Bible Crafts and
Activities for Kids
How to Make Crafts and Activities Relating to Jewish Customs, Job, John
the Baptist, Jesus, Joseph, and Josiah
Jewish Customs
Jewish Customs - Life in the Times of Jesus
 Jewish Music - Have Jewish music playing in the background.
Bible Costumes – Let your children look through costume boxes and pick out whatever Bible costume they want to wear. You may also want to include armor. Don’t forget to take pictures of all the children. Go to the Material Crafts Page for directions on how to make simple Bible costumes.
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Crafts
Make Bible Scrolls - When the kids arrived, they decorated small scrolls. The scrolls were created from popsicle sticks stapled (with tape covering the sharp staple edges) to doubled-over paper from the bathroom paper towel roll. (It's a continuous roll and pretty sturdy paper) On each scroll I had used a Sharpie to write, "Baruch atah Adonai!" which means, "Go with the LORD's blessing." We asked the kids to draw things that reminded them of Jesus. (All very original!)
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Learn Jewish Words
Teach your children to say, "Shalom" meaning peace. Explain to your children that they are speaking peace into the lives to whom they say Shalom. Play-act, knocking on the door and greeting visitors with "Shalom".
Talk About Jewish Items
Pull items from a box and tell your children about them.
1. Dreidel - A four-sided top played within the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Each side has a different letter. The letter together stand for "a great miracle happened there". Learn how to play this game on Billy Bear Web Site.
2. Mezuzah - Explaining that it was place on the doorpost of Jewish homes and held God's Word. The mezuzah is nailed to the door as a reminder that we are to keep God's Word in our thoughts in all our comings and goings. I also mentioned the Bible verse about how Jesus says He is the door (John 10:9), and how He was nailed on the cross. Jesus, the Word of God, nailed up to a cross that opened a doorway into salvation for us.
3. Yarmulke – Jewish head covering. Remind your children that we see other people wearing head coverings such as Mennonites. They're not being 'weird': they are honoring God. I wanted to plant this in their minds now due to one of my kids asking why there were so many “pilgrims” in Wal-Mart last fall
4. Prayer Shawl - My husband modeled the prayer shawl showing the children how he could enter into the 'closet' of prayer by pulling it down over his head to pray. We asked for prayer requests and praise reports, which we wrote on the dry erase board. We reminded the kids that where two or more are gathered in His Name, He promises to be there with us. And, if we ask anything according to His Word and believe He'll do it; He will answer our prayers. The kids came forward and laid their hands on the dry erase board and we said a prayer over everything written there.
5. Menorah - A seven branched light holder to be lit by olive oil. For more information go to Wikipedia.
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Snack Time
Flatbread - Cut flatbread into fourths. Cover each triangle of bread with a light layer of cream cheese, honey, and raisins. Top with another bread triangle and then heat them slightly in an oven. Explain to the kids that today we were going to be trying an experiment. We were going to eat foods like Jesus ate when he was a boy. We nicknamed these "Jesus sandwiches". Surprisingly, they weren't too bad!
We let one boy and one girl pray over the meal and then we put in an OLD movie showing portions of Jesus' life. As the movie played, I narrated parts of the movie and told them to watch for certain things, such as a priest reading from a scroll. This got the kids very excited about the scrolls again so they put away their trash and pulled the scrolls back out. They wanted to make them even prettier! We talked about how our Bible is in one book and that if each individual book of the Bible was on a scroll, we'd need sixty-six of them.
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Wrap-Up
As the kids left, we all shouted, "Baruch atah Adonai! Go with the LORD's blessing!"
Ideas sent in by Brenda Darnell
Job
 Job's First Test Bible Lesson
1. Test 1- Manual Dexterity - Job was tested by the devil to see if he would stay faithful to God. Have your children take a series of test to test their visual and manual dexterity skills. For the first test children have to draw a line from one picture of Job to the other without touching the lines on the picture. Before the lesson discuss with your students how well they did on the test and if they passed the test.
A pattern for this test sheet is available on The Resource Room
 2. Text 2 - Visual - Job had 500 donkeys. Can you find the donkey that is different?Before the lesson discuss with your students how well they did on the test and if they passed the test.
 A pattern for this test sheet is available on The Resource Room.
3. Animal Coloring Sheet - Younger children will enjoy coloring a picture of the different animals Job owned.
A pattern for this coloring sheet is available on The Resource Room.
4. Servants Tell the Bad News Relay Race - Before class print out animal pictures onto card stock and cut them apart. (Animal pictures available on The Resource Room.) Make lots of extras. Divide your children up into teams and pick one child in each team to be Job. The "Jobs" stand on one side of the room and the other teammates stand on the opposite side. Place all the animal cards on the floor in the center of the room face down. On the word "go" one player from each team runs up and turns over one card and then gives it to their "Job" and says, "Job, all your donkey's, camels, oxen, or sheep (depending on what the picture is) have be taken away." Keep playing until a "Job" on one team has all four different animals.
A complete about Job's first test is available on The Resource Room
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Job's Second Test Bible Lesson.
1. Test 1- Visual - (Older Children) - Job had sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. How many sores can you count without crossing them out? A pattern for this test sheet is available on The Resource Room.
2. Job Coloring Sheet - Younger children will enjoy coloring a picture of Job. Have them add dots all over his body for sores. This color sheet is available on The Resource Room.
As your children work on the coloring sheet or activity sheet review last weeks lesson. Ask your children if they were ever sick, and how it felt. Ask them if any one helped them feel better while they were sick and what they did to help.
3. Get Well Cards - Before class find out who is on the prayer list or who is sick that week. Have your children make cards to let them know they care. They can also make and send miss-you cards to the children who missed class that week.
 4. Bible Verse Review Game - Do not tell your children the verse before the game. Print out the two patterns and tape them together so they look like the picture to the right. Glue the pictures to poster board or foam core board. Cover the entire picture with sticky notes and number them in order. In class have your children take turns answering a question from the lesson and picking a sticky note they want removed. Once you remove the sticky note, the child who answered the question gets to try to figure out the verse from the pictures and words that a revealed. Keep playing until someone can say the whole verse, or all the pictures are revealed. This verse is from the KJV except that I switched "Job" and "did not" to make it sound correct. (A two-page pattern for this verse is available on The Resource Room.)
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John
the Baptist
John Baptizes Jesus Plastic Cup Craft
What
you will need: Blue plastic "solo" cup, Popsicle stick,
Paper, Markers, and Scissors
How to make:
Have the children draw a descending dove (1"
by 1") and cut out. Glue on the top of the popsicle stick.
Draw Jesus and John the Baptist (my daughter made John's arm large
since he had muscles from doing lots of baptisms!) and cut them
out. Have an adult cut a slit in the bottom of the cup. Slide the
popsicle stick in the slit so that the dove is hidden inside the
cup. Glue Jesus and John the Baptist on the outside of the blue
cup (John might be a little higher so that it looks like he is baptizing
Jesus). Then the children push up the popsicle stick and the dove
is above them. Nance in Reno
"God
Has a Plan for Me" Bible Lesson on The Resource Room - In
this lesson children learn that God knew John the Baptist before he
was born and had a plan for him. God also knows them and has a special
job for them. This
lesson is available to Members Only.
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Crafts:
 1. Children make a "Tell others about
Jesus" 3D Locust Craft
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Activities:
 1.
Before class prepare and bake some Locust Cookies. (Recipe available to members only.)
When children arrive tell them that you will be talking about a
man who ate wild honey and locust. Tell them that they can also
eat locusts like the man in the today's story. They will probably
give you strange looks and say "yuk". Let them believe they will
be eating real locusts until snack time when you pass out the cookies.
2. Play "Prepare the Way"
Match Game. Tell
the children how John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus by
telling others to be ready because he was coming soon. They
are going to play a match game and clear the way for Jesus by getting
rid of all the bees and locust in the way. In order to clear
the way, they have to turn over two cards that match. When
they make a match they will pick up the cards and keep them to get
them out of the way. Before class make some honey bee and locust
cards. Make half the cards with locusts on them and half with honey
bees. A pattern for these cards are available on the Resource Room
for members. You can make this game as easy or as hard as
you would like. For the youngest children just use two types
of cards, honey bees and locust. There will be a lot of the
same cards but they will have a 50 - 50 chance of getting a match.
For older children you can make the game more challenging by having
them answer a question after they get a match in order to keep the
cards.
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Jonah
 See the Bible Themes
Page for Jonah
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Joseph
and the Coat of Many Colors
Crafts and Activities:
 1. Look At and Talk About Fabric - Bring in fabric samples from
a lot of different types of fabric. Ask the children which samples
they like the best. Ask them which fabric they would pick if
their daddy was giving them a shirt or dress.
2. Make a Construction Paper Coat - Cut out a coat shape from a piece
of construction paper. Have the children glue on lace, pieces of material,
buttons, felt shapes, Ric Rac, etc.
 3. Make a Fun Foam Coat. Cut out a coat shape from fun foam (thick
fun foam). Cut out circles for buttons, pockets, or other decorative
shapes. Mark dots on the fun foam around the edge of the coat about
half an inch apart with a black sharpie. Punch tiny holes through
the fun foam at the dots using a sharp upholstery needle. Turn the
coat over and mark dots on the other side of the coat where you
can see the holes. Have the children sew from dot to dot using plastic
needles and embroidery floss or yarn. Ages 5 and up should be able
to do this project with some help. Younger children will enjoy the
project, but will need a lot of help.
 4. Make a Coat from Pieces of Material - I found some really ugly
holey striped material in the $1 bin at Walmart and asked my daughter
why anyone would ever buy it...then I realized that it would make
a perfect coat of many colors. So I used about a yard to make 2 "coats."
First I cut the yard in half down the middle and then I cut holes
for arms almost in the middle of the material (I folded it in half
and cut both arms at once so they'd be even) so that when the child
put on the coat, it had a lapel that fell over the armholes so it
looked as though it had sleeves. We pinned them closed at the top
in front. They took almost no time to do (The fabric didn't need hemming)
and the kids loved them. Sent in by Beckye Mosher
5. Color a Picture of Joseph - Print out the Pattern and make copies. Have your children color them or use paint dobbers to paint them. This picture for this craft was sent in by Jeannette Boxall
How to Print or Copy these Instructions.
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Free Sunday School Lesson Joseph
- A Very Colorful Story
 In this Colorful Story your children will learn about Joseph
and his brothers and how God can take a bad situation and turn it
into something good. They will learn that God will never leave them
no matter what happens or how they act. The lesson is reinforced by
the crafts and activities that use the same colors mentioned in the
story to describe the feelings and attitudes of the characters.
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Joseph's Special Ability
Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's
Dream Bible Lesson on The Resource Room - In this lesson your
children will learn about Joseph and the special abilities God gave
him to help people. They will also learn that God has given each of
them special abilities that he wants them to use to help others. Children
can make a standup cow craft and color a "Healthy cow - Skinny
Cow" color sheet. This
lesson is available to Members Only.
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Crafts and Activities Included in this Lesson:
1. Make a Healthy Cow and Skinny Cow from Paper Plates
 What you will need: Three dinner-sized paper plates, card stock (Heavy Paper), crayons or markers, and glue.
 How to Make:
1. Before class print out the head, feet, and tail onto card stock. (Patterns available to members.) (Problems Printing?)
2. In class have your children cut out the patterns and color them.
3. To make the skinny cow, fold a paper plate in half. Glue the legs, head and tail onto the paper plate as shown.
4. To make the healthy cow, fold the edge down on two paper plates about 2 1/2". Place the two plates together, top-to-top, and glue them together aroundthe rim of the plate.
2. Work on "God
Gave Me Special Abilities" Worksheet.
Have the children
color the sheet and help them circle the areas they think they might
be good at or just talk about the abilities God gave them. (Available to members on The Resource Room.)
3. Play "Find the Cow" Card Game
Before class print
out the animal cards above and cut them apart. You only need one
set of cards for this game. Turn all the card face down and have
the children take turns turning over one card at a time to see if
they can find the cow card. If a child turns over a card that is
not the cow card, he turns it back over and the next child takes
a turn. The child that finds the cow card wins. You can reward  this
child by letting him help hand out the snacks or be the first to
start the next game. Printable cards are available to members on The Resource Room.
4. Make a Cow Puppet
Your children will love making and playing with this craft. Go to the Cow Crafts and Learning Activities Page for directions and a pattern for this puppet.
Activities
1. Play "Seven and Seven" Board Game
 Printable Patterns for this game are available to members of Danielle's Place.
Each child is given a game piece such as a button and a score card. The object of the game is to land on seven skinny cows and seven healthy cows.
Children take turns throwing a die and moving that many spaces to the right. If a child lands on a skinny cow, he colors one space under the skinny cow on his score sheet. If he lands on a healthy cow space, he colors one space under the healthy cow.  If he lands on a talent space, he looks at the picture and tries to figure out what the child's talent might be in the picture and how he or she might use it to help others.
The child who colors in all fourteen spaces on his or her score sheet first wins. To make the game go faster you can write different numbers on the cow pictures and have the children color in that many spaces on their score sheet.
 2. Talents Match Game
Children take turns turning over two cards at a time trying to match the pictures. When a child gets a match, ask him what talent he thinks is represented on the picture cards and how that child might use his talent to help others. If they find matching cow cards, they say the Bible verse. There will be more than one match for the cow cards, but that is okay. It will make the game a little easier. Note: Use fewer cards if you have younger children.
If you have very young children, make only one set of cards. Turn over all the cards and have your children take turns picking a card. If they pick a cow card, they say the Bible verse. If they pick a picture card, they say what the talent might be and how we can use it to help others. (Printable Cards are Available on The Resource Room.)
3. Other Activity Sheets
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| Find the Cow that is Different |
The King Dream - Healthy Cows and Skinny Cows |
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"Joseph and God's Promise"
 Bible Lesson on The Resource Room - In this lesson children learn about Joseph and his family and how
God used Joseph to keep his promise to Abraham, his great grandfather.
They learn that God can take bad things and make good things happen. This lesson is
about Joseph in Egypt after he was sold into slavery by his brothers.
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Crafts:
 1. Younger Children Make Star Pictures - Give the children black
construction paper and star stickers. Tell them that Jacob brought
over 70 family members with him to Egypt to escape the famine. Help
the children count the number of stickers on their papers.
2. Children Can Also Make a Picture of Joseph and All His Brothers using the printouts available on The Resource Room. Children
cut out faces and glue them onto different face shapes. Pattern
available to Members Only.
3. Make a Star Man Puppet to remind the children that God keeps
his promises. Pattern available to Members Only.
 4. Make a Family Tree - Children write names of their family
members on leaves and glue them to a tree. Pattern available to Members Only.
5. Color "God Keeps His Promises Color Sheet
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Activities:
Play "A
Doggy, Doggy, Where's Your Bone?" type game - Pick one child
to be Jacob. Jacob sits in front of the room with his back to the
other children and closes his eyes. Place "Joseph" (a
doll, bean bag, or paper doll) behind Jacob. Pick one child to sneak
up and take "Joseph" and then go back and sit down hiding
Joseph behind their back. All the children then say, "Jacob,
Jacob, where's your son? Somebody took him, but whose the one?"
Jacob tries to guess who took Joseph. If he is right he is takes
another turn. If he is wrong, he takes the place of the child who
took Joseph.
A memory verse
review game is also included in this lesson.
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Joshua
 Go to the Joshua Crafts and Activities Page
Josiah
The
Following Lessons are Available on The
Resource Room a
Subscription Site.
 The
Forgotten Promise - In this lesson children learn that
God wants us to obey his words. They learn that they must study
God's words daily in order to remember and obey them.
They also learn about King Josiah, a young king who loved God
and wanted to follow his laws. The people of his time
had forgotten God's words and worshipped other God's.
King Josiah reminded the people of the promise their forefathers
made years earlier. They renewed their promise to God
to obey his words.
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