Our feet craft and song ideas for toddler groups

Our feet craft and song ideas for toddlers to enjoy in your church toddler group. In our amazing body series at our Toddler Group we have been learning about our feet. Our focus Bible verse is Psalm 139:14. 

Our feet are amazing story time for toddler group

In the story time we used our feet to jump, stand, run on the spot, walk and stand as tall as we could on tiptoe. It was a very active few minutes. Then we sat down and we counted our feet and wriggled our toes. You could count toes depending on whether you want everyone to take their shoes off!

How to tell the story

  • Always begin toddler group story time the same way – with the same rhyme or song to get everyone settled on the Bible story mat.
  • Begin with saying hello!
  • Your opening sentence, ‘ Today we are finding out more about our amazing bodies!’
  • Can you find your feet. Let’s count them – 1,2
  • Feet are amazing. Let’s see what they can do..
  • Let’s all stand up
  • Let’s jump
  • Can you stand on one leg? That’s quite difficult to do
  • Can you stand on tip toe and reach up high?
  • Let’s sit down and count our feet and our toes together
  • God made us – he has given us amazing bodies!

You can end your toddler story time with a simple toddler friendly prayer, ‘Thank you God for our feet. Thank you that we are wonderfully made. Amen’

An easy feet craft for toddlers

The craft is super easy and fun.

Materials needed

  • Feet printable (included below) – print as many as you need for your group
  • Glue sticks – we use these
  • Tissue paper squares in assorted colours
  • Collage materials – these can be paper scraps, fabric pieces, yarn. Provide a choice of colours, textures and shapes in different containers. Make it inviting.
  • Wax crayons

Step by step

  • Set up the craft table with a washable cover
  • Set out the collage materials in shallow bowls
  • Remove lids from the glue sticks and set aside (we do this at our group because they are small and we don’t want toddlers putting them in their mouths)
  • Put out the wax crayons in a shallow bowl. Remove any that are broken.
  • Make a proto-type craft – and display it near your craft table to give some inspiration.
  • Place some of your feet printables on the table (keep most nearby – but if you put them all out at one you run the risk of a few toddlers using them all and you’ll run out)
  • Encourage the toddler group adults to sit with their toddler as they make
  • Have a place where the finished craft can be placed to dry ready to be taken home.

Our feet Song time for toddler group

‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’, – which is the theme song for this series about our amazing bodies.

Rhyme, ‘I wiggle my fingers, I wiggle my toes. I wiggle my shoulders, I wiggle my nose. There are no wiggles left in me, and I’m as still, as still can be.’

‘The Grand Old Duke of York’ has lots of marching on the spot.

A great rhyme for a parent/carer to with with their young child/baby is ‘This little piggy’. Here’s a link to the rhyme.

What children can learn from our feet toddler story

  • God made our amazing feet
  • Gratitude for their amazing body

Our feet craft printable for toddler groups and families

FAQ’S

How do I keep toddlers engaged with the Bible Story in Toddler Group?

This story about our feet is very interactive rather than a straight forward narrative the toddlers have activities to do that make the most of learning through movement.

How do I encourage gratitude in a toddler?

By focusing on our bodies and what they can do this story encourages toddlers to be thankful for their body which is wonderfully made.

Links to Bible Stories about feet

Thank you God for my feet – the Bible Story about the Lame man who is healed.

Toddler Group Bible Stories about our bodies

Thank you God for my hands – a Toddler Bible Story and activity about Tabitha

Thank you God for my nose – A Toddler Group Bible Story about Mary anointing Jesus

Thank you God for my mouth

Have a look at our Thank you God Book post that is full of ideas about our bodies. This is a great series of stories for Church Toddler Group. The post is full of free prinables to make a large book that you add to over several weeks.

Bartimaeus – a Toddler Bible Story all about being able to see – this is one of my favourite Bible Stories that I tell in our Church Toddler Group. This post has a little video of me telling the story.

Links to toddler crafts and songs about our bodies

I am wonderfully made crafts for toddlers (with ideas for song time at toddler group)


Nehemiah Builds the Wall: Free Toddler Bible Story & Craft Idea

Nehemiah Builds the Wall (Mr Keep Going) – Toddler Bible Story

Nehemiah and the Rebuilding of Jerusalem’s Walls for Toddlers

Looking for a simple, engaging toddler Bible story about perseverance and trusting God? The story of Nehemiah—our “Mr Keep Going”—is a fantastic lesson for young children on working together and not giving up when things get tough.

Storybag Props & Preparation

  • Puppets: Cardboard tube or Pringles tube puppets to represent Nehemiah and Sanballat. Toy builders set.
  • Play Props: Toy builder tools, a toy toolbox, construction hard hats, wooden play bricks, duplo or cardboard boxes.

Nehemiah Builds the Wall (Mr Keep Going) – Toddler Bible Story script

Say hello to Nehemiah! He lived a long, long time ago.

Nehemiah had a big job to do. The walls of the big city of Jerusalem were all broken down. Everything was a mess. God gave Nehemiah the job or organising a rebuild. But he had never built anything before!

Nehemiah said, ‘Yes I will rebuild the walls’. He asked people to help him and they got started. It was really hard work. Lots of people helped but there were some who thought, ‘ We are too important to do any building work.’

Did that stop Nehemiah? No. He kept going.

Say hello to Sanballat. He didn’t like God. He didn’t like Nehemiah and he certainly didn’t like the wall being built. ‘I will stop Nehemiah’, said Sanballat. He began to make fun of Nehemiah, ‘you don’t know how to build. Your wall is rubbish! If a fox jumps on it it’s going to fall down.’

Did that stop Nehemiah? No. He kept going.

Nehemiah asked God to help him and he trusted God and he kept going. Nehemiah is Mr Keep Going!

He didn’t stop building until the wall was finished!

Toddler Craft Idea: Fox Collage

Decorate a picture of a fox using orange paper scraps, felt or crayons

Fox collage

Nehemiah builds the wall toddler play ideas

Provide some building activities with wooden bricks, duplo or cardboard boxes. Have a toy tool kit for children to use and some builders dressing up clothes and hats.

If you would like to make the Pringle People to use for Nehemiah and Sanballat instructions are here

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.

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

In the beginning God made – days 1-3 – craft ideas

In the beginning God…crafts days 1-3 for toddler groups and young children to enjoy making. In Genesis 1 we learn all about days of creation. These crafts cover the first 3 Days of Creation from Genesis 1:1-13.

All you need

  • Patterned muffin cases and cup cake cases – trim these to look like flowers
  • Blue paper
  • Large lollipop sticks
  • Shiny paper
  • Black paper – A4
  • Cotton wool shapes (make up remover pads are great!)
  • Blue and green tissue paper
  • Red dot stickers
  • Tree shapes
  • Cardboard rolls (toilet rolls or you can buy cardboard rolls if you prefer)
  • Blue paper – A4
  • Blue paper, different shades cut into waves
  • Brown paper cut into hill shapes
  • Glue sticks
  • Crayons

In the beginning God made light

To make ‘In the beginning God made light’ use the black A4 paper and put the label in the centre. The children then add the shiny paper shapes and can use white crayons to decorate.

In the beginning God made sky and sea

To make ‘In the beginning God made sky and sea’ use the blue paper and tissue paper to make the sky and sea (different shades work well) and then add the label.

In the beginning God moved the water and there was land

To make ‘In the beginning God moved the water and there was land’ you need some blue paper for the sky and sea plus some brown for the land. You can add some clouds too.

God made the land on Day Three, when he also made the trees and plants. You could add cut outs of plants and trees to the above picture or make some extra crafts.

In the beginning God made trees and flowers

Here’s a download for the tree shape. It’s best to print it onto card. Ahead of time make two slits opposite each other in the cardboard roll. After the tree shape has been decorated it can be slotted into the tree trunk.

The next three days of creation include the sun, moon and stars, birds and fish and animals and people! When God saw everything he had made it was very good. 🙂

There are lots more ideas on this pinterest board

Easter egg with cross symbol craft

Easter egg with cross symbol craft ideas for children of all ages! The basic printout of the symbol of the cross hidden in an egg shape can be used in several different ways. Very young children can decorate the egg with crayons and tissue paper. Older children (10 plus) can trace the picture onto tracing paper and use felt tips to create a beautiful stained glass effect. Just be careful of smudging. Tracing paper is a little more tricky to use. Important Note – you do need to be careful with Sharpies and other Permanent Markers because of the smell they give off – they aren’t suitable for young children. Check if there are rules about their use in your country before using with anyone under 18.

Easter egg with cross symbol craft ideas

Print out the egg and heart shapes (PDF below) Cut out the hearts and if you want to cut out the egg shape. (You can do this before or after decorating). Then use tissue paper strips, crayons, felt tips to decorate and add the red heart. We did this at Toddler Group and they had a lovely time (make extra hearts as toddlers like to add several!). We also made this at a Children’s after school club and they enjoyed it too.

Easter egg with cross symbol craft

Older children can colour the cross first and then layer strips of tissue paper across the egg shape. Then trim the tissue paper to fit and add the red heart

Egg with cross on tracing paper

This version of the Easter egg with cross symbol craft takes a while to complete – older children can add extra lines and shapes and then carefully colour the egg – bright colours are best! I made the outline of the cross and heart thicker so they would stand out. Once completed place in a window. I think this would be a great craft to try at home.

If you can print the hearts on coloured paper.

Abram leaves home

Abram leaves home big visual aid for telling Bible Story

Abram leaves home is part of our Story Series ‘What’s in God’s Big Book?’ We started by making a Big Book and then each week we take out a page for our story. So far we have done God made everything , First sad day, Noah built the Ark and The big tower to Heaven ( I tell the story first and we finish by taking the page out of the book and reading the words)

The story is from Genesis 12

In the story bag have Abram and Sarah.

Knitted dolls to use to tell the Bible story about Abram and Sarai leaving home.

You can add actions to the story and ask the group to repeat phrases (I’ve written these in Bold).

Abram leaves home story idea

Say hello to Abram! Hello Abram. Abram lived a long, long time ago with his wife Sarai.

One day God spoke to Abram and said to him, ‘Leave where you live and go to a new place that I will show to you. I will bless you and make your family a great nation and bless all the world through you.’

Wow! That was a big promise.

Abram listened to God. Abram got ready to do what God had said.

He packed up his bags. He said goodbye to his neighbours and friends and off he went! Can you wave and say goodbye. He didn’t travel in a car or aeroplane. He didn’t even use a boat. But he probably had a donkey or camel to ride on and sometimes he would have walked.

Abram trusted God and was sure that God would be with him and keep his promise.

Every day he and Sarai travelled and every night they put up their tent and went fast asleep.

Today God speaks to you and me in The Bible and we should do what he says. We can trust God to keep his promises just like Abram.

Abram in his tent craft idea

I have added a download for you to print and use for Abraham standing in his tent. For full craft instructions see this post. This is one of my favourite crafts – the children really love the lift the flap element!

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.

Downloads for the craft

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

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.

Here’s a link to another story about Moses

Samuel heard God’s Voice Story and Craft for toddler group

Samuel heard God’s voice story and craft for toddler group. This is a lovely story to tell – there are actions for everyone to join in with and an idea for story bag items.

The story is found in 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Samuel heard God’s Voice story idea for toddler group

In the story bag have Eli and Samuel. I have a knitted doll for Eli and a cardboard tube model of Samuel.

You can also do actions during the story – particularly for Samuel sleeping. Encourage everyone to join in with the voice that calls ‘Samuel’

Samuel Bible Story for toddlers

‘Say hello to Samuel! he was a real person who lived a long time ago. When he was a young boy he lived in the temple; the very special place where people went to worship God.

One night he got ready for bed, and snuggled down to go to sleep. Let’s pretend to be asleep. We have to be very quiet. Suddenly Samuel heard someone calling his name, ‘Samuel’. That must be Eli, the old priest calling me, he thought. So up he got and went to Eli. ‘Here I am, you called me!’ ‘No I didn’t’, said Eli. ‘Go back to bed’.

Samuel went back to bed and closed his eyes and snuggled down to go to sleep. ‘Samuel’, he heard the voice again! He got up and went to Eli, ‘Here I am, you called me’. ‘No I didn’t, go back to bed’.

Samuel went back to bed. Snuggled down and closed his eyes. ‘Samuel’, he heard the voice again! He got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, you called me.’

Then Eli realised something. It was God calling Samuel’s name. God wanted to speak to Samuel. ‘Go back and lie down Samuel and when he calls your name again say, ‘speak Lord, your servant is listening.’

Samuel went back to bed and lay down. And sure enough he heard, ‘Samuel, Samuel’. He said, ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening.’

God still speaks to us today. Not in a voice we can hear like Samuel heard, but through the Bible. Show your Bible.

Samuel Craft Idea for toddlers

This craft is Samuel in his bed – don’t glue Samuel to the bed; he just slots inside. Children will enjoy taking him in and out of bed and can retell story.

All you need

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The Wheels on the Bus Craft

The Wheels on the Bus is a well known and often sung song at Toddler Group so we made a fun craft to go with the song. The Bus can be decorated with collage materials and crayons. We added some fun face stickers too.

Some ideas for collage materials

  • Tissue paper squares (lots of colours)
  • Wool
  • Sugar paper cut up into different shapes
  • Bits of wrapping paper
  • Fabric (Cut into squares using pinking shears – it won’t fray)
  • Felt
  • Card shapes – often designed for card making, you might find some in charity shops
  • Petit four cases/Cup cake cases

You can decide if you want to use lots of different materials or just a few. It’s good for children to have some choice.

Here’s a printable of the bus

Here’s some lyrics for the Wheels on the Bus.

Make a beautiful picture for Spring

Make a beautiful picture for spring using stickers and colours! There are loads of great stickers suitable for young children and if you don’t feel like using glue they are a good alternative. It also saves you from having to find lots of pictures to cut out so a really useful time saver. When you set up the craft space provide a pot for all the left over sticker backing. It’ll make tidy up so much easier.

We used a printed background for our spring picture that has hills, trees, a sun and some water. The children then decorated the scene with crayons and stickers. Wax crayons are great to use as you can blend colours and cover an area more easily that with felt tips of pencils. The stickers stuck to the crayon just fine.

An outdoor scene decorated with animal stickers and crayons

The background is available to download

We used stickers from Amazon. They come on a roll – we cut them up into individual stickers for ease of use. They are a great size for children to be able to peel the backing off themselves – great for using fine motor skills.

Here are links to some stickers. They are different designs as the ones we used are no longer available! (Affiliate link – some of the links in this blog are affiliate links which means that if you click on the link and purchase the item I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you)

Woodland Animal stickers

Sea Animal stickers

Flowers and Butterflies stickers

Treasure in a Field – Stories Jesus Told

This Story is from Matthew 13:44. It’s all about finding treasure in a field. It’s just one verse but one clear meaning too – being in God’s kingdom is worth more than everything else.

Treasure in a field story Idea

You need some treasure in a box, a green blanket/cloth and a trowel or spade (keep the latter away from young children or use a plastic spade). Bury the treasure under the green blanket ready to dig it up at the right time in the story.

‘One day Jesus told a made up story to show everyone that being part of God’s Family (Kingdom) is worth more than anything else. Let’s listen to the story he told…’

Once upon a time there was a man who was digging in the farmers field. He was digging and digging – and then he found something. I wonder what it was? It was a box of treasure! (Show the treasure). But the field wasn’t his and so the treasure wasn’t his!

But he had a plan. He put the treasure back where he had found it (put it back under the green blanket). Then he went home and he got all the things that he owned together and sold all of them! He went to the farmer – ‘Can I buy your field?’ ‘Yes’, said the farmer, ‘It’s now yours.’ Then the man got his spade and went to the field and starting digging – (act this out) and there was the treasure and now it was his. Now had more than he had ever had!

Jesus told this story to show us that being in God’s family is worth everything!

Craft Idea – finding treasure in the field

  • 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.

To make this craft you need…

  • Green paper (folded in half – portrait)
  • Sequins and shiny paper cut up into small shapes
  • The downloads of the treasure box, spade and words, ‘Can you find the treasure’ (which can be printed into labels)
  • Glue
  • Crayons/pencils
  • There is also the option of adding grass to the field (see photo)

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
The Song – The Wise Man Built his House upon the Rock !

The Lost Sheep – Stories Jesus Told

Lost Sheep Bible Stories with two craft ideas for different age groups.

  • Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which means if you click on the link and purchase the item I will receive commission at no extra cost to you.

The Lost Sheep is a story that Jesus told. Jesus often told parables; stories that have one hidden meaning. In Luke 15:1-7 Jesus tells the story about the lost sheep to show the self important Pharisees that the Tax Collectors and sinners who he socialised with were welcome in the Kingdom of God. The latter often knew that they needed a Saviour while the former thought they were already righteous. When we tell this story we can and focus on the joy in Heaven when something lost is found. In this case the sheep is like us, we need to be found.

The Lost Sheep Story Idea

‘One day there were some very moany, groany people who were cross with Jesus. They thought that they were very important, special people and that Jesus should spend all his time with them. But Jesus was busy spending time with people who had done bad things! ‘How can he spend his time with these awful people?’ they said.

Jesus knew that they were moaning and groaning about him so he told them this story…

‘Once upon a time there was a shepherd who had a 10 sheep. He looked after them really well. He gave them food to eat and water to drink. Every day he counted them – 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 – just to make sure they were all safe and sound.

But one day there was a problem. The shepherd was counting his sheep, one – then two – then three and so on – all the way to nine! And then… where was 10? One sheep was lost. Oh No! What could he do?

He missed his lost sheep and so he went off to find it. The Shepherd was determined to find his lost sheep. He looked here and he looked there, he looked everywhere! He walked over the hills, through the forest, behind the rocks. Looking and looking!

And then he found the sheep that was lost! He picked it up and carried it home. Can you imaging how he felt?

He was so happy that he called all his friends and they celebrated! All his sheep were now safe and sound.’

Jesus had finished telling the story. Jesus looked at the moany, groany people and he said to them, ‘There is lots of happiness in heaven when someone who knows they are lost comes back to God.’ ‘

The Lost Sheep Craft Idea

Lost Sheep Craft- download the image and decorate with yarn, crayons and/or cotton wool

An idea for older children – Lost Sheep Collage– the download for the small sheep is below. I used a gardening catalogue for the tree and flower photos and coloured paper for the hills and sun. The paper is from A4 Coloured Paper

All you need – glue, paper to make the hills (different shades of green), blue paper for background, yellow for sun, pictures of flowers and trees, tissue paper for grass and a sheep to hide.

Decorate the mini sheep with yarn or cotton wool.

Easter Craft – a paper Easter Garden

Easter Garden Craft

Easter Craft – a paper Easter Garden that is easy to make. Easter Gardens are lovely but if you don’t have the time to make a garden with soil and real plants then this is a simple alternative. It is a great reminder of the Story of Easter.

To make the Easter Garden you need

  • picture of the empty tomb printed onto card (see file to download – there is a choice – one has the words ‘Jesus is alive!’)
  • pictures of flowers from garden catalogues or magazines
  • glue
  • pencils and crayons

Make the picture while the card is flat and then fold in half so the tomb and hills are vertical.

This craft is suitable for toddlers upwards. Older children can cut out the flower pictures and or draw their own. You can add stickers and tissue paper shapes too.

Here is another Easter Garden idea using a paper plate

My Easter Pinterest Board has lots of Easter themed craft ideas

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

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.

Shiny Paper Collage

Candle – colouring stained glass craft

Candle – colouring stained glass craft. This is a very simple candle craft – you can choose whether to cut out the flame and glue tissue paper to the back for a stained glass effect or just colour in the flame or add some glitter!

And you can choose whether or not to add a Bible verse to the heart shape. Sometimes it depends on how much time we have for preparation and the age and stage of the children who are making the craft.

One of the downloads for the candle craft comes with the words from John 8:12 printed on the heart, the other is left blank.

In the picture the bible verse is written by hand but I felt the downloadable version needed an upgrade!

The picture is made up of

  • a candle – to represent light,
  • a heart – to remind us of God’s love, and
  • the Cross – to remind us that Jesus died for us and in doing so showed his love for us.

This would make a great Memory Verse craft to help children learn John 8:12.

What you need to make the candle colouring stained glass craft

  • Wax crayons or blendable colouring pencils are great for adding colour to the candle design; they can be layered and blended (you can use felt pens but I’m not sure that they would have such a good effect as sometimes you just end up with a streaky effect! If young children are using felt tips it’s best to make sure they are water based pens )
  • Glitter (optional)
  • Yellow tissue paper if cutting out the flame and adding the stained glass effect
  • Glue if doing the above
  • Printouts of the design
candle colouring stained glass craft

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 told the Bible story about Jonah and the One Big Fish. This story is all about counting to two! The Bible Truth for toddlers is, ‘Those who trust in God are rescued’. You can read the story from Genesis here.

To tell the story you can use – an ark, animals in pairs, Mr and Mrs Noah, a toy saw and hammer.

Noah and two of every animal toddler group story props

Storytelling props for Noah

Noah and two of every animal toddler group story script

Say hello to Noah! God told Noah to start building. He needed to cut lots of wood and use a hammer and a saw. But what was he making? It wasn’t a house. It wasn’t a new bed. It wasn’t a table. It wasn’t even really a boat! It was an ark. It was like a big, big box that would float. God had told Noah to build an ark, he told him exactly how big it should be and what sort of wood to use.

Noah worked hard. He trusted God and he did what God said. Everyday he sawed and hammered. Every night he went fast asleep. Then he woke up and sawed and hammered until one day the Ark was finished. It was huge!

It was too big for just Noah and his family. Who else was it for?

God sent animals to go inside the ark. Two of every kind. Let’s count them! (show animals in pairs and count – 1,2). They went into the big ark that Noah had built. Noah collected all the food that they would need and put in safely in the ark and then Noah and his family went inside too. And then God shut the door.

Everyone inside the Ark waited. They waited. And they waited.

And then it began. It rained and it poured. It rained for such a long time. But Noah and his family and the animals were safe in the ark. God took care of them and rescued them from the big flood.

And when the flood had gone they were able to come out of the big ark that Noah had built. God had rescued them from the big flood.

Noah and two of every animal craft idea

Noah craft Idea

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.

Jonah and the One Great Big Fish – A Bible Number Story

Jonah and the One Great Big Fish – A Bible Number Story. We are thinking about counting in toddler group. So we have some Bible Stories with numbers. First up is Jonah. The Bible truth for toddlers in this story is ‘God always knows where we are’. The story is from the book of Jonah.

To tell the Story you need –

  • Jonah (we used a figure from happyland),
  • a big fish (the one pictured is VERY big – made over a tent) and
  • a toy boat.
Jonah and the boat to Ninevah
The big fish that swallowed Jonah

Jonah and the One Great Big Fish story

God said to Jonah, ‘go to the big city called Ninevah (can you say that? repeat the name together) and tell everyone there about me.’

Jonah listened to God.

But Jonah didn’t like the people in the big city of Ninevah.

‘I don’t want to! I’m not going to go!’ He said (have you ever said that?)

Jonah thought to himself, ‘I will go far away – so far away that God won’t know where I am.’ He went and got on a boat and sailed away, far, far away from Ninevah.

But then the rain came and the wind blew – and out of the boat came Jonah – and splash into the sea!

Down, down, down he went. ‘Please God, help me!’ he prayed.

God knew exactly where Jonah was, God always knows where we are; and he sent something to help. It wasn’t a boat – it was one great big fish. The one great big fish opened up it’s mouth and swallowed Jonah. He was safe!

The one great big fish took Jonah back to land. God said, ‘Jonah, go to Ninevah’. And this time Jonah did exactly what God said.

Jonah craft idea

Decorate the big fish! It’s a free download.

The other stories in this Bible Number Story Series

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
Elisha and the widow's oil craft

‘Thank you God for yummy food’ craft

To Make

  • You need A4 card with holes punched at the top (landscape) centre and thread added
  • Stick on lots of pictures of fruit and vegetables (from gardening catalogues)
  • Add the ribbon/banner. See download below.

Hang up in the kitchen!

While you are making talk about the names of the fruit and vegetables, their colours and where they grow (in the ground, on trees etc). When you eat something that is on your picture you could add a smiley face 🙂

How to make a shepherd

How to make a shepherd printable instructions.

You can make a shepherd to add to a Nativity display or use when telling the Christmas Story. Below is a photo of a nativity to give you an idea of how you can use paper plate Christmas characters to build a Christmas scene. In the picture we have Mary and Joseph, angels and shepherds. The manger is a party bag with yellow tissue paper inside – see this post for instructions and a printable baby , the stable is made from a cardboard box lined with yellow tissue paper on the inside and covered with brown tissue paper on the outside.

How to make a shepherd printable

How to make a shepherd printable instructions

You can print the above by clicking on download…

There is a similar printable all about making an angel available in this post

Enjoy making a Christmas scene to use in storytelling or as a decoration.

Angel tree topper instructions

Angel tree topper instructions that are easy to print. We made these angels last year in 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. It can be handy to have some instructions for the adults to look at on the craft table. You could also make them available as a take home for parents and children to make during the Christmas holidays.

Printable instructions showing how to make an angel tree topper

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

The story of Zacchaeus is from Luke 19.

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

Easter egg colouring printables

Easter egg colouring printables!

These A4 Easter Egg designs can be coloured or made into collages. Whatever you feel like doing! I’ve used wax crayons (you can blend the colours!), felt tips, tissue paper and some sugar paper circles. Cut out the egg shape after you’ve decorated it. If you want to paint the eggs then maybe print the shape onto card. Enjoy!

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…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.

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

This is what we are aiming for …..

Jesus is born craft

All you need for this craft – paper party bags, shredded tissue paper, stars, baby picture, glue, crayons or material for the swaddling cloths.

There is a lot of cutting out to do beforehand and not loads for children to do – they decorate the baby, add the tissue paper and the star – so you may want to make a paper plate Mary, Joseph or a shepherd as well!

Noah in the Ark – a weather themed story

IMG_4567

There is a page of mini arks all ready for downloading and printing here Basic Noah’s Ark (x 8)

We did this craft a couple of weeks ago when we were doing Bible Stories on the theme of weather.

We used tissue paper, crepe paper, cellophane wrap, cotton wool and paper clouds.

Our five senses craft

IMG_3937

All you need for these crafts ….

Sugar paper, glue, pictures cut from catalogues and magazines, felt, feathers, satin type fabric, wool, ribbon, stars, pictures of birds singing, pictures of musical instruments and paper plates. For ‘Things I like to smell’ spray the pictures with perfume beforehand. (If you can have some real items for the children to smell – lemons, herbs and sweetpeas are all good. For ‘Things I like to hear’ it would be great to have a table of musical instruments for the children to use.) I also used printed labels, ‘Things I like to… smell/taste/see/touch or hear’.

Label (3×8) ‘Things I like to taste’

Label (3×8) ‘Things I like to smell’

Label (3×8) ‘Things I like to see’

Label (3×8) ‘Things I like to hear’

Label (3×8) ‘Things I like to touch’

IMG_3936IMG_3935IMG_3934IMG_3933IMG_3932

 

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

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)

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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

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

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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

The Parable of the Mustard – craft

The mustard tree grew so large that the birds could nest in its branches. This craft idea is to represent our toddler group children and their families and carers being made welcome to come and ‘nest’ in the tree of God’s Kingdom. (Matthew 13:31-32)

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To Make the birds you will need

  • Bird shapes printed out (I used paper – card would be fine too) and cut out. Click the link to the printable PDF files. Bird 1  Bird 2
  • Sequins
  • Hearts cut from sugar paper or tissue paper shapes
  • Strips of sugar paper (you can curl these if you like by pulling a scissor blade along them)
  • Crayons
  • Glue

You also need something to represent the mustard tree. This could be a bought tree like the one in the picture (hobbycraft) or a collection of branches or a made tree from sugar paper or a roll of lining paper. If you have a large group you might want to reduce the size of the birds.

Let the children decorate the birds as they wish. You could add their name to the front of the bird. Add the birds to the tree. Once the birds are added it will be a collection of all the children in your group in the mustard tree. I’ve added my birds by punching a hole and using thread. Blu-tack would work too.

Use the tree to encourage your church to pray for your toddler group. Put it on display on the Sundays during the National Month of Prayer in June.

This idea is one of many to help Toddler Groups get involved with the 1277 National Month of Prayer held each year in June. For further information and lots of ideas visit their facebook page 1277 National Month of Prayer.

Nehemiah and the fox! – animal stories

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.

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

 

 

Autumn craft

Autumn craft and activities to enjoy! I love making seasonal wreaths. They can be taken home and used to decorate. It is good for children to see their art work displayed and treasured.

We’ve used faux leaves for this wreath that were bought. You could use cut out leaf shapes instead and add tissue paper berries. Use autumnal colours – reds, oranges and yellows, browns and add a pop of green. The wreath in the first photo is a circle of cardboard bought from Amazon. If you would rather make your own use a paper plate and cut out the centre or cut a circle from card.

Autumn wreath made with faux leaves

Autumn wreath using faux leaves

Autumn wreath made with paper leaves
Autumn wreath using paper cut out leaf shapes and tissue paper berries

Home made playdough can be used to decorate an autumn tree.

Tree picture decorated with playdough leaves

The tree printout has been laminated – if you don’t have a laminator (and lots of us don’t) then use tacky back to cover printed or drawn tree.

The playdough is homemade and coloured with poster paint. Leaves were cut out using a cake decorating cutter. This would be a lovely activity for a small group in Sunday school or at home. If you add vanilla extract to the dough it smells amazing. If you would rather not use a cutter then just make leaf shapes by rolling the dough and shaping it with hands.

Playdough recipe – This playdough is a no cook recipe – it uses boiling water so has to be made by an adult.

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tarter (you really do need this – don’t be tempted to leave it out and make sure it’s in date. It’ll stop the dough going slimy)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (don’t use a nut oil in case children are allergic)
  • 3/4 cup boiling water
  • Food colouring paste or ready mix water colour paint for colour

To make – add all the dry ingredients together in a mixer and then add the oil, boiling water and colouring and mix till a soft dough. You can mix by hand but it’ll take longer.

DSCN0568DSCN0569Tree free pdf to print

As well as an autumn wreath and autumn playdough trees another Autumn craft you can make extra large autumn leaves! Just cut large leaf shapes from coloured sugar paper and decorate!

Extra large autumn leaf collage
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Harvest – cereal box 3D picture

A 3D harvest picture made from a cereal box is a different craft to the usual – it takes a bit of effort to prepare but is well worth it. You need a cereal box for each child. We asked our church to donate boxes over several weeks. So to do this craft for harvest we started asking for donations in July. It didn’t matter that the boxes were a variety of sizes. If you are running a church toddler group asking people to donate items for the craft is a great way to get the church involved with your group.

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To make a harvest 3D cereal box picture, you need

  • cereal boxes,
  • circles for the sun,
  • cloud shapes,
  • grass made from sugar paper,
  • tractors,
  • lots of flower pictures cut from magazines
  • glue.

Preparation to do ahead – you need to put the cereal boxes back together by taping the top together. The box should be able to stand up. Then cut a window (I used a craft knife for this). Make sure you leave a rim, a bit like having a frame around the window. Prepare the grass by cutting  green paper to the width of the box. Print out the tractors.

The children can then add all the other bits and bobs. They need to start off with the pictures inside the box and then add the grass, sun, cloud, rain etc..

3D cereal box craft with pictures glued into the box window
3D cereal box harvest picture of flowers, grass and a tractor

Here’s a link to another Harvest/Autumn blog post with an activity and a scarecrow craft

Here is a song to enjoy. Simple lyrics, great tune! This is a great song for toddler group as you could easily add actions for everyone to join in with.

Joseph – fancy coat and camels!

This past week our Bible Story was all about Joseph, his special coat and how his brothers sold him to people travelling on camels to Egypt. The camels were donated to the group about a year ago and normally live in our ‘Vet’ box. They come in very useful for several stories.

Craft – Joseph and his coloured coat! There is a PDF – Joseph

Look out for the umbrella in one of the children’s pictures 🙂

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shepherd and sheep printable

There are lots of Bible Stories about people who were shepherds  – Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,  Joseph and his brothers, Moses, David and Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

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I’ll be using this colouring page as the craft for the story about Moses and the burning bush. (Exodus 3). As we do the craft before and after the lesson I haven’t included the burning bush as I want that to be a surprise in the story.  Click here for the story.

You could use it for any of the Bible Stories about shepherds.  Here’s the link for the PDF – Shepherd and Sheep

dinosaur craft

There are lots of versions of this in my house (!) – this is my favourite

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How to make – paper plates cut in half. You can easily cut the dinosaur spikes/plates a few plates at a time. Older children who can safely use scissors can do this part themselves. IMG_2485

Each dinosaur needs a tail and a head – there is a free printable here – Dinosaur Head and Tail (1) Colour these and then attach with glue.

Decorate the dinosaur with tissue paper, crayon, pens – whatever suits you. I like to give children a choice.

Decorate the pegs and attach. The dinosaur should stand up!

Easter with toddlers

Easter with toddlers! There are some lovely Easter Garden ideas in this post and if you read to the end an Easter Story video.

Easter with toddlers Easter Garden

A simple Easter garden is a great way to introduce young children to Easter. You can use natural materials such as soil/compost and leaves or you can make a garden like the one here. The playdough will last a couple of weeks before it dries out – so this won’t keep for ever – but then next Easter the children can make another garden.

At the end of this post there is an idea for telling the Easter story using different faces – there is a PDF for you to use too.

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To make an Easter Garden like this one each child needs

Make a garden yourself to show to give children and adults an idea of what they are aiming for.

If you click on the links above you will be taken to where I bought the plates, ice cream tubs and flowers. You could use different plates – just make sure they are the shiny coated type so the dough won’t soak through.

To prepare the craft cut a ‘stone’ out of ice cream tub and make the dough. You will need a lot of dough!

Playdough recipe

2 Cups plain flour (cheap flour is fine)

2 Cups water

Food colouring (add this to the water)

1 Tablespoon cooking oil

1 Teaspoon cream of tartar (don’t be tempted to leave this out)

1 Cup salt

Put everything in a large saucepan and mix over a medium heat till it comes together as a dough.

Take out of the pan and kneed on a lightly floured surface for a  of minutes till smooth. It will be hot!

Store in an airtight container/bag in the fridge till you need it. Let it come to room temperature before the children use it.

This amount will make 5 square plate Easter Gardens if you cover the entire plate. You could cover less of the plate as in the picture above.

Enjoy making..

Have a look at an Easter garden I made to show the children at Toddler Group during story time.

Telling the Easter Story

This idea uses faces to explain the story – angry, sad, surprised and happy. As you tell how some people were angry with Jesus show the any face and ask everyone, ‘can you look angry?’When Jesus died his friends were very sad – show the sad face and ask everyone, ‘can you look sad?’ Then something amazing happened; Jesus came alive again. His friends were surprised! Ask everyone, ‘can you look surprised?’

Jesus is still alive today! Show the happy face and ask, ‘can you look happy?’ We can be happy because Jesus is alive!

Easter with toddlers paper plate faces to tell the story
Paper plate faces to help tell the Easter Story – see below for a telling of the story.

Here are the faces as printable PDF’s if you would like to use them

Angry & Sad Face Surprised & Happy Face

or plain circles to make your own – Circles for paper plates.

Baby Moses paper plate craft

Here’s some simple instructions for making the Baby Moses paper plate craft. I’ve made a baby Moses paper plate craft before (you can find it here) but wanted something a little simpler for our Holiday Bible Club as we don’t have a lot of time per age group. So this time there was no drawing round hands and the paper plate is a square plate.

To prepare the Baby Moses paper plate craft I pre cut a slit in each square plate, prepared a piece of green card the right size to slot into the slit and printed lots of baby Moses’s (there is a link to the download below) and basket lids.

The children needed to cut the green card to make reeds, slot into the plate (a leader then used cellotape to secure the green card under the plate), the children mould a plasticine basket and place a coloured in Moses inside. The plate was decorated with blue and white tissue paper. A label was added ‘God kept Moses safe’ by ________ ; the children fill in the blank with their name. 

You could use air drying clay to make the basket but the plasticine was pretty much mess free. There is a softer version of plasticene for young children.

Baby Moses paper plate craft Baby Moses paper plate craft

Moses has a sad face because he was crying when the basket was opened.

Square blue paper plates are from here

Plasticine also from here and also Hobbycraft and WHSmith.

Two free downloads of the baby Moses and lids for the baskets Baby Moses (x 24) Baby Moses Basket Lid (x 12)

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Springwatch inspired song!

A new song to a well known tune – always a safe combination. The tune is ‘the wheels on the bus’.

The song is about these guys. As you can see, I’ve been watching Springwatch.

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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, 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.  🙂

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I will be using the b/w printables as a craft activity – we have a lot of collage materials to use up! Feel free to print as many as you like.

Bee     Snail     Frog     Owl

These are the same pictures but in colour

Bee – colour     Frog – colour     Snail – colour     Owl – colour

 

Easter chickens – paper plate craft

I found this via Pinterest – it’s originally from this website http://krokotak.com/ which is full of absolutely great ideas.
The idea for my simple chicken came from here http://krokotak.com/2012/11/cut-away-some-paper-animals/. My version is a bit simpler as I was cutting out quite a few for our toddler group.

If you wanted to you could place these on the breakfast table on Easter morning and hide a chocolate egg underneath!

 

 

Chicken+Plate – PDF file with simple template.
We decorated the chicks with feathers and tissue and crepe paper.
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