The Parable Of The Barren Fig Tree

Luke 13: 6-9

Trees are mentioned in the bible many times. Adam and Eve's apple tree, the barren fig tree, and Zacchaeus's sycamore tree are a few of the most famous. Today we are going to make a 3D tree to go along with any lesson about trees. I once posted a tree craft (found here) using paper bags; however, I did not have any bags on hand this time, so I came up with this alternative to save myself a trip to the store. 

Most of my crafts are targeted toward 1st through 5th graders, but today's craft would also be good for kindergarteners. 

Materials needed:

Cardstock

Tree template (free download here: Front  Back)

Scissors

Glue

Green felt or construction paper

Before Class Prep.:

1. Download and print tree templates onto the front and back of the cardstock, or draw your own. Two pages are needed for each tree/student.

2. Trim the bottom of each page so the tree roots are at the very bottom edge of the page.

3. Cut a rough tree foliage shape around the branches.

4. On half of the pages, cut a long slit from the top middle down to midway on each tree trunk.

5. On the other half of the pages, cut a long slit from the bottom middle to midway up each trunk.

See pictures below. Each tree is formed by sliding together one upper cut tree and one lower cut tree.

I went ahead and put the trees together before class so I did not have to fumble with matching up top cut and bottom cut pages while in class. Once the trees are together they collapse down flat again without having to take them apart. This made it easy to pass out both pages to each child at the same time.

Class Instructions:

1. Give each child two tree pages.

2. Ask the children to take the tree pages apart and decorate. They have the option of coloring the tree leaves or cutting leaves from the felt/construction paper and glueing. 

3. Slide the two pages back together and the tree is complete.

NOTE:  All images, text and printables contained herein are copyright protected. This material is for your personal use only. I encourage you to print or pin from this site whenever you would like as long as it is credited and linked back to EasyBreezySundaySchool.blogspot.com. Failure to link back and credit my site constitutes a copyright violation.  Thanks so much!

The Transfiguration

Luke 9: 28-36

When reading this lesson, the first craft idea that came to my mind was string art. You know, that cool method of tying string to nails on a board to highlight a shape? Here's a link to an example: string art. I would have loved to do it that way; however, that would have taken more prep and class time than I had available. So, I took that basic idea and found a way to do something similar.

The only difference in the two methods I will discuss is that one is achieved with oil pastels and is suitable for smaller children, and the other uses string and a craft needle, better suited for older children.

Materials Needed for 1st - 3rd Grade Version

Colored Card Stock                         Glitter Paper
Oil Pastels (yellow & white)     Pen
Glue                                               Scissors
Outline of Jesus (free download)     Paper Towel
                         



Before Class Prep:

The first thing to do is draw a silhouette of Jesus. It doesn't have to be prefect. Any basic outline is fine. You may download mine (above) if you'd like. Cutout the shape.

Next, on the back of the glitter paper (found in the scrapbook section of Hobby Lobby or Michael's), trace the outline of Jesus.

Cut out one Jesus silhouette for each child.


Class Instructions:

1. Begin with a sheet of colored card stock and the yellow oil pastel. Starting at the center of the page,draw several lines going from the center out to the edges of the paper.

2. Using the paper towel, rub (or smear) the crayon to give it a fuzzy look.

3. Draw a few more lines with the white oil pastel and rub it to blend.

Note: Oil pastels work really well for this. They smear easily, as opposed to regular crayons. The down side is they can be slightly messy. Remind the kids not to drag their sleeves across the paper. Likewise, if you are worried about the color getting onto the tabletop, drape a cheap tablecloth or butcher paper over the tables before class.

4. Glue one Jesus silhouette onto the center.

5. The bible verse may also be written on the page if desired.

Materials Needed for 4th - 6th Grade Version:

Foam Sheets                                   Glitter Paper             
Pen                                                 Scissors
Glue                                               Craft Needle
Outline of Jesus (free download)  
Embroidery Floss (yellow - 2 or 3 per person)                      


Before Class Prep:

As with the 1st - 3rd grade craft, the first thing to do is draw a silhouette of Jesus. It doesn't have to be prefect. Any basic outline is fine. You may download mine (above) if you'd like. Cutout the shape.

Next, on the back of the glitter paper (found in the scrapbook section of Hobby Lobby or Michael's), trace the outline of Jesus.


Cut out one Jesus silhouette for each child.

Two extra steps are needed for this version. On the back of each Foam Sheet, trace the silhouette with dots as shown below.

Next, add random dots, some along the edges and some closer in, all the way around.

Class Instructions:

1. Thread the needle with a long strand of floss-but not too long! Using the dots for needle placement, stitch from the silhouette dots to the surrounding dots. When one strand ends, tie a new strand to it until the entire picture is covered as pictured below.

2. Glue the silhouette of Jesus in the center.

NOTE:  All images, text and printables contained herein are copyright protected. This material is for your personal use only. I encourage you to print or pin from this site whenever you would like as long as it is credited and linked back to EasyBreezySundaySchool.blogspot.com. Failure to link back and credit my site constitutes a copyright violation.  Thanks so much!