10 Crafts That Have Meaning

Often crafts are time fillers rather than activities that actually have meaning or are instructional. Occasionally having kids do crafts that result in an explosion of glitter and glue are fine, but how much better to do crafts that actually have value.

Here are some examples of meaningful crafts kids can do …

1. Anything that helps children retain memory work. For example, constructing a verse match game where verses have to be matched to the reference, a verse scrapbook where kids illustrate verses with pictures, verse cards in which words written on different cards for kids to assemble in the right order.

2. Scrolls to show kids what the “Bible” looked like at the time it was written.

3. Maps (have older kids draw and label) of the route the Israelites took or the         missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul.

4. A reproduction of the layout of the tabernacle. (This would be a class project with each part added after learning about it during the lesson.)

5. An architectural rendition of the ark. (Older kids who enjoy math could even figure out how much space two elephants would take, etc.)

6. Cards for shut-ins or those who are ill. Cards to thank those who work behind the scene such as the sound or maintenance crew.

7. Newspaper (or web page) written about a major Bible event (or for younger kids – a drawn picture of the event for a news report).

8. Food experiments from the Bible such as honey, unleavened bread, figs, etc. Another fun recipe is the one for Hamantaschen (or Haman’s hats – found with a quick web search).

9. Do a photo album (off or online) of a biblical city. A quick preview of Google images provides pictures of Nazareth, Bethlehem, etc. (Or maybe someone in your church who has been to Israel could make copies of photos for your class.) Another photo album focus could be Gideon’s Spring (now a national park) or the Sea of Galilee.

10. Together, as a class, create a biblical scene using polymer clay. (Sculpey is one brand.) Have the kids carefully read the biblical account to make sure everything is exactly as the Bible says.