Dove Descending on Jesus

Baptism of Jesus

Matthew 3:13-17

Mark 1:9-13

Luke 3:21-23

".. and he saw the spirit of God descending upon him like a dove."

Materials:

Blue paper cup

Blue straw

Fun foam or paper white dove

Stapler

Instructions:

Cut a small hole in the middle of the bottom of the cup just big enough to put the straw through.  Put the straw through the hole.  Staple the white dove to the  end of the straw. Pull the straw up so that the dove cannot be seen.  When you get to the part of the story where it talks about the spirit of God descending up him like a dove, push the straw down so that you can see the dove.

Lost Sheep Game

Lost Sheep Game

Matthew 18:12-14

In this game, the children have to see if they can find the one lost sheep.  I made several bushes (more than pictured here) and put magnets on the back of each one so I could use this game on our large magnetic whiteboard.  A cookie sheet could be used just as well.  I put a sticker of a sheep on the back of only one of the bushes.  I cut out people from Cricut to make my shepherd.  The children take turns turning over a bush until someone finally finds the one lost sheep.  Many times we will mix up all the bushes and play again.

This same game could be played for the story of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10).  The shepherd could be made into a lady instead and a real coin could be taped or glued to the back of the pieces.  Instead of bushes, the pieces could be cut out of brown paper to be dust piles.

God Calls Samuel

God Calls Samuel

I Sam. 3:1-19

 

These service towels were made to go along with the story that God calls Samuel to serve.  We made the handprints using acrylic paint. I used permanent fabric markers to put the children's names and the Bible verse on the bottom. I heat set the paint in the dryer when finished.

 

The children took these service towels home and used them to serve people in any way they could think of. The children were pretty creative with the ways they could serve others.



Leper is Healed

Leper is Healed

I found the leper pattern on a website that no longer exists.  I chose to copy it onto cardstock so it would hold up better. The children will often want to color this guy.

Then I cut a piece of transparency (sometimes leftover lamination works too) the same size as my page.  I taped the transparency to the top of the page.  Then fold the tape so that the transparency lay on top of the leper.  With a permanent marker, I let the kids put red dots for leprosy on this arms, legs, and face.  

When it comes time for the leper to be healed, just lift up the transparency and he is healed.  

Another alternative is to us a dry erase marker on the transparency and let the children just wipe off the leprosy.

I have used this leper with the story of Naaman being Healed (II Kings 5: 1-19) as well as with the story of the Healing of the Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11-19).

 

Naaman is Healed

 

Naaman is Healed from Leprosy

II Kings 5: 1- 18

I found these great little sponge people at Mardel's in the craft section.  They work perfect for this illustration.

Materials:
Sponge person
Red or white Tempera paint or other water based paint (do not use acrylic)
Paint brush
Tub of dirty water (Jordan River was muddy)

Paint some leprosy dots all over the sponge Naaman.  (Paint them very soon before you will be using it.  You don't want it to dry too much.)  When the story indicates, dip Naaman in the water.  As you dip, squeeze the sponge so the paint begins to wash off.  By the time he has dipped (and you have squeezed it) seven times, he should be clean.

Make Your Own Stamps

Make your own stamps to go with any Bible story.  Just use fun foam pieces and bottle caps from 2 liter soft drinks.  (You can use water bottle caps but they are a little short so the children have a harder time holding onto them.) You can either use the sticky back fun foam pieces or hot glue the regular fun foam pieces. I've made some using Sizzix and Ellison die cuts.  They could also be made from Cricut machines (though it is a little tricky to cut fun foam on the Cricut).

Paul and Silas in Prison

Paul and Silas in Prison

Acts 16:16-40 

This is a sample I made of a take home for this story.  I found a coloring page that looked like Paul and Silas.  I reduced it to the size I needed.  I was able to fit four on one page.  I printed it on cardstock.  I punched 4 holes at the top of the picture and 4 holes at the bottom.  Then I let the children color it.  I gave the children a long piece of yarn.  I rolled a piece of scotch tape tightly on one end so it would make it easier for the children to "sew" and lace up the picture. 

I have had several requests for this coloring page. I drew my own picture to go with this instead of posting the coloring page.  

I put two on a page. 

Pattern