Toddler Group Archives - Let their light shine!

Lydia hears about Jesus Toddler Bible Story

Lydia hears about Jesus when Paul and Silas visit the town of Philippi where she lived. The story of Lydia is from Acts 16:11-15.

Lydia, Paul and Silas Props for Toddler Group Bible Story

Lydia hears about Jesus Toddler Group Bible Story

Bible Truth for toddlers – Believing in Jesus is for everyone

Say hello to Paul and Silas! (everyone say ‘hello Paul’, ‘hello Barnabas’ and wave – get you puppets to wave too!) Paul and Silas believed in Jesus and so they went to all sorts of different places to tell everyone that they met that Jesus was the Saviour sent from God. They went to big towns and small villages, they told men, women and children all about Jesus. And today in our story they were travelling to a new place – and they weren’t walking there, they weren’t running there, they were sailing in a boat!

When they arrived at the town of Philippi (a very important place) they told people about Jesus.

One day they decided to go down to the river – they were sure that there would be a place by the river where people went to pray. They found a group who were praying to God and so they sat down with them and began to tell them all about Jesus.

Now one of the people sitting by the river was Lydia. She was a rich successful woman who had money and a lovely home and a great job selling purple cloth (which was very expensive!) but still, something was missing in her life.

She sat and she listened. She realised that she needed to believe in and follow Jesus. So that is what she did! Lydia now knew Jesus as her Saviour. Jesus came to save all sorts of people – people just like you and me.’

Lydia Bible Story Toddler Group Craft

A simple craft idea – we had a washing line and purple pieces of material.

Materials needed

printout of washing line
purple cloth cut into different shapes,
thin lollipop sticks (optional, although they do look lovely added to the craft)
glue (if using lollipop sticks make sure any glue you use will work)

Step by step instructions

Set up your craft table with supplies of purple cloth shapes, glue, lollipop sticks and the washing line printable.

Display a washing line craft that you have already made

Let the children choose the colour of the lollipop sticks and encourage them to glue and match to the shape on the printable. This is tricky for toddlers so don’t worry if it’s not an exact match.

Let the children glue the purple cloth shapes to the washing line. It’s fine if they only want to glue one piece of fabric.

Lydia hears about Jesus craft. Purple cloth on a washing line.

Lydia Toddler Group Craft Printable Resource

Lydia-made-purple-cloth-Washing-line Download

Joseph forgives Toddler Bible Story Idea

Joseph forgives is the second part of a Toddler Group Bible Stories series for Church Toddler Groups.

Joseph toddler bible story home made printable puppets

Back in November last year we did the story of Joseph in two parts. In week one we told the story of his special coat and how his older brother sold him to people who were on their way to Egypt. It was great to have some soft toy camels to take out of the story bag.

Joseph toddler group bible story puppets and toy camels

The following week we told how the brothers had no food – they were so hungry! But there was food in Egypt. They made the long journey and there they came face to face with their brother. They didn’t know him but he knew who they were. What would he do? Joseph forgave his brothers. We can forgive people too. God is able to forgive us!

Here’s Joseph dressed like an Egyptian (black and white printable below – we used sharpies to add colour and then made him into a puppet. Use wooden lollipop sticks)

The story takes up several chapters in Genesis (37, 39-46) We chose to tell only part of the story.

Joseph forgives free printables for toddler group Bible Story

Joseph the Egyptian Download

Joseph’s brother – sad Download

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.

On the way to Easter…paper plate pictures

On the way to Easter paper plate pictures that help to tell the story of the first Easter. In the Gospels Jesus meets several people when he is on his last journey to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the final time. So four of our stories are about the people that met Jesus as he was going to Jerusalem. Then we have the story of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

I’ll be using different props for each story but as we go there will be a paper plate picture for each week that will build a bigger picture.. (If you don’t want to use all the stories just pick and choose)

Our stories will be… (Click on the links to go to the stories and crafts)

The Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-23 and Mark 10:17-22)
Bartimaeus (Luke 18:35-43 and Mark 10:32,33,46-52)
Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10)
Mary anoints Jesus (John 12:1-8)
The Triumphal Entry (Luke 19:28-40)
Death and Resurrection of Jesus (Luke 23:44-24:12)

This is how our big picture will look when we have told all the stories..

Pictures on paper plates showing the people Jesus met in the run up to the first Easter

These are paper plates covered in tissue paper with people and buildings and trees etc added.

The people are available to download – if you would like to make a contribution to the blog you are very welcome to do so but of course you don’t have to!

woman-smile-x4 Download

man-smile-x4 Download

man-small-smile-x4 Download

man-sad-x4 Download

children-x21 Download

The pictures of trees and buildings are available in this post https://lettheirlightshine.com/2015/03/20/jesus-enters-jerusalem-palm-sunday/

On the way to Easter – some thoughts about telling the story

Easter can be a difficult story to tell to young children. It isn’t necessary to go into detail about how Jesus died. It’s always good to include the positive for example you can say – that although Jesus died and his friends were sad he came back to life again and his friends were happy! Be factual with sensitivity. Easter is a good news event!

A couple of Easter story videos – Palm Sunday and Easter!

The Big Tower up to Heaven

The Big Tower up to Heaven story comes from Genesis 11. This 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, and Noah built the Ark

Big Tower up to Heaven story idea

(during the story if you have someone who can speak a language that you don’t understand ask them to help you – they could give you some building instructions!)

Do you remember how Noah and his family came out of the Ark? They were so happy to be back on dry land again. God told Noah and his family that they should spread out over the whole earth. Do you think they did what God said? No! They wanted to stay altogether.

Time went by. Soon there were lots of people. They all spoke the same language. When someone said ‘hello’ everyone understood. They were clever too. They learnt how to make bricks that were strong. (Have a brick to show)

‘Lets build a huge city with a big tower that reaches up to heaven’ they said. Everyone understood. They all agreed that this was a really good idea!

They started work.

‘Pass the bricks’, ‘Lend me a hammer’, ‘is that wall straight?’ Everyone understood all the instructions.

God looked at what the people were doing. He wasn’t pleased. He had told them to spread out and they hadn’t listened. So God did something that only God could do. He made the people start to speak in different languages.

It was so hard to build the huge city and the big tower up to heaven now that some people were saying words that other people didn’t understand. (Ask your friend to give you a couple of instructions here)

The people gave up. They got together in smaller groups with others who had the same language and they began to spread out over the whole earth.

Big Tower up to Heaven building activities

This story is a great opportunity for the children to do some building! Use boxes, wooden blocks and empty cereal boxes! If you have the space create a building area and provide some toy tools and hard hats too.

a girl in a white dress and eyeglasses playing with cardboard boxes — Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com

boy building with toy blocks — Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com

baby in white onesie holding wooden blocks — Photo by Tatiana Syrikova on Pexels.com

child playing wooden blocks — Photo by Tatiana Syrikova on Pexels.com

Noah built the Ark

‘Noah Built an Ark’ is the third story in our ‘What’s in God’s Big Book?’ series that we have used with under 5’s. We began by making a big book that could be used to hold each page. Take a look here. It is really oversized – you could get away with making a smaller big book (especially if you need to take it on the bus!)

The first story was God made everything. The second First sad day. We now move on to Noah based on Genesis 6-8.

Noah built an Ark Story

In the story bag – Noah, a tool kit, wood, a variety of animals

Say hello to Noah! He lived a long tome ago. All around him and his family people were always cross. They argued, they shouted, they sometimes started fighting! It was horrible. No one cared about anyone else. No one listened to God anymore. They ignored him.

But God saw them! God sees everything. So God decided to wash everything way. He was going to end all the arguing and fighting.

Now Noah was not like everyone else. He did care about what God thought. Do you think God noticed Noah? Yes, he did. And God decided to save Noah.

He told Noah what to do – and Noah started to build! He sawed wood, he hammered, he measured.He sawed more wood! He was making something really, really big! It wasn’t a house. It wasn’t a tower. It wasn’t even a boat. It was an Ark.

It was like an enormous wooden box with rooms inside that would float.

It took a long time.

Then the Ark was finished. God sent some of the animals to go inside. (You can show some here – and maybe make the sounds they would make). Then Noah and his wife and family went inside too. And God shut the door – bang!

They waited – and then it started – the rain poured down. There was so much rain! Soon the whole world was covered in water. Everything was washed away except for Noah and his family and the animals in the Ark.

Days and days went by. Then God stopped the rain. Slowly the water went down until it was finally safe for Noah to come out of The Ark. Noah was very grateful. He said, ‘Thank you God’. And God made a very special promise to Noah, ‘I won’t destroy everything again. While the earth is here, there will always be seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.’ And God put the rainbow in the sky to remind Noah of his promise.

That special promise is for us too! When you see a rainbow in the sky remember that God always keeps his promises.

Noah built an Ark craft ideas

A great craft to go with this story is a paper plate Ark that rocks! If making with under 5’s pre-cut the Ark shapes. You can also make the water using tissue and crepe paper on a blue sheet of sugar/construction paper. There are some great animal stickers that the children can enjoy adding to their Ark. These stickers are often sold on a roll so cut them into singles beforehand. Or use cut outs of animals for the children to colour and glue to the Ark.

We’ve also made a large Ark that you can use during the story and decorate with animal stickers.

Older children can have a go at making the rainbow cloud. We used cloud shaped gift tags and rainbow ribbon.

Easy to make finger paint

Easy to make finger paint that uses three ingredients (and one of them is water!)

I spent quite a while searching on line for ready made finger paints but was put off by some of the reviews. I really don’t want children breaking out in a rash because of allergies. The best thing about making something yourself is that you know what’s in the end product.

I found several recipes for home made finger paint and decided to try out the one from Rainy Day Mum partly because I had quite a lot of Corn flour (cornstarch) left over from making crown shapes.

It’s a fantastic recipe. Really quick to make and if you use a mug for the measurements there is a lot. I cooked my finger paints without any food colouring. Once I was happy with the consistency I split it between four bowls and added different colours.

finger paints in bowls showing the bright colours

Finger paint can be used on paper or card or on a plastic mat. You can encourage children to paint with it, make marks on paper and/or just enjoy the texture by mixing the colours on a plastic mat.

A fairly sturdy paper plate makes a good canvas.

You can also use these paints to add decoration to shapes and pictures. Here’s a crown made from Bicarbonate of Soda and Corn Flour dough with some finger paint decoration. You can see in the picture that home made finger paints add texture too!

You just need to be careful that the paint doesn’t get onto furniture or favourite clothes. If using in a toddler group let parents know beforehand so they can dress themselves and their toddler appropriately. Have some aprons for the children to wear and some baby wipes handy.

To store the finger paints use an air tight container. It will keep for a couple of weeks.

Let’s make crowns to decorate!

These crowns are made from a dough that has three ingredients – and one of them is cold water! It’s air drying so you need to make it a few days before you want to decorate the shapes.

If you are celebrating The Coronation Twinkl has some great ideas and resources here with lots of ideas for Coronation Parties and decorations. Twinkl also have loads of great Coronation themed crafts that would be great for an at home Coronation party. It’s free to join Twinkl and they have loads of resources and ideas. Well worth a look.

Ingredients for the dough

3 Cups Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda)
11/2 Cups Cornflour (Cornstarch)
2 Cups Cold Water

To make the dough

Mix everything together in a large pan (it will be watery)
Cook on medium heat – stirring all the time
Once it has formed a dough remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
Knead it on a surface (sprinkle some cornflour to stop it sticking)
Roll out
Cut into shapes
Leave to dry out for at least 24 hours

It’s a lovely dough to use. It did stick to my pan a bit but came off easily with hot soapy water. I have to admit that it was so watery at first that I thought it was never going to work but it did! At toddler group we will decorate the crowns – either with glitter or finger paints. If you wanted to make hanging decorations then you just need to add a hole with a skewer before the shapes have dried out.

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-rock Download

Here’s a link to another story about Moses

Make a ‘Thank you God’ book

Make a ‘Thank you God’ book to share with toddlers; a great way to teach children about how wonderfully made they are.

We used our ‘Thank you God’ book over several weeks at toddler group. Each week we had an activity to tie in with the theme and sang songs that were connected.

Make a ‘Thank you God’ book

The pages to make your own book are below for you to download and print. The photos on each page are all loyalty free. (Please don’t remove the attribute that is on each photo). You can tie the pages together with string – make two holes in each page in roughly the same place and tie together. Or you could make a large folder and stick the title page to the outside. Each week take out the page that you are using.

Using your ‘Thank you God’ book

At toddler group we began our story time with our welcome song and then talked through the page of the ‘Thank you God’ book that we were using that week. There’s no need to recap on previous weeks – you want to keep the story time short. The children and adults were encouraged to join in – for example clapping when it was in the book. We added extra ideas too. The book is a starting point; add activities that suit your group.

For each week I’ve listed some song ideas. Every week read the Bible verse together (you don’t have to read out the reference but you can say that these words are from God’s Book, the Bible.)

The following are the files for you to download and print

Thank-God-Title-pages with Bible verse-A4 Download

Thank-God-Nose-A4 Download

Thank-God-Mouth-A4 Download

Thank-God-Hands-A4 Download

Thank-God-Eyes-A4 Download

Thank-God-Ears-A4 Download

Thank-God-Feet-A4 Download

Songs to sing with the ‘Thank you God’ book

There are lots of songs that will fit in with this theme. Here are some ideas.

Songs/Rhymes to use any week

Head, shoulders knees and toes
From my head down to my toes God loves me
I wiggle my fingers, I wiggle my toes
The Hokey Cokey (if you are a large group don’t get in a circle – wave arms up in the air for ‘oh the hokey cokey’)

Songs about feet

The Grand old Duke of York
Walking through the jungle
Sleeping bunnies (jumping/hopping at the end of the song)

Songs about hands

Open shut them, open shut them
If you’re happy and you know it (can use for feet too)
Round and round the garden (a rhymes using hands – for adults to do with their child)
Miss Polly had a dolly (knocking on the door with our hands)
Tommy Thumb (a song using our hands)
We all clap hands together

Songs about ears

I hear thunder
Old MacDonald (all the sounds the animals make)
Oh we can play on the big brass drum

Songs about mouths

Jelly on a plate (for eating)
All songs – we use our mouths for singing!
The wheels on the bus – the verses the Daddies on the bus go ‘Shush’, the babies on the bus go ‘wah, wah, wah’ and the mummies on the bus go ‘chatter, chatter, chatter’.

Songs about eyes

I see blue sky (second verse of ‘I hear thunder’)
Sleeping bunnies (we close our eyes to sleep)

Songs about noses

I wiggle my fingers, I wiggle my nose
Head, shoulders, knees and toes

A really great book for songs and rhymes is ‘This Little Puffin’ compiled by Elizabeth Matterson. First published in 1969 it’s been updated. Well worth buying if you work with under fives. I’ve had my copy for over thirty years (might be time to buy the updated edition!) – Affiliate link – if you click on the above link and make a purchase this blog will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you.

Craft/Activity Ideas to go with the ‘Thank you God’ book

Feet – decorate foot prints

Thank-you-God-for-my-FEET-1 Download

Hands – make hand prints with paint. Do finger painting. Play with dough. Build with bricks.

a girl sitting at a table with green paint on her palm — Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com

Ears – put together a sound/listening table with musical instruments, scrunchie paper, rain sticks.

Mouths – decorate biscuits (check for allergies first). Make smiley faces using paper plates.

Eyes – have a ‘looking table’ with large magnifyers and leaves, pine cones, flowers for children to take a closer look at. We used this idea for Autumn too.

Noses – make scented pictures. Beforehand use some inexpensive perfume to spray collage materials. Allow to dry. At toddler group let the children create scented pictures using the now scented collage materials. Here’s a similar idea. Scented flower pictures.

Stortelling tip #27

storytelling tip#27 is …

Tell it like you mean it

Tell your Bible Story with conviction. These are the best stories and we have the privilege of sharing them. Tell them in such a way that your listeners know that the Bible is important to you. Tell them in such a way that your listeners will know that Jesus is important.

Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’
John 14:6

Here’s a link to the page that has lots of hints and tips about Bible storytelling. These are just some of the things I’ve learnt as I’ve told stories in toddler groups.

Storytelling tip #26

Some details add to your story

Young children are focused on their world. They know about feeling hungry, tired, happy, sad. They know about home. They know what daytime and nightime are. The weather is part of their everyday. Use these familiar things when you tell the Bible Story. If it happened at night mention the stars. If people were hungry get everyone to rub their tummy! Focus on what is familiar to your young audience.

Storytelling tip #25

Be clear

When telling the Bible Story use words that everyone understands. Don’t clutter your story with terminology that you won’t have time to explain. Tell everyone that Zacchaeus was short but leave out his job. You don’t have time to explain to toddlers what tax is.

Storytelling tip #24

Use your voice

You can talk quietly, you can whisper, you can talk LOUDLY. (Don’t shout). Vary your volume. It will make the story sound more interesting. Don’t talk too quickly – we sometimes speed up when we are nervous. Try to use a friendly, calm tone. If you aren’t sure how you sound, record yourself and find out! Your voice is so important.

Stoytelling tip #23

Keep your adult listeners busy

When telling a Bible Story to toddlers it helps to keep their adults involved. Encourage everyone to join in with a variety of actions to do, phrases to repeat, sounds to make.

Storytelling tip #21

Add some sound

What sound does a …. make? This is a great question to ask during a Bible Story. It gets the toddlers thinking and they can all join in and make the noise. If it’s a story about sheep everyone can say baa. If it’s a pig in the story, it’s an oink. When everyone can join in eveyone feels included and part of the story.

Storytelling tip #19

Keep it short

Do your best to keep the story short. Toddlers aren’t going to listen to a long story. Practice your story – time yourself. Aim for your story to feel short to the listeners. It shouldn’t drag or go on and on…

Storytelling tip #18

Be prepared for Christmas!

Invite your pastor or a staff member from your church to come to toddler group to tell the Christmas Story. It’s an opportunity for them to meet people at the group. And it gives you time to think about the special craft and festive food that you will probably be busy sorting out! Book them early 🙂

Storytelling tip #17

Share the load

If you can, share the telling of Bible stories with others. We can learn from each other. Be supportive of one another and offer encouragement. It’s sometimes really helpful to have an extra pair of hands to hold a storytelling prop; ask for help from others in the team.

Storytelling tip #16

Begin storytime with a song

Instead of announcing storytime with, ‘It’s storytime’, start with a song. It will become your theme song that tells everyone that it’s time for a story. Choose something simple and easy to join in with. Familiar tunes with your own words are great. Once you have your song stick with it. Young children like the familiar.

Storytelling tip #15

Involve others

Ask for help in collecting items for storytelling props and craft resources. Involve people in your church. Explain what you need and give people the opportunity to join in by collecting cardboard tubes, christmas cards etc. Use your churches’ notice sheet to make the needs known and share pictures of the made crafts too.

Storytelling tip #14

Collect craft ideas for your planned Bible stories

Keep your eyes open for craft ideas that fit in with the Bible Stories you are planning to tell. Pinterest is full of ideas that can be used or adapted. There are even some on this blog 🙂 Ideas can come from anywhere! Try out any ideas to see if they really are makeable. Process is important but having a finished product that is a keepsake for parents is good too. Collect things that will come in useful – christmas cards, wrapping paper, leaves, cereal boxes, cardboard tubes, yarn, material, pictues for gardening catalogues. All sorts of lovely crafty stuff!

Storytelling tip #13

Plan your stories for the year

Plan ahead. Look at term dates (use your local school dates) and work out your timetable. Note down any special dates you want to celebrate – Harvest, Christmas, Easter, summer party. Plan your stories for the year ahead. Start with a theme for each half term. Some ideas – Creation, animals in the Bible, people Jesus met. Note down a story (use the Bible reference) for each week. Add a craft idea and some songs. You can always adjust your plan but having an outline for the year relieves a lot of stress .

Storytelling tip #11

Knit some storytelling characters

Knitted toys are some of the best storytelling props you can have. If you can’t knit find someone who can. Acrylic yarn is inexpensive and comes in lots of colours. You don’t need loads of knitted toys – just a few men and woman with different hair (some grey for older Bible characters) and different clothes. Here’s a link to a great pattern.

Storytelling tip #9

Sort out storage for your storytelling items

If you can, store your storytelling props in a box. Take a photo of each item and stick it to the outside of the box. You will be able to see at a glance what you have. This should save you time! No more hunting high and low the night before toddler group 🙂

Storytelling tip #8

Collect items that you can use in storytelling.

Taking items from a story bag is great for keeping attention. Props help understanding. Build a collection of items you can use. Blue cloth for sea or sky, toy tools (lots of stories about building), toy animals (creation), a tent to transform into a big fish, a rock and some sand (houses on sand and rock), a globe, purple cloth (Lydia). Keep a look out for items you can use. Charity shops are great places!

Storytelling tip #7

Buy or make a story bag that you will love using

Taking items out of a storybag during a story builds interest. Use a bag that’s large enough and attractive for the children and easy for you to use. No plastic bags!

Storytelling tip #6

Practice what you are going to say

Tell your story to yourself. Practice it. Practice using any puppets or props. Get a feel for how it sounds. Don’t aim for knowing it word for word – you want to know how the story goes and be so comfortable with it that the telling is fresh and spontaneous when you tell it to toddlers. Practice will help you to know how well you know the story and how long it will be. Learn your opening sentence, know how you are going to finish – let the rest of the story flow.

Storytelling tip #5

Use the Bible – not your memory

When preparing a Bible story rely on the Bible rather than your memory. Read the story a few times. Get it into your head. Read it out aloud. Sometimes we think we know a Bible story but we’ve forgotten somthing or added something. So, start with the Bible.

Storytelling tip #4

Know how you are going to finish your story

Every story needs to reach a satisfying conclusion. It needs to end in way that is clear. Any problems in the story need to be solved. Zaccheus met Jesus! Jonah went to the town of Ninevah. The Wise men found Jesus. Think through how your story will end and have a final sentence. And when your story is finished – it’s finished.

Storytelling tip #3

Know how you are going to begin

Facing an audience can be nerve wracking. To avoid going blank be really sure of your opening sentence. Learn it. Write it down and have a last minute look at it just before you begin. Some ideas – ‘There was once a…’ ‘A long time ago…’ Say hello to..(name of puppet/doll taken from a storybag)’ or ‘One day there was…’

It’s better to get straight on with story rather than spend time on an ice breaker style question. Toddlers need a short, to the point story. So, just jump right in with the narrative.

Storytelling tip #2

Make yourself heard

There’s no need to shout a story at people but they do need to be able to hear you tell the story. Be close enough to your audience so that they can hear you. If you can, use a PA system. A mic will enable everyone to hear you even if you are talking quietly. If you use a headset mic your hands are free for adding actions to the story or using props and puppets.

Storytelling tip #1

Storytelling tip for toddler group

Make sure everyone can see you

It’s much easier to listen to the story when you can see the storyteller. Think about where the chairs are placed. If everyone is sitting on the floor kneel or sit on a low chair when you tell the story. You want to be a little higher than the audience so that you can be seen by everyone. If you are using props or puppets make sure they are visible to the whole group.

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.

On the Way to Easter…Palm Sunday Story

Jesus rides into Jerusalem

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…paper plate pictures

On the way to Easter paper plate pictures that help to tell the story of the first Easter. Next half term at Thursday toddler group we will be travelling along the road to Easter. In the Gospels Jesus meets several people when he is on this last journey to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the final time. So four of our stories will be about these people that met Jesus as he was going to Jerusalem. Then we will have the story of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and in the final week the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

Our stories will be… (Click on the links to go to the stories and crafts)

The Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-23 and Mark 10:17-22)
Bartimaeus (Luke 18:35-43 and Mark 10:32,33,46-52)
Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10)
Mary anoints Jesus (John 12:1-8)
The Triumphal Entry (Luke 19:28-40)
Death and Resurrection of Jesus (Luke 23:44-24:12)

This is how our big picture will look when we have told all the stories..

These are paper plates covered in tissue paper with people and buildings and trees etc added.

The people are available to download – if you would like to make a contribution to the blog you are very welcome to do so but of course you don’t have to!

woman-smile-x4 Download

man-smile-x4 Download

man-small-smile-x4 Download

man-sad-x4 Download

children-x21 Download

The pictures of trees and buildings are available in this post https://lettheirlightshine.com/2015/03/20/jesus-enters-jerusalem-palm-sunday/

On the way to Easter – some thoughts about telling the story

A couple of Easter story videos – Palm Sunday and Easter!

God made the stars spiral

This is exactly the same basic idea as the blossom spiral that I posted about here https://lettheirlightshine.com/2020/02/20/spring-is-coming/

Instead of blossom I’ve used tissue paper for the sky – you could use anything blue including paint or crayon. But the lovely thing about tissue paper is that I’ve made the strips long so they hang down from the spiral and they will move when the spiral is displayed.

The stars are stickers.

Happy New Year!

After the Christmas break I like to get back into toddler group crafts in a fairly simple and straight forward way – so, we will be making calendars this week.

It’s a good way to use up bits and bobs of craft materials that are left over from last year and to make use of calendar pictures from 2019 and a few Christmas cards!

All you need is – A4 card or heavy paper, glue, small calendars (from amazon or newsagents, stationary shops), collage bits and bobs, pictures from old calendars and christmas cards

Shepherd craft

Luke tells us that shepherds were told that the Saviour had been born!

‘For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord’ Luke 2:11

So here are some shepherds to make … using paper plates

All you need to make these shepherds – paper plates,pipe cleaners, wool, tissue paper and circles.

This is how to cut, fold and stick the paper plate so that your shepherd will stand up. Once you have done this add two holes to slide in the pipe cleaner crook. Then add the face and clothes etc.

Another angel! or two…

A whole paper plate – cut out a triangle and use as the body. Add ribbon so this angel can be used as a Christmas dec

How lovely is this! Got to love that face.

ice cream pot angel – with a sparkly halo!

Angel!

There are lots of Bible stories that include angels so this craft isn’t just for Christmas! But obviously we often make angel crafts at Christmas so here is a paper plate angel that stands up and could be used as a tree topper.

All you need – paper plates (cheap and quite thin as you want to cut them in half and fold them), doilies (not too large and cut or folded in half), wool for hair, stars and shiny paper to decorate, glue and crayons to draw on features and glue.

If you are making these in a toddler group do all the cutting out prep beforehand and have a made angel to give an idea. If you want to do the folding of the plate ahead of time you could.

Enjoy!

Noah in the Ark – a weather themed story

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.

Group craft to make!

Group craft to make! offers an alternative to having everyone make something to take home. Some things really lend themselves to a big group make. For example you can draw a large Goliath to decorate with collage material, make the Tower of Babel either build the tower with cardboard boxes or create a 2D version by sticking ‘bricks’ onto a roll of paper. Noah’s Ark makes a great large group craft too. We have enjoyed creating Noah’s Ark together in our toddler group.

All you need

Floor space or tables put together lengthways
Roll of wall paper/lining paper spread out
An outline of Noah’s Ark and the water
Glue sticks
Blue tissue paper shapes
Blue crepe paper shapes
Animal stickers (or animal pictures cut from magazines) or a mixture!

We just let children join in as they wished as the craft activity was set up during our free play time. We weren’t pernickety about the animals being in pairs!

The beauty of a group craft like this is that everyone owns it and you can display it afterwards and use it during the story time. If your group meets in a church building see if you can display what you’ve made for a few weeks for your church to see something that happens in the Toddler Group.

Give the children freedom to create!

If you would rather have an open ended large group craft then just provide the paper roll (either on tables or on the floor) and wax crayons and collage materials. Challenge the group to cover the paper! Adults can find it quite difficult to just go ahead and create but it’s a good thing to do! Encourage adults and toddlers to chat about the colours, shapes and textures that they are using.

You can do a cover the paper challenge on a small scale too. Just have a selection of collage materials, glue and paper on the craft table. For the collage materials here’s a list of ideas. It’s worthwhile asking for donations of yarn, fabric and greetings cards and magazines. Free stuff is great!

Tissue paper
Feathers
Yarn
Fabric
Sequins
Paper shapes
Crepe paper
Pictures from magazines – people, places, food, nature
Pictures from greetings cards
Wrapping paper scraps

Picture using a variety of collage materials

Let’s Share Bible Stories with Toddlers

“Hello friends, hello friends. How are you, how are you? It’s time for a story, time for a story. Come and listen, come and listen.”

We sing this song to the tune of ‘Frere Jacques’ every week at toddler group. We gather round the story chair in a semi – circle; some sit on the rugs and others on chairs and then we share a story together.

By saying ‘share a story together’ I mean that I don’t just read a story from a book or recite a story script. It is story telling – a much more interactive group activity. We are ‘in it together’, taking part, joining in.

There are different ways of creating a joining in experience when telling a story. Here are a few ideas

Sounds to make – the sound of the storm on the lake
Actions to do – climbing the tree with Zacchaeus
Saying hello to the characters in the story as they come out of the story bag
Singing a song – include ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ part way through the story of the shepherds and angels.

So how do you choose which stories to tell?

As a church-based group (although we meet in a community hall) we tell stories from the Bible. It can help if each story is connected to a theme for half a term. Animal Bible stories, Homes Jesus Visited, Stories Jesus Told, Creation. Choose stories that you feel comfortable with and will enjoy telling.

When to have Story Time?

Pick a time in your session when there are less distractions. If you want the children to join in, then serve snacks before or after. Try to time things so that hands are free to take part in the story actions. If possible, have a space where there are no toys or do Story Time at the beginning or towards the end of the session.

Create a space

The storyteller needs to be seen and to be on the children’s level. Choose a low seat and create a semi – circle. Clean rugs encourage parents/carers and children to sit on the floor, but chairs are good for adults who need a higher seat.

The idea is to know the story well and encourage interaction with the group. The Bible is full of the most wonderful stories. Enjoy sharing them!

(This is an article I wrote for CEF Britain’s Newsletter)

Here are some of the items I use when telling stories…