Camel Mask

Continuing with the theme of 'Stories Jesus told' (based on the parables of Jesus) this week we focused on the parable about fitting a camel through the eye of a needle.

In order to illustrate the story, we had a leader dressed as a camel and loaded up with baggage, trying to squeeze under a craft table. Let's just say you had to be there!

It seems like a ridiculous notion, but the story emphasizes the idea that what looks impossible to us, is possible with God. Jesus used the story to make a point about how the desire for possessions makes it incredibly difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. 

However, I love the explanation in this article, that points us towards the grace of God, in making that possible. However, it could also illustrate that Jesus welcomes us to come to Him just as we are. No amount (or even lack) of possessions should be a bar.

Like the sheep mask craft, I can see the potential here to make use of the masks as a prop for Nativity reenactments.

The masks we made were based around the mask template you can find here. I made mine slightly larger. They were photocopied onto card. You can find the fuller explanation below.

You can just about see the yellow card strip headband, if you look carefully!

Equipment

Overalls

Brown poster paint

Plastic trays for paint

Sponges

Photocopied masks 

Card strips

Scissors

Stapler

Googly eyes

PVA glue/spreaders

Baby wipes

Preparation

1. Photocopy mask onto card and cut out.

2. Cut card strips to appropriate size.

3. Mix paint.

4. Prepare glue pots.

Method

1. Overalls on, sleeves rolled up.

2. Show child how to use sponge to apply paint to camel.

3. Glue on googly eyes.

4. Fit card strip to child's head, using stapler to fasten ends.

5. Fasten mask to card strip.

6. Label and leave to dry.

Similar activity

Sheep Mask

The Precious Pearl

We all need to know we're special, important, valued. 

This week's craft reminds us of just that. It's based around the story that Jesus told about a very special pearl of such great beauty, that a merchant was prepared to give up everything he had, just to own it. We used the version retold by Mick Inkpen (see here, not an affiliated link, you can buy it other places also).

Traditionally this parable has been taught the other way around; that God is the pearl of greatest price and we must give up everything for Him. However, having heard John Wimber's interpretation; that God gave up everything for us, I can't shake it off. So that's the angle I went for with this. We are special, we are loved. And in this day and age, where it's too easy to compare ourselves unfavourably by comparison with others, we need to hear that message more than ever.

Here's the craft. Very simple, because our kids this year seem younger than ever and need the very basics. This became evident when we did the craft, as only this one had what I would call 'legible' hand prints! The kids just got their hands in the paint and went mad. But why not? It's all good sensory experiential learning! And I can remember my daughter doing the very same at that age! 😆

Equipment:

Floor covering

Overalls

Baby wipes/bowl of water & disposable hand towels

Poster Paint

Paper Plates (paint pallettes)

Photocopy sheet

Preparation:

cover floor with heavy plastic sheeting

photocopy sheet with heart onto A3

paper plates (paint palettes) with blobs of paint

lay out overalls

get bowl of soapy water ready

Method:

1. Demonstrate to child how to apply paint to hand and hand to paper.

2. Let chaos ensue.

3. Clean up and leave artwork to dry on the 'Home' table.

Oh and here's the sheet I used!

Songs to accompany this craft?

I know Jesus Loves me (Ishmael)

God Love you and I love you and that's the way it should be (Anon)

123, Jesus loves me (Anon)

Sheep Mask

We're back! The toddler group is up and running and this term, we've based on our theme on 'Stories that Jesus Told' (aka the parables). Whether you consider yourself religious or not, there are some great stories right there, with lost of lessons to each us all.

We've been using a great little book which retells the stories in an accessible way, by Mick Inkpen. See here (not an affiliated link, there are other places you can buy it).

A perennial favourite is the parable of 'The Lost Sheep'. Having done easy, peasy sheep crafts to death (or so I thought), I decided the time was right for a sheep mask/headband craft. Headbands are actually probably more comfortable for most kids to wear and save on the job of getting the holes in the right place, without jabbing someone directly in the eye.

I've made it easy for myself, by making it a one page photocopy page. The headband bit can quickly be guillotined off, and for the most part, the rest is fairly straightforward to cut out, and if, like us, you have less people in at the moment, its not too arduous a task, if you're sat watching telly of an evening.

Feel free to use, but please retain attribution.

Equipment:

Headband sheet photocopied onto card

Scissors

Cotton wool balls

PVA glue, pots and glue spreaders or lollysticks

Large googly eyes

Stapler

Baby wipes (for cleaning up)

Preparation:

1. Photocopy sheet.

2. Cut out shapes.

3. Prepare glue pots (Playdoh pots work well, because you can seal them with their lids).

Method:

1. Show/guide child in adding cotton wool balls and googly eyes.

2. Join headband parts together, using shaded areas.

3. Wrap head band round child's head to size, mark length required.

4. Remove headband from child, staple headband together, Trim excess card and leave to dry.

 Oh yes!! And did I mention that it could also make a great prop for a Nativity, later in the year? 

And in the meantime, why not use it as a prop for singing. 'Baa baa black sheep,' anyone?

Other useful posts:

Sheep craft collage

Sheep craft printing

Paper Plate Chickens

Not so long ago, the Queen gave a great message about how Easter isn't cancelled, just because of the Coronavirus lockdown. In the same way, neither is Spring, or, for that matter, Summer!

Blossom is bursting out, and whether we can see it or not, young animals are being born.

So, today I thought I'd share our chicken craft, that we did this time last year.

You can accompany this craft with Dora's Chicks, if you have access to the book, or you and your child could have great fun, singing, 'Chick, Chick, Chick, Chick, Chicken lay a little egg for me!'

Song

Spot the missing feature!

Equipment:

• Paper plates

• Googly Eyes

• Feathers

• Red Cardboard to cut out wattles and combs

• Yellow card for beaks

• PVA glue & glue spreaders

• Scissors

Preparation:

Cut out some Wattles and Combs for your paper plate chickens, from red (or maybe even pink) card.

Cut beaks from yellow card.

Gather some pictures of chickens for the children to look at.

Method:

1. Fold Paper plate in half.

2. Assist children to look carefully at the chicken pictures and think about where to place, eyes, wattles, combs and beaks. You may end up with all kinds of variations, including multiple eyes, but I tend to let that go, as art and craft should really be about allowing the children the opportunity to express themselves. It can also be a great way to assess their understanding.

3. Attach feathers, as desired, using PVA glue.

Easter Gardens

Let me just stress, this isn't something we've tried at toddler group... yet!

However, I think this is a great activity to try out at home with young children and could be a great starting point for discussing the story of Easter.

This one was made by my daughter.

The great thing is, that this garden was made completely with things we already had at home, or found on a walk.


Equipment:

• Tray or pot of some kind (small or as big as you like)

• Small flower pot (this one came from a pile that I have amassed)

• Stones/gravel

• One large stone to cover the mouth of your flower pot

• Moss

• Twigs

• String

• Scissors

• Embellishment (this can be natural or man made)

• Soil/compost

Method:

1.  Choose a tray or pot for your base. You may have an old flowerpot or seed tray hanging round in the garden, but you could also use a tray from a ready meal, if it's been washed out.

2.  Fill the pot with soil or compost.

3.  Take a small plant pot and half submerge it in the soil/compost, to create a little cave tomb.

4.  Use some stones to create a little pathway to the pot/tomb. My daughter added a little sand to hers.

5.  Place clumps of moss around the tomb, to look like grass. 

6. Use string, to join two twigs to make a cross shape and place it in the soil above the 'tomb'.

7. Embellish your scene with small plants/plant material. We used some man made flowers.

8. Find a big stone/pebble to place beside the mouth of your pot, to be the stone that was rolled away.

9. Find a spot to place your little Easter garden, where it can be enjoyed. Don't forget to keep it watered, to keep it looking fresh!

Easter Nests

Strictly speaking this is not of course a craft, but hey, it's Easter and making these must surely be a young child's rite of passage. 

Anyway, it's such an easy recipe, and involves chocolate, and who can resist that?

Yum! Yum!

Equipment:

• Baking tray

• Muffin cases*

• Silicone spatula

• Saucepan

• Mixing bowl

• Hob

*The original recipe calls for 10 paper cases. I use 12, as although it's nice to have great chunky cakes, I think a little goes a long way, especially with little ones! If you'd like yours to be bigger, I'd suggest using one and a half times the amounts given above, except for the pack of Mini Eggs.

Ingredients:

225 g  Chocolate

50 g  Margarine/Butter

2 tbs  Golden Syrup

100 g  Cornflakes

1 pack Mini Eggs


Safety Notes:

1. If doing this with young children, you may wish to do the heating and stirring part yourself. If you allow children of any age, please supervise carefully. Obviously you want to avoid the children being burnt by the pan as it heats up and once it's been taken off the heat and also be aware of the danger of catching hair/clothing on the flames.

2. With younger children, you may want to halve the mini eggs, lengthways (as we do with grapes at toddler group), to reduce the chance of choking. However, take care, as Mini Eggs shells are brittle and quite tricky to halve with a sharp knife!

Method:

1. Place the muffin cases in a baking tray. 

2. Place the chocolate, margarine and golden syrup in the saucepan. Gently heat the mixture, stirring the ingredients with the spatula as they melt. 

3. Place the cornflakes into a mixing bowl and add the mixture from the saucepan. Mix together, thoroughly.

4. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases. 

5. Make a little well in each little blob of mixture, to form the 'nest' shape.

6. Place 3 mini eggs in each 'nest'. 

7. Place in the fridge to allow the chocolate to harden.


Recipe taken from Topmarks

Incy Wincy Spider

There can't be a playgroup in the land who has never sang Incy Wincy Spider. 

This Song is certainly a favourite of ours, and surely quite topical, with the the wet weather we've been having this year.

We've made various versions of Incy in the last four or five years, but I think this one is my favourite!

Each one is unique!

Equipment:

• Play dough 

• Googly eyes

• Pipe cleaners

• Paper plates/small pieces of card

• Felt pens

Preparation:

• Make play dough (recipe link*). 

• Cut pipe cleaners in half and then in half again.

Method:

1. Take a small lump of play dough and roll into a ball.

2. Add two googly eyes. We provided a few different sizes, to choose from.

3. Add pipe cleaners as legs. Children may decide to add as few or as many as they like, but that is totally fine!

4. Place on paper plate/card and write name on the side, ready for home time.

* We used the Kids with Food Allergies rice flour recipe, so that it would be suitable for anyone allergic to wheat/gluten. We used black food colouring, to make the spider, but actually your spiders could be quite colourful, if you like! Play dough can be made a few days in advance but will need to be stored in the fridge in a air tight container.