1-2-3 Come Make a Nativity Craft With Me

Would you like your kiddos to be able to sequence & retell the Christmas story?  With that in mind, I designed 2 simple & fun craftivities, which will help them do just that.

First up: “Follow the Star”, which is a nativity “flip-the-flap” booklet,

If you do a "Christmas Around the World" ed-venture, this craftivity makes a nice addition to your travels.

The stable is the base of the booklet and is printed on card stock to make it sturdy.

Once the booklet is complete, it is free standing and makes a cute decoration.

The “doors” of the stable open, to reveal graphics of the major events that take place; from Mary & Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem to the birth of Jesus.

Besides black & white patterns for students to color, cut & glue, I’ve also included colorful templates so that you can quickly & easily make an example to share.

There are several page options as well.

I’ve provided pages with text for beginning readers, as well as pages without words for younger kiddos.

You can also use these pages for older students, so they can write about what is happening and explain the graphic, or find a matching Bible verse to record on the appropriate pages.

To use for extra writing practice, I’ve also included a completely blank page.

On the back of the stable, students can write “Jesus loves me.” or “Jesus is the reason for the season.”

There are add-on graphics included as well: 4 star patterns for children to choose from, plus a cow & donkey they can glue to the back of the last, opened pages, so that when the doors are completely open, the animals flank the manger.

Brushing some Elmer’s glue on the star, then sprinkling with gold glitter adds extra pop & pizzazz. 

The "looking down" photo on the right,  shows how the pages support the stable.

When everyone is done, read the booklet together as a whole group, calling on students to explain the various events taking place. Encourage children to sequence & retell the story of Christ’s birth to their families, as they share their nativity booklet at home.

Next up is a nativity "storytelling wheel".

Since my storytelling wheels have been so popular, I thought it would be fun to design one for the Nativity.

Great for parochial schools, Sunday school, Christmas Around the World activities, or simply for your own child.

Storytelling wheels are a quick, easy & fun way for students to practice the “retelling & sequencing” a story standards.

There are 3, “print & go” cover options to choose from. Pick your favorite, or give students a choice.

There are full color patterns to use for an independent center, as well as a sample to share, plus a black & white pattern, so students can make their own.

After students have completed their wheel, practice retelling the nativity story using the manipulative.

Everyone starts by turning their wheel so that Mary & Joseph, who are traveling to Bethlehem, appear in the “pie-slice window”.

Call on a child to begin the story. Continue to turn the wheel, calling on different students to tell you that portion of the story, explaining the “picture prompt”.

Afterwards, have students pick a partner and take turns sharing their nativity wheel with each other. Sometimes we do this with our older reading buddies.
This is a quick, easy & fun way to check comprehension too.

For more sequencing & retelling practice, I've also included a nativity puzzle . There are two "base" options, which will help practice ordinal numbers as well as reading.

For writing practice, have students complete the “Here’s What Happened” writing prompt worksheet, then color it.

There’s a full color template so you can quickly & easily make an example to share, or do as a whole group activity with little ones.

Today's featured FREEBIE is a "Wishful Thinking" writing prompt craftivity.

Students finish the prompt: "If money were no problem and I could have 5 super-fabulous gifts for Christmas, I'd like..."

Completed projects make an adorable December bulletin board.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Two of my nine grandchildren are coming over today, so my feet have hit the floor running this morning. 

I've planned some "merry making" Christmas crafts.  Wishing you a day filled with warm hugs and happy giggles.

"Christmas is the kindling for hospitality." -Washington Irving

1-2-3 Come Make Some Vacation Bible School Crafts With Me

Having taught 3-year-olds in Sunday school, I discovered there is not a whole lot out there for this age group.

Crafts, that came with pre-packaged programs, were way beyond their skill level, attention span and time available.

Vacation Bible School programs were not really much different.  They had wonderful activities for older kiddo's, but again materials and crafts for this age group were lacking.

The director of our Children's ministry, asked me if I could design 5 quickie crafts with Bible verses for the 3,4, and 5 year-old age group for this year's VBS.

They group them together, as it's never that big of a group, despite having anywhere from 100-200 kids.

I love designing crafts and helping out, so this was a no brainer "Sure!"

Since I've had several requests for Christian teaching materials, I thought I'd post these, as they turned out really cute.

Their theme this year was Stand Strong in the Kingdom, so I made castles, crowns, and knight shields, however these crafts are general enough that they could work for just about anything.

So people wouldn't have to go out and buy a bunch of stuff, I designed the crafts trying to use materials I knew were readily available.

To make all of the projects pictured, you'll need: construction paper, card stock (for the shields), aluminum foil, scissors, glue sticks, crayons, rhinestones, glitter, curling ribbon, foam, a stapler, hole punch, brass brads, pipe cleaners, tooth picks, Elmer's glue, sticky notes, scrap paper (to use as work mats, newspaper works wonderful) and gold glitter.

I find it best with this age group to skip giving directions. Simply hold up your sample and say, "I'm so excited! We're going to make a castle today!"

Whatever craftivity you are doing with little ones, do NOT pass out all of the materials at once.

This is not only overwhelming for them, they also won't sit still long enough for you to say, do this first, only using these materials. ie for the castle:

1. Pass out castle. Have them cut out.  Have them pre-cut for 3's.
2. Pass out pre-cut triangles. Have them glue the triangles to the castle.
3. Have them cut the door.  Remind them not to cut this completely out, but STOP so there's a hinge.  Show sample at each step.
4. Pass out the door verse and have them glue it behind the castle door.
5. Pass out turrets. Have them roll the turrets. Staple to the castle.
6. Pass out brown crayons to color the door and write their name on their castle.
7. Read the verse together and explain why they did the project, so they can share that info with their parents.

I thought it would be cute to add a toothpick flag. These can be pre-made; ask the child where they want their flag.  

Scotch tape it to the back. Do not let 3's hold the toothpicks.

I made the flag with a sticky note.  No glueing necessary and it wraps right around the toothpick!

Children who finish early can work with a helper learning their verse.

Preparation for these projects is simple.  Run off the templates on construction paper, and pre-cut the smaller pieces to expedite things.

I traced a child's "praying" hand once on a folded sheet of paper and then cut once to make 2.

For the "lamp unto my feet" you need to fold the yellow lanterns in half horizontally for easier cutting. I traced a child's foot with their shoe on.

Click on the link to view/download the Kingdom Crafts.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think will help others. My "Pin it" button is at the top of the page.

"So many books; so little time." -Frank Zappa