Cup cake cases are lovely for crafts! They can be used to make lots of things including caterpillars! Just flatten them and glue them slightly overlapping each other. You can make patterns by alternating two colours or use one colour or go for multicoloured! You can even use metalic cases. Use what you have. Add a smiley face and some grass (I’ve used tissue paper). You can add some smaller circles at one end too.
Paper plates are just so great for craft ideas (and can be used as storytelling props too) This simple paper plate idea can be used as both. The craft is for a child and adult to make together while talking about the Easter Story.
You need – paper plate, tissue paper or similar in green and blue, white paper on which to draw the hill and the tomb, brown paper circle for the stone, brown paper strips for the cross, some crayons/pencils, glue and scissors. (Obviously if making with younger children use children’s safety scissors and make sure you keep a watchful eye. Scissors should always be used with care while sitting down).
Begin by covering the top half of the plate with blue paper and the bottom with green.
Draw two hills on the white paper. Colour one green. Make the other into the tomb by drawing the entrance and colour brown. Cut out and stick in the middle of the plate covering the sky/grass join.
Add the cross to the green hill and the stone infront of the tomb entrance to one side to show that the tomb is empty.
It would be great to make this while talking about the Easter story or reading the story together.
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.
Lots of sequins are needed for this simple star shaped decoration for the Christmas Tree! You will also need
PVA glue
Paint – I used yellow but you can use any colour poster paint
Sequins
‘Joy to the World’ mini banner (free download available below)
A button and thread
Six lollipop/ popsicle sticks per star. (plus some spare in case of any mishaps!)
To make
1. Paint six lollipop/popsicle sticks and leave to dry. (You can purchase didderent coloured lollipop sticks if you prefer)
2. Once dry glue together – layer the sticks as shown in the photo and wait for the glue to dry.
3. Meanwhile thread the cotton through the button – tie in a knot to make a loop. This will be used to hang the star from the tree.
4. Glue the threaded button to the top of the lollipop stick star.
5. Before you add sequins to the lollipop stick glue the mini ‘Joy to the World’ banner in place and then add sequins to the star.
This is my first attempt at a craft video (sorry for the pause in the middle – my phone did that all by itself!). Enjoy!
I made these angels last year for our toddler group. There are some instructions here on the blog in a previous post but this printable instruction leaflet is much easier to print and share.
Craft Idea – download and print the tree and Zacchaeus. Decorate with tissue and /or sugar paper and colour. Stick Zacchaeus in the tree.
A couple of colouring pages … to colour or decorate with tissue paper, crepe paper etc.
A few years ago I made a bus colouring page with the words, ‘wherever I go God is there’. (You can find a story and bus colouring page here) But when we are at home and can’t go to many places, God is there too.
A spring song to a well known tune – always a safe combination. The tune is ‘the wheels on the bus’. At the bottom of the post there are pictures you can print out to colour and/or decorate.
The song is about these guys.
The owl in the garden goes twit, twit, twoo, twit, twit, twoo, twit, twit, twoo
‘The owl in the garden goes twit, twit, twoo all day long.
The snail in the garden goes slurp, slurp, munch, slurp, slurp, munch, slurp, slurp, munch
The snail in the garden goes slurp, slurp, munch, all day long.
The bee in the garden goes buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz
The bee in the garden goes buzz, buzz, buzz all day long.
The frog in the garden goes hop, hop, splash, hop, hop, splash, hop, hop, splash
The frog in the garden goes hop, hop, splash all day long.’
Below are the pictures in PDF. To make the song visuals – print out the coloured PDF or the black and white to decorate, laminate (or print onto card) , attach lolly pop sticks or kebab sticks so you can hold the pictures. The children can do actions or buzz around like the bee, hop and crawl for the different verses. 🙂
Print the black and white pictures for children to colour/decorate as they like.
These are the same pictures but in colour
