tips for telling great Bible Stories to young children for more ideas for your Toddler Group.

FAQ’s about Engaging Toddlers with Bible Stories: Free Mini Course

Can Toddlers sit and listen to Bible Stories?

Yes and No! Toddlers can listen well to engaging Bible Stories that are told in a way that is suitable for them. Think short, clear Bible Stories that use suitable language and include props and/or actions.

Are all Bible Stories suitable for toddlers?

It’s good to think about the suitability of Bible Story content when telling Bible Stories in Toddler Groups. Avoid violence and focus on the familiar – homes Jesus visited, animals in the Bible, Saying thank you to God. Bible stories that have a clear narrative with a clear problem and solution are straightforward to tell. For example Jesus calming the storm. The storm is the problem, Jesus calming the storm is the solution.

How long should a Toddler Group Bible Story be?

Great question. Toddler Bible Stories can be several minutes long. If you have props and ways of including toddlers by doing actions during the story, Toddlers can enjoy a good story in Toddler Group that lasts several minutes.

How do I stop parents talking in the Toddler Group Bible Story?

Stopping parents talking during a toddler group Bible Story can be very difficult. Here’s a few ideas to try

  • Always begin story time the same way. Choose a song or rhyme and ask everyone to sing or say it with you. Then tell the Bible Story.
  • As everyone settles ask parents – ‘please can adults be quiet during the story. It helps me a lot and I really appreciate your help in this.’
  • If parents talk during the story you can include an action for everyone to do, or ask everyone to repeat a phrase.
  • Think about your set up. Have everyone sit near enough to the story teller that they feel that they need to llisten.
  • Sometimes it’s really helpful to have other toddler group leaders sitting among the adults. They can set an example to other adults.

The Philippian Jailer toddler Bible story

The Philippian Jailer Bible story is found in Acts 16:25-34. Paul and Silas are in prison at midnight at the beginning of our story. By the end they are having a meal with the jailer and his family.

For young children a few details have been ommitted or simplified.

The Philippian Jailer Toddler Bible story

In the story bag – dolls/puppets representing Paul, Silas, the jailer, some play food. Take the items from the bag as you need them. You can add some movement in the story too.This is indicated in the text below.

Telling the story

‘Say hello to Paul and Silas. They had had a very tough day. People in the town of Phillipi weren’t happy with them talking about Jesus. They had been locked up in Jail! It wasn’t very nice at all. It wasn’t clean and tidy and it definitely wasn’t comfortable.

What could they do? They might have decided to moan and groan. They might have decided to be really angry and upset. But they didn’t do any of those things.

In the middle of the night when it was dark, they were praying to God and singing.

I think they were singing quite loudly because the Bible tells us that all the other people in the jail could hear them!

Suddenly the ground began to shake and shudder! (you could all shake and shudder here).The jail walls moved! The jail doors opened! Everyone’s chains fell off!

The man in charge of the jail was frightened. He would be in big trouble if Paul and Silas escaped. But they didn’t. Paul called out,’ Don’t worry, we are still here’.

The jailer ran into the room, he was shaking with fear, ‘What do I need to do to be saved?’ he asked Paul.

What would Paul say? He told the jailer about the Lord Jesus, the only one who can save. And the jailer believed in Jesus.

The jailer took Paul and Silas into his home and he and his family looked after them and they had some yummy food to eat.

The next day Paul and Silas were set free and the people who had hurt them and put them in jail said, ‘We are sorry Paul and Silas.’

This was the beginning of the church in the town of Phillipi.’

Wooden spoon puppets

For another story about the new church in Philippi have a look at Lydia hears about Jesus

Philippian Jailer Bible Story Toddler Play Ideas

Make a music area for the children to explore. Collect toddler friendly musical shakers and drums and place on a mat. Allow children to explore making music. You could do this at the end of song time and play some music/songs in the background.

colorful xylophones and hand bells on display
Photo by Lena Ti on Pexels.com
a kid covering his eyes with maracas
Photo by Alena Darmel on Pexels.com
cute little black kid playing with toy in kindergarten
Photo by Chrofit the man to call on Pexels.com

Make musical instruments using yogurt pots, uncooked rice, lentils and beans and paper lids secured with tape. Decorate the pots with stickers and glitter glue

Decorated transparent cup filled with grains and covered with colourful paper
A colorful homemade shaker filled with dried grains brings creativity to sensory play.

Song ideas For Toddler Group

Paul and Silas were singing praises to God in prison – here are some songs you could sing with the children in your T

  • From my head down to my toes God loves me
  • If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands
  • My God is so great so strong and so mighty

Paul and Silas in Jail craft For Toddler Group

Paul and Silas collage showing them singing in Philippian Jail

Scroll down for the printable downloads you need for the above craft. Cut out the pieces you need and provide an A4 piece of sugar paper for the background. You also need crayons and glue.

Printable Resources – Philippian Jailer toddler group craft

Bible Men (3 up)Download
Prison bars (6 up)Download
Singing (Musical notes) (6 up)Download

Jesus goes back to heaven

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.

Story basket with pictures of Jesus goes back to heaven

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.

Ascension craft ideas

 

Sarah laughs! – women in the Bible 2

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.

Read the story for yourself from Genesis 18:1-16 and Genesis 21:1-7.

Sarah laughs! story idea

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.

Sarah bible story puppet
Sarah laughs bible story puppet with Abraham puppet outside their tent
Abraham and Sarah dolls for story telling
Sarah and Abraham Bible story puppets

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)
  • Crayons/felt tips to decorate
  • Tissue paper to decorate the tent
  • Flower stickers to use around the tent
Abraham and Sarah in a tent craft
Abraham and Sarah in a tent craft
Abraham-Sarah-x-2Download
Baby-x-12Download

First Sad Day Story and Craft

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

First sad day craft idea using a paper plate cut into a spiral and made into a snake.

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.)

Easy Story Bag Ideas

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
  • Paper plate angels/shepherds – How to make a paper plate shepherd instructions and paper plate angel instructions
  • Oil
  • A Bible

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.

Ideas for items to have in a story bag to use when telling Bible Stories to young children.
A basket with items to use when telling a Bible Story to young children

My Story Basket!

Story bags with knitted dolls and animals to use when telling Bible Stories to young children.

My Story Bags!

Here’s a Bible Story using props –

Here’s a collection of Story bag Prop Ideas on Pinterest

Hannah Prays Story and Craft

Hannah Prays story and craft for young children. A Bible Story all about talking to God and how God hears us when we talk to him.

The Story is from 1 Samuel 1:1-20

Hannah Prays – Story

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.

a gallery of craft ideas for Hannah and baby Samuel with examples of skin colour crayons
Hannah prays craft of a mother holding a baby
Hannah prays craft showing mother holding baby

Downloads for the craft

Baby-SamuelDownload
HannahDownload

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

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.

David defeats Goliath craft Idea

Picture of David and Goliath
Goliath-x-2Download
David-x-6Download

Josiah reads God’s Book

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!

Story bag props for Josiah Reads God's Book

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

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

People characters made from cardboard tubes

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

People characters made from cardboard tubes

W is for Water from the Rock

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.

Moses-Water-from-the-rockDownload

Here’s a link to another story about Moses

Parable of The Builders – Stories Jesus Told

  • 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.

Props for acting out being a 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.

A picture of a house to colour or decorate as a collage
Parable of the builders craft idea
house-on-the-rockDownload
The Song – The Wise Man Built his House upon the Rock !

The Good Samaritan – Stories Jesus Told

    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..

    Knitted toys to tell the story of The Good Samaritan

    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

    Collage of peoples faces. A craft to go with the Good Samaritan bible story that Jesus told
    Collage of peoples faces
    Collages of peoples faces made by children

    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

    God knows when I feel thankful is a story from Luke 17:11-19.

    God knows when I feel thankful story props

    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 thankful storytelling wooden spoon props

    God knows when I feel….scared

    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

    God knows when I am scared craft idea of a boat in the storm
    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-am-scared-24-to-a-sheet-1Download

    God knows when I feel….. busy!

    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.’

    God knows when I feel bust bible story props
    Martha – God knows when we are busy

    The print out is from pixabay. Here’s the link to the plate for you to print

    4.-busy-craft-plate-g532901bca_1280Download

    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 Boy with 2 Fish and 5 Loaves – A Bible Number Story

    This Bible Story had lots of numbers! 2 fish, 5 loaves, 12 baskets of leftovers and 5,000 people! But we are using it to count to five. The Story is from John 6. It is, of course, ‘The feeding of the 5,000’. The Bible Truth for Toddlers is ‘Jesus is amazing!’. There is also something for the adults to think about at the end of the story.

    To tell the story you need – Philip and Andrew, a boy, loaves, fish and some extra people for the crowd. (I’ve used concertina people shapes)

    The feeding of the 5,000

    The boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish story idea

    Ask everyone to be ready to rub their tummy every time they hear the word ‘hungry‘ during the story

    It was getting late. There were so many people in the crowd – lots and lots of people (Take them out of the storybag as you say this) And all the people were hungry.

    Jesus was there, he had been talking to the people but now they needed something to eat. ‘I’m so hungry‘, they said to each other.

    Jesus spoke to Philip (take him out of the storybag). ‘Go and buy everyone something to eat. They are all very hungry!’ But Philip looked in his pockets and he didn’t have any money. He was never going to have enough money to buy food for all the hungry people.

    Andrew (take out of storybag) had found someone who had some food to share. Shall we find out who it is? It was just one small boy (take out of storybag). I wonder what he had? Let’s see (take out of storybag) He had two fish – let’s count them – 1,2 – and five loaves of bread – let’s count them – 1,2,3,4,5.

    It’s not enough to feed all the hungry people!

    But Jesus is very different to us. Jesus is amazing and can do amazing things. He said ‘thank you’ to God for the small packed lunch and then he began to share it out.

    This is yummy! the people said. We’re not hungry anymore!

    Jesus isn’t going to give us lots of food – but he can give us life. If you want to know more – come and ask me or take home part of the Bible to read about Jesus for yourself.

    Craft Idea – colouring and collage

    number-5-loavesDownload

    Take a look at another craft idea for this story (with printable) here

    The Man with Four Friends – A Bible Number Story

    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.

    Man with four friends bible story puppets
    The four friends
    puppet of man on mat
    The man on his mat
    model of bible time house
    Bible 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

    number-4-friendsDownload

    This story is also a short video!

    Jesus and Three Disciples – A Bible Number Story

    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.

    number-3-disciplesDownload
    Shiny Paper Collage

    Noah and two of every animal – A Bible Number Story

    Noah and two of every animal is our second bible number story. Last week we thought about the Number One and 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 story idea

    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.

    Noah and two of every animal craft idea

    Noah craft Idea
    number-2-animalsDownload

    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 to tell Noah and two of every animal bible story
    Noah’s Ark shape sorter that we used as a storytelling prop.

    Answers in Genesis have lots of information about Noah’s ark if you’d like to read more.

    Elisha and the Widow’s Oil craft ideas

    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.

    Elisha and the widow's oil craft colouring jars
    Decorate the jars of oil
    widows-oil-jars-x-4Download
    Elisha and the widow's oil craft
    widows-oil-jars-add-a-jar-1Download

    Palm Sunday Story Video

    Palm Sunday Story Video is a short retelling of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem. You can read the story in John 12:12-19

    Here’s a link to a post with a Palm Sunday Story idea and some palm leaf crafts to make.

    The Wise Men find The King

    This story is from Matthew 2:1-18

    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.

    Make a Wise Men stained glass window. For instructions see this blog post Christmas stained glass – paper plate!

    Paint a star shape. This is a wooden star but card would be fine too.

    Houses Jesus visited – the home he never visited! (video)

    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

    Here are the links to the other stories in the series

    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.

    Jesus heals a Centurions Servant Story

    Homes Jesus visited – Matthew (video)

    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

    Zacchaeus story video and craft idea

    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.

    Templates for making Zacchaeus in the tree craft
    Zacchaeus in the tree craft
    Zacchaeus in the tree
    Zacchaeus-x21Download
    treeDownload

    The story of Zacchaeus is from Luke 19.

    There are several other similar videos on the let their light shine youtube channel.

    Homes Jesus visited – Simon’s Mother in law (video)

    This is my third video story for younger children. The pictures are from Free Bible Images and the words are my own. Feel free to share.

    Homes Jesus visited – The Crowded House (video)

    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

    crowded house craft using an envelope to make the house
    homes Jesus visited - the crowded house craft using an envelope to make the house
    crowded house craft using an envelope to make the house
    crowded house craft using an envelope to make the house
    homes Jesus visited - the crowded house craft using an envelope to make the house
    crowded house craft using an envelope to make the house
    crowded house craft using an envelope to make the house
    homes Jesus visited - the crowded house craft using an envelope to make the house

    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!

    Homes Jesus visited – Mary and Martha (video)

    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

    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 Ninevah
    The 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!

    God is everywhere craft

    god_is_everywhere_busDownload

    Week Two Genesis 41 Pharaoh’s dreams

    Bible truth for toddlers – God knows everything

    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.

    img_0420

    ‘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

    PharaohDownload

    Week Three Exodus 3 Moses and the burning bush

    Bible truth for toddlers – God is holy

    Say hello to Moses!

    Moses holding his staff

    Moses was looking after his sheep. What noise do sheep make? Baa!

    He saw something. It looked different. He’d never seen anything like it before.

    What was it?

    Was it a funny looking sheep? No!

    Was it a funny looking snake? No!

    It was a plant that was on fire but it was still green and not burning up at all!

    Moses and the burning bush for the What is God like story series for toddlers

    He went a little closer! (note – explain that the children must never go near to fire)

    Then Moses heard God’s voice. ‘Moses, Moses’.

    ‘Here I am’, Moses said.

    ‘Don’t come any nearer. Where you are standing is holy.’

    God was there and so an ordinary place had become extraordinary because God is holy.

    What does that mean? Holy means different to us. God is different to us. God is always great and he is always good.

    Craft Idea – make Moses looking after the sheep

    shepherd-and-sheepDownload

    Week Four Exodus 14 Crossing the Red Sea

    Bible truth for toddlers – God is powerful

    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.

    Moses holding his staff and children of Israel for What is God like story series for toddlers
    Moses leading the people of Israel across the dead sea for the What is God like story series for toddlers

    Crossing the Red Sea Craft Idea

    What is God like? story series for toddlers. God is powerful. Picture of the crossing of the Red Sea.

    Week Five Luke 1:5-24 Zechariah and Elisabeth

    Bible truth for toddlers – God is faithful

    Knitted dolls representing Elizabeth and Zechariah for What is God like story series for toddlers

    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.

    SAM_1409

    (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’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.

    The Story from Luke 23 and 24

    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.’

    Paper plates decorated to tell the story of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem at Easter
    The paper plates that have been used to show Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem can be displayed altogether!

    Here’s the link to the introductory post for this story series with links to the blog posts

    Easter Craft Idea

    crepe paper Eater egg print
    Crepe paper Easter cross print

    Easter shapes craft using crepe paper printing. This is really fun! Have a look at this post for how to use crepe paper to print pictures.

    On the Way to Easter…Palm Sunday Story

    Jesus rides into Jerusalem

    On the way to Easter Palm Sunday story paper plate visual aid

    On the way to Easter Palm Sunday story can be told as a stand alone story or used as part of the series ‘On the Way to Easter’.

    Bible story from Luke 19:28-40 and Mark 11:1-10

    Bible truth for toddlers – Jesus is the King!

    ‘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!

    They welcomed Jesus – the King sent from God.’

    Some pictures to use to tell the story

    On the way to Easter Palm Sunday story visual aid
    Palm Sunday

    Dowload the links to make the street scene

    People pictures are available in this blog post

    The donkey to make

    https://lettheirlightshine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/leglessdonkey.pdf

    The street scene https://lettheirlightshine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/streetscene.pdf

    The trees and palm leaves

    https://lettheirlightshine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/palmleafsceneparts.pdf

    I cut the cloaks out of material.

    On the way to Easter Palm Sunday story visuals

    Craft ideas

    You could use the printouts as a craft if telling the story at home or with older children.

    The pegs for legs donkey is a fun craft to make. Print and cut out the donkey shape. Colour and add wooden clothes pegs for legs.

    There are some Palm Leaf craft ideas here

    On the Way to Easter…Mary

    The story is from John 12:1-8

    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!

    All the plates!

    On the Way to Easter…Zacchaeus

    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.
    TreeDownload
    Zacchaeus-x21Download

    Our next paper plate to add to our ‘Journey to Jerusalem….’

    This is what we are aiming for …..

    On the Way to Easter…Bartimaeus

    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.

    On the way to Easter ..Bartimaeus paper plate visual showing Bartimaeus standing by the roadside.
    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.
    On the Way to Easter...Bartimaeus paper plates showing Jesus' last journey into Jerusalem
    This is all the stories put together – next time it’s all about a short man and a tree. Any guesses?!

    On the Way to Easter.. the Rich Young Man

    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.

    Our first paper plate to make up our journey……

    This is what we are working towards…

    Man with four friends craft

    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.

    Man with four friends craft materials
    Man with four friends craft
    Man with four friends craft

    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!

    There is another craft idea here..https://lettheirlightshine.com/2018/01/08/man-through-the-roof-craft/

    Jesus stops the Storm

    Craft for the Bible Story about Jesus stopping the storm

    ‘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’.

    Downloads for the craft

    Jesus-stopped-the-storm-Sheet-of-labels-3-x-8Download

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    BoatsDownload

    When cutting out the boats leave a small bit of plain card at the bottom of each boat to fold and use as a flap to stick the boat to the paper plate.

    Here’s another Bible Story with a boat!

    Here’s a link to some pictures based on the story from Free Bible Images

    Jesus goes back to heaven

    The content narrates the ascension of Jesus after Easter, emphasizing that He lives forever and will return. It explains Jesus’ instructions for His followers to spread the Good News and includes details about visual aids used in storytelling. The narrative concludes with a promise of His eventual return as King.

    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.

    Story basket with pictures of Jesus goes back to heaven

    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.

    Ascension craft ideas

     

    The Last Supper – Luke 22

    The Last Supper. As part of the bigger Easter Story we’ve told the story of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples from Luke 22:7-20. The props are very simple -see the pictures below. The craft is straight forward too and there is a free printable.

    The Last Supper story idea

    The big city of Jerusalem was full of people! They had come to the big city to celebrate Passover. Passover is a special meal – it reminds God’s people of how God saved them from being slaves in Egypt.

    Jesus wanted to eat the special Passover meal with his friends. But there were so many people and there were people who wanted to hurt Jesus that the meal needed to be kept a secret! (Everyone say ‘shush’)

    Jesus sent Peter and John into the city. ‘When you see a man carrying a water jar on his head follow him! He will go to the house where you can get the meal ready.’

    Two puppets representing Peter and John

    Peter and John did what Jesus said and soon the meal was ready.

    The Passover Meal is very special. Part of the meal would have been bread and wine (Show these).

    Bread and juice to represent Last Supper meal

    Jesus said to his friends, ‘This is the last time I will be able to eat this special Passover meal with you. When you eat it in the future I want you to remember me.’

    Jesus was going to rescue many people. He wanted his friends to remember that he was the rescuer.

    Today Christians remember Jesus with a special meal – with bread and wine. (If possible have the items that your church uses for Communion to show the children)

    The Last Supper craft

    Craft Idea – with a printable Lord’s Supper – Cup and Bread (1)

    To make – print the bread and cup. Cut out. Children can add red paper to the cup and colour in the bread. Stick both on a piece of sugar paper.

    IMG_3915

    Mary and Martha

    Mary and Martha are two grown up sisters that we meet in  Luke 10:38-42 . They live in Bethany. They are mentioned three times in the Life of Jesus. You can also read about them in John 11 – when their brother Lazarus is bought back to life – and in John 12 – when Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume.

    You could tell all three of these stories over three sessions or pick a couple. It’s good to include stories about women in our groups as so many of the listeners are women and a lot of Bible stories are about men! I always try to be mindful of this when I’m planning which stories to include.

    Mary and Martha story idea 

    In the story bag I had the three main characters – Martha, Mary and Jesus and some pots and pans, a wooden spoon and a cloth. You could have an apron or a duster. As you introduce the characters take them from the story bag and say ‘hello’

    ‘Mary and Martha were two grown-up sisters. One day Martha invited Jesus to come to their home for a meal.

    Jesus was very happy to go to Mary and Martha’s house.

    When he got there Jesus sat down and 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!)

    Mary sat still and listened to Jesus.

    Martha was not happy!

    She said to Jesus, ‘ Lord, don’t you care that I’ve been left to do all the work by myself?! Tell my sister to help me!’

    But Jesus didn’t do what Martha said. Instead he said to Martha, ‘You don’t need to worry so much about all the things that need to be done. You need to listen to my words too.’

    Today we can listen to the words of Jesus by listening to stories about him and reading the Bible.’

    Mary and Martha puppets for story telling
    Pan and cloth props for telling story about Mary and Martha

    Craft Idea

    Make people collages – you could add the words, ‘We use our ears to listen’

    Craft of a person made from shapes

     

     

    People collage

    Animal Bible Stories and crafts

    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.

    King Ahab and Queen Jezebel

    Elijah was also in the story bag.

    Elijah made from a pringle container

    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.

    raven

    Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Bees

    paper plate bee

    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.

    SAM_0979

    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.

    paper plate pigs animal bible stories and craft

    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)

    2015-06-18 11.06.42

    paper plate pigs made by the children animal bible stories and crafts

    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.

    Story of Nehemiah building the wall

    Craft Idea – fox collage – crayons and crepe paper. Free fox PDF to print – fox

    Fox collage
    img_3780

    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.

    Story bag characters for Daniel in the Lions Den animal bible stories and crafts

    Craft idea – Paper plate lion

    img_3746img_3747

    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.

    Jonah and the whale animal bible storyJonah animal bible story

    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.

    Sheep    – Pdf file – free to use

    Sheep_(peg_legs)  – Pdf file – free to use

    Pegs for legs sheep animal bible story

    Collage sheep animal bible story

    Journey to Bethlehem – week 6 – The Shepherds

    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

    Bible Story from Luke 2:8-20

    Bible truth for toddlers – Jesus is the Saviour

    ‘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

    Days of creation paper plates
    Week One – Creation https://lettheirlightshine.com/2015/11/04/journey-to-bethlehem/
    Week Two – The Fall https://lettheirlightshine.com/2018/11/14/journey-to-bethlehem-week-2/
    Week Three – Abraham https://lettheirlightshine.com/2018/11/23/journey-to-bethlehem-week-3/
    Week Four – The Angel visits Mary https://lettheirlightshine.com/2018/11/28/journey-to-bethlehem-week-4/
    Jesus is born paper plate picture
    Week Five – Jesus is born https://lettheirlightshine.com/2018/12/05/journey-to-bethlehem-week-5/
    The Shepherds and the angels paper plate picture
    Week Six – The Shepherds find Jesus

    Journey to Bethlehem – week 5 – Jesus is born

    This week we arrive in Bethlehem!

    The story is from Luke 2:1-7.

    I often start story time by introducing the characters – in this story we’ll all say hello to Mary and then to Joseph as I take them out of the story bag. (The knitted characters are from an Alan Dart pattern – available from his website or from Amazon)

    IMG_3715

    The Story

    ‘Mary and Joseph had to go on a long journey. They needed to go all the way to Bethlehem. Maybe they took one of these with them – take donkey out of the story bag. What noise does a donkey make? Everyone join in with ‘eeyore (hee-haw)’

    IMG_3718

    When they got to the town of Bethlehem they needed to find somewhere to stay. Mary’s baby was soon going to be born.

    They looked and they looked. They knocked on the door of the hotel. ‘We must find somewhere soon!’ they said to each other.

    The hotel boss answered the door – ‘No room here!’ he said

    Oh no! (Everyone repeat this)

    ‘But maybe you could stay where the animals are?’ he said.

    It was better than having nowhere to go. So that was where Mary and Joseph went. And there Jesus was born.

    He was a real baby – with 10 fingers and 10 toes and a nose and two eyes and two ears. But he was also very special because he is God’s Son. The Bible gives him a special name – Immanuel – which means ‘God with us’. ‘ (Matthew 1:23)

    IMG_3716

    We’ll add another paper plate to our Journey to Bethlehem display..IMG_3697

    So altogether we have …..

    We will be making Christmas star wreaths as our craft..

    IMG_2952

    Journey to Bethlehem – week 4 – The Angel visits Mary

    This week we get very near to Bethlehem! The story is the Angel’s visit to Mary from Luke 1:26-38.

    Bible story – from Luke 1:26-38.

    (Include actions in the story if you can – ask the children and adults to join in)

    ‘One day Mary was at home. It was just an ordinary day. Mary was cleaning the house (some actions here – maybe dusting or sweeping).

    But then something extraordinary happened! An angel came to see her! Now angels are not like fairies. Angels are big and strong! (actions here too). The angel that came to see Mary was called Gabriel (ask everyone to repeat the name). He had a message from God.

    ‘You are going to have a very special baby,’ he said to Mary. ‘This baby will be God’s Son and he will be King forever.’

    Who was this baby? This baby, that the angel talked about, was Jesus.

    Mary listened. (everyone touch their ears). She knew that this promised baby would be very, very special and important.’

    All the paper plates so far will be on display…

    New plate to add……

    IMG_3699

    And an angel craft idea…

    All you need is paper plates cut into wedges, doilies cut into quarters, circles, wool, shiny paper and wool. You can either draw on the eyes and smile beforehand or let the children do it.

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