Welcome to Danielle's Place where you will find thousands of crafts and activities designed to make learning fun.
Many of the crafts and activities are Bible-based and are great for use in Sunday school, preschool, home school, and on special occasions.
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Bible Crafts and Activities for Sunday School Gideon - Good News
Gideon
At the beginning of the lesson children learn about about threshing and winnowing wheat. Bring in some sheaves of wheat. (You can buy these at craft stores.) The teacher shows them how to do it just like Gideon did in the story. A complete explanation on how to do this is included in the lesson. Play "Find Gideon" - Before class prepare some cards with pictures of things that Gideon might have hid behind like trees, rocks, hills, mountains, etc. Patterns for these cards are available to Members in the lesson. On the back of one card tape a picture of Gideon. Tape them to a wall or use thumbtacks to attach them to a bulletin board. Have the children take turns trying to find Gideon. Let each child pick a card until someone picks the one Gideon is hiding under. Play again if all your children have not had a chance to play. Play "Find Gideon" - Depending on how big your classroom is, hide a "Gideon doll" or a picture of Gideon in the room. See who can find Gideon first. Included in this lesson - Bible Verse Cards, "How many Israelites Can You Find?" Coloring Sheet, Lift the flap to find Gideon Craft, Find Gideon cards and three original songs about Gideon sung to popular tunes. ©2003, Digital by Design, Inc. -* See Copyright Information We constructed Gideon's torch in a pot using a small flashlight, a paper lunch bag, a toilet paper tube, a small strip of tag board and some tissue paper. (Make sure flashlight will fit in the TP tube!) Also need, tacky glue, rubber band.
Remind students
to wait until all glue is dry before putting their "torch"
in the pot. The youngest children were able to help cut and glue their flames. Older children are able to do most of the craft without too much help. Cutting the tops off the bags would streamline the craft as well as having the small tag board strips already cut. Be sure to do a practice one. Sent in by Loretta Wright
Gifts of the Spirit - 1 Corinthians 12:28, 1 Corinthians13 Concepts: The greatest of these is Love. 1. Unwrap a Gift - Write the words "the greatest of these is love"on the outside of an envelope. Place inside the envelope pieces of paper with the words that describe what love is in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Write one word on each piece of paper: patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, it is not self seeking, is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong, etc. Place the pieces of paper inside the envelope. Place the envelope inside the box. Seal it and wrap up the box using 10 layers of wrapping paper. On each layer write one gift of the Spirit. Write the words wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, prophecy, distinguish between spirits, speaking in tongues, interpretation, helping others, and administration. Play a game like musical chairs except have the children pass around the gift while playing some music. When the music stops let the child who is holding the gift unwrap one layer and read the word that shows after taking off the layer. Keep playing until someone gets to open the box. The child that gets to open the box should read the outside of the envelope and pass out the pieces of paper inside. When everyone has a piece of paper, have each child give an example of the words written on his piece of paper. ©2003, Digital by Design, Inc. -* See Copyright Information
God loves a cheerful giver, giving to the poor - Talk about things we can give: Money, clothes that we have out grown, old toys, our time, and our talents. Tell the children that they probably don't have money they can give because they are too young to have jobs. They probably don't even get an allowance yet. But there are other things they can give. They can give their time by helping others, and use their talents like drawing, singing, and making things for fund raisers. They can keep their toys nice and when they out grow them or they are tired of them, they can give them to the poor or sell them and use the money to send to the poor. They can help decorate a big barrel in which they can bring in things they can't use anymore or would like to give. You can make it a class project. Make sure the children know that they have to ask their parents first before they give something away. Save up the items and then have a garage sale. Let the children know how much they made and where the money was sent. ©2004, Digital by Design, Inc. -* See Copyright Information Here's a great little poem to teach children about God's love. This poem was written by Carolyn White who is a member of the Children's Ministries Onelist. A place to exchange ideas dealing with children's ministries: bible crafts, play ideas, party plans, games, ways to involve children in the worship service AND exchange vacation bible school ideas. Anything to do with Christian kids is welcome! Thank you, Carolyn, for letting us post your poem.
What you will need: Paper and scissors. What to do: Print out a copy of the snowflake poem and copy it onto different colors of paper. (Printing Problems?) Cut out circles from white paper and have the children fold the paper in half and then in half again and show them how to cut snowflakes. If you don't remember how to make snowflakes you can go to the Winter Crafts Page for directions. If you don't want to make snowflakes you can use snowflack stickers or fun foam shapes.
God's Church - this idea comes from Elizabeth from our bulletin board. "We recently did an activity with ages 2-5 for God's church where we drew a picture of a church. The children colored the windows in bright markers to represent stained glass, and colored the doors and the walls of the church. To finish the picture they glued colored toothpicks on the roof. You need to use a heavy paper for this activity. It was fun. Thanks, Elizabeth, for sharing with us.
Good Behavior Keys (© 2003, Carolyn Warvel) Parents can use these keys to help make children aware of bad behavior in a fun way. For example, when your child is being mean you can say to your child, "Uh oh, I think we need some kindness. Where is your kindness door? Pretend to look all over your child's body to find the key hole or use your kindness key to tickle your child until he changes his behavior or is at least is aware of it. If your child is whining, you can lock up the whining or open up the door and let it out. Bethany Davis sent in this idea. Make a larger version of these keys and hang them up in your class. Whenever a child is misbehaving use the keys on that child. What you will need: Different colors of poster board, markers, scissors, and key chain (costs about thirty cents apiece) What
to do:
Scripture
Reference: Acts 16, Acts 8:26-38
1. Discuss what Paul might have taken with him on his journey. 2. Discuss what the children might take with them if they went on a trip and pack a paper suitcase 3. Before class make a suitcase out of construction paper for each child or use the pattern (Large file or small file). (Printing Problems?) To make the suitcase, fold a piece of construction paper in half to make a paper that measures 9" x 6". Cut a handle on the 9" side unfolded side. A pattern for a "Go Tell Others" suitcase made from a manila folder is available to members of The Resource Room. The suitcase craft goes with a complete Bible lesson on The Great commission. 4. Print out the picture of things that can go in the suitcase (Large file or small file). (Printing Problems?) 5. Have the children pick out items from the paper that they would like to put into their suitcase. They will have a lot of fun putting things in the suitcase they know would never fit in a suitcase. (For children who can't cut yet, have a bunch of pictures already cut out.) If you don't want to use glue, you can have the children color the pictures and circle the pictures that might go in a suitcase. My children loved this craft and wanted to do more than one. They especially liked putting things in the suitcase that really didn't belong. We used this activity during our children's ministry program this past Wed. The kids all loved it! From pre school - 6th grade (we provided pre cut pictures for the little ones to glue in). GREAT IDEA! We also played the Memory Game with a real suitcase... another hit with the kids! Ann St. Peters, MO Play a guessing game: Bring a backpack or suitcase filled with about 5 or 6 things that you might take on a trip such as: a flashlight, toothbrush, binoculars, comb and brush. Show the children all the items and name them. Put them all back in the suitcase. Pull out all the items except one and ask them which one is still in the suitcase then repeat with a different object. As an alternative, put at least 10 things in the suitcase, pull them all out and show each one. Put them all back in and as the children name each item that is in the suitcase pull them out. Have the children take turns naming the items until there is nothing left in the suitcase. Make a whispering tube: Have the children decorate a paper towel roll with stickers or markers and use them to tell the good news. Discuss how Paul and his friends spread the Good News and how we can spread the Good News today: television, telephone, talking to others, books, etc. Play a game with the whispering tube. Whisper some good news ("Jesus loves you") to the child next to you and have the children go around in a circle whispering the same thing until it gets back to the last person who gives the message out loud. Also look at "The Great Commission Crafts" below. 1. Make Compassion Rolls - Wrap a TP tube in colored tissue paper and secure one end with ribbon. Have the children put different things inside the tube that can be used to show compassion: 1) a handful of Hershey's hugs--we all need hugs 2) a handful of Hershey's kisses--kisses are just as important as hugs 3) some band-aids--for boo-boos 4) clip art picture of praying hands--to remind us to pray for others and 5) clip art picture of a Bible--to remind us to share the Word of God with others. Secure the other end with ribbon. Tell the children to share their "compassion roll" with someone (parents, siblings, grandparents, or a friend). The children loved discussing the different things that we can do to show compassion and could wait to see what we were going to put inside our "rolls". Sent in by Theresa Bostick
The Great Commission “Go” Light
What you will need: black, red, yellow, and green construction paper cut to 81/2x11. What to do: 1. Print the Traffic Light and Bible Verse Page (NIV Pattern or KJV Pattern) onto white card stock. Use the Circle patterns to print circles on red and yellow paper cut to 8 1/2" x 11" so it fits in your printer. Or have your children color the circles in class. Print the "Go" Circle Pattern onto green paper. Or print them on white paper and have your children color the circles green. Cut rectangles the same size as the traffic light from black paper or have your children color them black. (Printing Problems?) 2. In class have your children glue the pieces on as you talk about The Great Commission. Before gluing, explain that Jesus had spent many days with the disciples after He had risen from the dead. But the time came when He had to leave the earth because he needed to be with His Heavenly Father. Jesus blessed the disciples and told them that they needed to go out and tell others about Him. This is called The Great Commission. Read Matthew 28:19-20 from your Bible. Explain that the stop light will remind us that Jesus wants us to tell others about him. Have your children glue the black rectangle on the traffic light pattern or color the rectangle. Ask, "What color do you think we should use to remind us of The Great Commission?" Jesus said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations." What color represents "Go" on a traffic light? That's right, green represents "Go". Let's glue the green circle with the word "Go" on it at the top of the traffic light. Ask the children what the red light on the traffic light represents. It mean you should stop. Let's glue the red circle on the traffic light. It will reminds us that we do not want to stop telling others the good news about Jesus. What does the yellow light represent on the traffic signal? The yellow light means slow down. We don’t want to slow down, but be obedient to what God wants us to do. Sent in by Theresa Smiley Also look at "Tell the Good News" crafts above. ©2007, Digital by Design, Inc. -* See Copyright Information
Growing in God's Garden Summer Bible Study Series This series of lessons use different types of garden flowers to help explain biblical conepts. Children make garden-related crafts and play outside games to re-inforce the lessons. The complete lessons with crafts, activites and songs are available on The Resource Room.
Bible Reference: "I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old." Psalm 77:11, KJV Teaching Concept: Children learn how to deal with their problems through the writings of Psalm 77. They learn that when they have problems they should think about everything God has done, meditate on his goodness, talk about it with others, and praise God for whom he is and what he has done. Crafts:
Activities
After you have gone over all the names of the flowers hand out the "What to do when you are sad?" sheet. (Available to members only.)You can have the children work in teams or by themselves. Children write the first letter of each flower underneath the flower to spell out the word. The answers are: Pray, meditate, remember, talk, and praise, in that order. (Available to members only.) 2. Play "How many flowers can you name?" Game - Before class find pictures of flowers in magazines, catalogues, books, etc., cut them out and glue them to construction paper. Write the name of the flowers on the back of the sheets. In class hold up the pictures, one at a time, and see who can guess the name of the flower first. The child who guesses the most right wins. 3. Play Flower Alphabet - Break your children up into teams, and have each team pick a team leader who wants to write down the flower names. Have each team leader write the alphabet on a sheet of paper. Team members should then try to help think of names for each letter of the alphabet. The team who thinks of the most flowers after a certain time period wins.
Bible Reference: "IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, AND TO SING PRAISES UNTO THY NAME, O MOST HIGH: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night," Psalm 77:11, KJV Teaching Concept: All of creation glorifies God, and we should glorify him too. The beautiful morning glory flower has a perfect name because it glorifies God in the morning. When seeing the morning glory glorify God we can be reminded to glorify God in the morning. It is good to praise the Lord.
2. Morning Glory Picture - Color of paint a Bible verse picture of morning glories. (Available to members only.)
Water the Flower Bible Verse Review Game - This is a great outside summer game because the children get wet. Display three watering cans on a table. Write the names of three different kinds of flowers on tape and stick them to the table in front of the watering cans such as: morning glory, pansy, and rose. Fill one watering can until it is almost full, the other halfway full, and leave the other empty. Have the children take turns sitting in front of the table with their backs to the table so that they cannot see the watering cans. The person who is in charge of the watering cans (children can take turns) mixes up the watering cans so that the child sitting in the front does not know which one is in front of which flower name. The child then yells out one of the flower names. The person in charge of the watering can then picks up the water can behind that name and pour it on the child's head. If a child gets wet, he must say the Bible verse. Keep playing until all the children have had a turn to guess and pour. Dirt Relay - Divide your children up into teams and have them line up in rows at one end of the field. Place small flowerpots at the other side of the field opposite from each team and place a bucket of dirt near each team. Give the first person on each a spoon. Children take turns picking up a spoonful of dirt and running across the field and dumping it into the pot. The team who fills up its pot first wins. Seed Race - Give each child a seed and a straw and have them line up across one side of the room. The child that blows his seed across the room to the other side first wins. You can use seeds from oranges, pumpkins, beans, etc. 3. Everlasting Flowers - Growing in God's Love - A complete Bible lesson with crafts, activities, and songs are available on The Resource Room. Bible Reference: "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 136: 1-2 Teaching Concept: God's love is everlasting. He never changes, and we can always count on him. He is ready to forgive us when he call on us. Crafts: 1. Make Newspaper Pots and Plant Everlasting Flowers. What you will need: Plastic drinking glasses, newspaper, potting soil, and statice seeds. What to do: 1. Go to e-how web site to see a demonstration on how to make newspaper pots. 2. There are many different kinds of flowers that can be dried and are considered everlasting. Statice is particularly easy to grow and preserve. If you can't find statice seeds 2. Collect and Dry Flowers - There are three different ways to collect and preserve flowers. Air Drying -
This method is very easy. All you do is place the flowers face up in a little bit of sand and then slowly fill in around the flowers with sand until the whole flower is covered. The silica absorbs the moisture quickly which preserves the flowers without as much fading. Follow the directions on the package. Flowers take only a few days to dry using this method. Spray your dried flowers with a clear paint to keep them from reabsorbing moisture. Pressed Flowers - Pressing flowers between the pages of books works well, but you can only use thin flowers or petals, and flat leaves. Place waxed paper between the pages to keep the flowers from sticking to the pages of the book. Pile other heavy books on top and let them dry for at least a week. 3. Make Potpourri from Dried Flowers What you will need: Collect fragrant flowers such as roses, carnations, and lavender. You can also add dried orange peels, cinnamon sticks, eucalyptus leaves and stems, or essential oils. Dry the flowers using the hanging method or silica sand. When they are dry separate the petals and leaves and place them in a pretty bowl or other container. Write the Bible verse on mailing labels and stick them to the outside of the container. (If you don't have time to dry your own flowers, you can buy packages of potpourri from a craft store and just let your children pick out what they want to put in their containers. Instead of using containers you can use little draw string bags and attach the Bible verse to the string. (You can purchase drawstring bags from Oriental Trading Company. Type in 3/568 in the search box at the top of the page.
What you will need: Printer paper, colorful paper for the frame, dried flowers, and glue. What to do: 1. Write the Bible verse in the middle of a piece of colorful printer paper. (Pattern available to members.) 2. Glue dried flowers around the verse to decorate it. Then glue the sheet to a piece of construction paper to make a frame.
What you will need: seven-inch grape vine wreaths, Spanish moss, tacky glue, and dried flowers. What to do: 1. Use tacky glue to glue the Spanish moss to the wreath. Spread the glue on the wreath where you would like the moss to stick. 2. Glue the rest of the flower and leaves on to of the moss. 3. Cut away any of the straggly moss to make your wreath look neat. (I used dried yellow roses that turned almost orange when I dried them and blue statice.) Pieces of baby's breath would also look very pretty in this arrangement. Activities 1. Play a memory game - Have your children sit in a circle and start the game by saying, "His mercy endureth for ever . . ." and then state one thing that shows God loves us. For example, you could say, " His mercy endureth for ever; he has created beautiful flowers for us to enjoy." Then the person next to you should repeat what you said, and add another statement shows God's love for us. Keep playing until everyone in the circle has had a chance to add something. Finish by repeating everything everyone has said. 2. Water Relay - Divide your children up into teams and have them line up in rows at one end of the field. Place small plastic jars or watering cans (all the same size) at the other side of the field opposite from each team and place a bucket of water near each team. Give the first person on each team a plastic flower pot (They should have holes in the bottoms.) Children take turns dunking the pots in the buckets of water and running across the field to empty them in the jars or watering cans. Children may try to cover the holes at the bottom of the pots with their hands so that they don't lose too much water. The team who fills up its pot first wins. (Instead of using plastic pots you can use the newspaper pots. If you use the newspaper pots let each child makes his or her own pot to use in the relay. 3. Seed Race - Give each child a seed and a straw and have them line up across one side of the room. The child that blows his seed across the room to the other side first wins. You can use seeds from oranges, pumpkins, beans, etc. 4. Everlasting Race - Divide your children up into two teams and have each team stand in a line. Give the first person in line from each team an everlasting flower such as statice. Make sure they are all about the same size. Tell your children that the first person in each row should pass the flower the next person in the row and each child should keep passing it until it gets to the end of the row. The child who is at the end of the row should then run to the front of the row and pass the flower again. Keep playing until the child who was first in line is first in line again. Tell your children that they get 10 points for being the fastest team and 10 points for having the flower that looks the best after that round. Play five rounds and add up the points. The team with the most points wins. 4. Sunflower - Producing Fruit - A complete Bible lesson with crafts, activities, and songs are available on The Resource Room. Scripture References: John 15:8, Galatians 5:22-23a, and Luke 8:5-8,11-15, The Parable of the Sower Teaching concepts: Crafts and Activties:
2. Make a Sunflower Yard Decoration - Go to the Garden Crafts Page for directions on how to make this craft.
4. Color a Picture of a Sunflower - A pattern for this craft is available to members only.
Make Sunflower Seed Granola and place it in bags and then place the bags in the cups. Print out the Bible verse cards and place them in the cups also. Instruct your children to give their treat to a friend of neighbor. 6. Play a "Build a Flower" game. Before class prepare the parts for two flowers. Cut out petals, leaves, stems, etc. (You can use the same flowers you used for the bulletin board.) Divide the children up into teams. Take turns asking the teams questions from this lesson and previous lessons. If a team gets a question right, let a team member add a part to their flower. The team that builds a complete flower first wins. 7. Play a Hangman-type Game - Have your children think of words that relate to the lesson such as flower, Jesus, fruit, etc. Play like Hangman except instead of drawing a hang man, draw a flower with a head, five petals, a steam, and two leaves. 5. Cosmos - Growing in Peace - A complete Bible lesson with crafts, activities, and songs are available on The Resource Room. Scripture References: John 14: 1- Romans 8:31-39 and Philippians 4:4-9 Teaching concept: We can be at peace in a chaotic world. We don't have to be worried or afraid. In this lessons children learn how they can have the peace that passes all understanding. Crafts and Activties:
What you will need: Pretty colors of printer paper, origami paper, wrapping paper, etc. cut into squares of different sizes (from 8 1/2" to 2" squares). Buttons, pompoms, sequins, stickers, beads, and other decorative items. What to do: Before class print out the directions on how to make flowers with eight petals like the cosmos flowers and flowers with six petals. In class let your 2. Color a Picture of a Cosmos Flower - Before class print out the pattern and make copies. In class have your children color the picture with crayons, colored pencils, or markers. (Available to members only.)
Go to the Flower Crafts Page for directions for this craft. Activities: 1. Play a "Build a Flower" game. Before class prepare the parts for two flowers. Cut out petals, leaves, stems, etc. (You can use the same flowers you used for the bulletin board.) Divide the children up into teams. Take turns asking the teams questions. If a team gets a question right, let a team member add a part to their flower. The team that builds a complete flower first wins. 2. Flower Spinner Game - Before class print out the Flower Spinner Game Board and glue it to a piece of cardboard or foam core board. Place a large paper clip in the center of the flower secured by a thumbtack. Don't press the thumbtack down to tight or the paper clip will not spin.(Available to members only.) Have your children take turns spinning the paper clip. The children should read the word or words on which the paper clip stops and give an example of the particular thing they can think on. For example, if the paper clip stops over the lovely word, the child may say, "I can think about lovely flowers." Or if the paper clip stops over the "worthy of praise" words, he may stay, "I can think about Jesus dying for our sins." 3. Plant Cosmos seeds - Have your children paint a flowerpot and then plant Cosmos seeds. They are one of the easiest plants to grow from seed |
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