Dorcas

Dorcas

Acts 9:36-43

The children enjoyed making these clothes from fun foam.  I cut two shirts from fun foam and put one on top of the other.  I then used a hole punch to punch holes around the edges.  I cut a long piece of yarn and tied one end of it to the right shoulder.  I put a small piece of Scotch tape around the other end to keep it from fraying as the children "sew" up this piece of clothing like Dorcas sewed for others.

Altar

I made this altar from a tissue box.  I covered the box with contact paper then drew the rocks with a permanent marker.  (Next time I will draw the rocks more rounded than square.)  I added red and yellow cellophane to make the fire. This has been used in many different stories.

I have used animal crackers as the sacrifice for Elijah and the Prophets of Baal.

Joshua and Sun Stood Still

The Day the Sun Stood Still

Joshua 10:1-15

The kids made this picture using a piece of blue construction paper.  (My paper is shiny because I laminated my sample so it would store well.) They cut a strip of green paper for the grass.  I had die cut the mounting and the sun pieces using an Ellison die cut (You could use a Cricut).  I cut a diagonal slit in the paper where the brad for the sun would be able to slide.

The kids glued on the grass and the mountain. 

I punched a hole in the middle of both sun pieces.  The kids put one sun on the front of the paper and one sun on the back.  They put the brad through the hole in the sun then through the slit on the paper, then through the other sun on the back and fastened it.

The sun can move like normal (rising and setting as you tell the story) until Joshua asks God to make the sun stand still. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky.



Paul's Shipwreck VBS

Paul's Shipwreck

Acts 27

My son and daughter created this room for Vacation Bible School.  My son designed the boat and the ramp.  He built the boat (with the help of his dad) inside the room.  The boat set on a ramp with a small incline.  There is a large hook and pen at the back of the boat that holds it in place while the 20- 25 kids get on board and set sail.  There is a small door close to the back of the boat that opens so the children can get on board.

This is the other side of the room where the boat is headed.

This is part of the ramp (usually covered with a blue tarp for water so the kids can't anticipate what is about to happen.

 This is the island that they swim to after the shipwreck.

As my son and his friends act out the story, my daughter is usually hidden in the dark behind the boat.  She ran the technology and lighting.  She created the lightning, sound effects, and water for the storm.  She is pretending to be one of the kids in this picture.

During the storm, my daughter also pulled the pen from the back of the boat and the entire boat full of people slid down the ramp and hit the sandbar and looks like it is running into a large rock.  My son made is so that there was a small jolt as the wheels under the boat run into the end of the ramp giving the kids the slight feelilng that they just ran into something. What a ride!  The kids were thrilled by this ride!  The neat part of this was the fact that even a year later, the children can still tell you what happened in that Bible story.

Esther's Scepter

Esther

I made this sceptor from a dowel stick and an unpainted wooden bumble bee (from local craft store).  I hot glued the part that is supposed to be antennae to the dowel stick and painted the whole thing white. The kids glued on the jewels and the glitter and chose their own ribbon to tie on the stick.  Each one turned out unique!

For the boys, I made the sceptor the same way but I spray painted the whole thing gold instead of white.  They added glitter and jewels as well.  As we told the story, the boys used their sceptors as they pretended they were King Xerxes.

Sock Baby

I made these dolls from a child's sock. 

Materials:
One child's sock
Yarn for hair
Permanent markers
Batting
Felt for blanket
Ribbon

Here are the instructions:

1.  Cut a few pieces of yarn and sew them to the toe end of the sock. 
2.  Stuff the sock with batting. 
3.  Sew the end of the sock closed. 
4.  Draw a face with permanent marker.
5.  Tie a ribbon around it.
6.  Cut a piece of orange felt to be the blanket.

The kids have carried these around for weeks!