Free Bible Story Crafts - Noah's Ark Classroom Mural

Many Free Bible Story Crafts encourage cooperation or sharing, but the Noah's Ark mural requires real teamwork. One of our favorites, the mural illustrates the Ark and features the animals God sent to Noah to protect. A rainbow over Noah's Ark and all the colorful animals reminds children of God's promise.


This is a rewarding and fun art project for a kindergarten, first or second grade Sunday School class or a homeschooling family or group to create together. If your group is large, consider making murals in small groups. You may end up with 2, 3 or 4 murals, but it will be easier for the kids to collaborate this way.

Noah's Ark crafts are usually sure hits with little ones because for one, it's a great story with a happy ending, and for another - the animals!

Since Noah's floating zoo mural is a group project, "teacher's prep" takes on a new meaning. If you've taught young children for long, you know how good planning can make the difference between fun and pandemonium!

On a similar note, allow more than one class period to complete the Noah's Ark mural. If possible, divide up this Bible lesson of obedience, faith and God's promise so that the craft steps coincide with the parts covered that day.

Bible Story Crafts Supplies

* Roll of butcher paper (newsprint could also be used but butcher paper is stronger and white instead of brown)
* Markers and/or paints
* Painting smocks/old shirt
* Glue sticks
* Scissors
* Pictures of animals (nature and kids magazines as well as coloring pages printed from the computer are good resources)
* Tape

Round up the Animals!

Children can color in animals on coloring pages and search through magazines, cutting out pictures. Some of the kids may want to draw their own on the mural, which will add a nice touch of originality.

To create pairs of animals when only one animal picture was found: Photocopy singles and then color.

To add Noah and his family, color pages from a Noah's Ark coloring book and cut out.

Teacher Prep

Spread out the butcher paper and tape to the floor. Or tape to the wall at a comfortable height for the children.

Draw the ark, which will take up most of the mural. Leave room for the rainbow above and water below. Prepare for the animals by drawing several, good-size windows and plenty of deck space and/or large plank.

Completing the Mural - All Hands on Deck!

1. To begin, assign individuals or small groups various parts of the Ark to paint or color.
2. Have children arrange their animal pairs on the Ark (no glue yet), experimenting with various locations.
3. Once it's decided where the animals will go, leave them in place so it's not forgotten, picking up just to apply glue.
4. Add Noah and his family.
5. Talk the kids about rainbows and the colors a rainbow has. Then have them add the rainbow. If using paints, they'll probably need to let one color dry before adding another one so they don't run together.
6. Add the water by painting blue waves.
7. Discuss any details that may be added, such as a sun or a memory verse.
8. The only thing left to do is for the artists to sign the mural and invite their others to take a look!

Crafty Variation

If you have lots of time set aside to spend on Noah's Ark, the kids could glue large, craft sticks onto the Ark. The craft sticks will resemble the planks that we see in many of the pictures of the Ark. Memory verses that relate to this story of can be written on some of the craft sticks.

Free Printable Crafts - Face Painting Pictures

Children love having their faces painted! Whether it's at a carnival, fair, or community fun day or at home just for the fun of it, it's a definite favorite. There are many different things you can do with face painting. There are unlimited ideas when it comes to what types of designs you can paint. Here are a few tips when it comes to face painting designs, and a few things to remember.

There is no need to run out and purchase face painting designs with the amount of information available to you today on the internet. You can find free printable crafts on face painting pictures on some really great sites. From simple designs such as flowers and cherries, to elaborate and beautiful fairy, princess and superhero designs, children love each design.

When using paints and other decorative things on the face, you want to make sure that it's all safe. You don't want to use regular acrylic paints like some do, because they can actually irritate a child's sensitive skin. Instead, go for a paint that is made specifically to go on the skin. This will keep the child a happy camper.

When using glitter to add to the effect of face paints, make sure you never use aluminum glitter. This can be extremely unsafe for the child’s skin and eyes, and it's rather easy for a child to rub some of the aluminum glitter into his or her eye. Avoid this by using glitters that are safe for the skin, such as body glitter. There are many free printable crafts face painting pictures that you can add glitter to and it will make the design stand out and be much prettier. The same thing goes for stick on jewels. Make sure that there is nothing in the glue or jewel that could irritant the skin.

A great idea is to learn how to face paint for your child's birthday party. Professionals will charge up to $150 an hour to do this for you. You truly can save a ton of money by doing it yourself. If you don't know what to paint look for free printable crafts for printable face painting pictures. Face painting really makes a birthday party special, and the designs that you paint will be priceless to the child. The children will really love having the designs on their faces.

Face painting like other free printable crafts is great fun for the child to learn what it feels like being painted and the one doing the painting. It can be an inexpensive, artistic and fun way to celebrate sports teams, school spirit, birthdays, and even holidays!

Last Minute Craft Ideas

Do you wait to the last minute to get going on anything?

With this fun crafts, it doesn't matter whether you wait til the last minute or plan ahead.

Hopefully if you're reading this post, you will plan ahead! On to the brainstorming. Here are the last minute craft ideas you can do.

1. Painting Birdhouses

Painting birdhouses can be a fun hobby! Most unpainted birdhouses range from $5.00 to $20.00 at Michaels craft store, a chain craft store here in the U.S. For the most part, we keep unpainted birdhouses in stock year 'round. Birdhouses can be purchased from art & gift stores, craft shows, garage sales, antique stores, & even thrift stores. They are plentiful, eight times you get an eye for seeing them. You might wonder, why birdhouses?

Since birdhouses are made out of wood, they can be painted over & over. They are great to practice on. In fact, the more paint, the better (especially if we end up outside). Another reason why you should pick to work with them has to do with the multiple planes of birdhouse architecture. Trying new design ideas on different planes is less hard than painting on 2-D formats. When painting on 2-D canvases, artists need to worry about composition & framing, whereas this is typically not much of a concern when painting birdhouses.

2. Make CSLP Stickers into Pins

Put the CSLP stickers on tag board and use a large circular craft punch to punch out the circles again. Apply a self-adhesive pin to the back.

Variations:

• If you don t have the craft punch, have volunteers cut out the stickers on the tag board.
• Use any commercial stickers oar small pictures of pets on tag board.
  
• Use Ellison or Accu-Cut mini dies to cut out mini shapes of pets, or paw prints and make them into pins.
  
• Laminate the cardboard and sticker after are adhered together to make theme more durable.

3. Uses for Old Calendars that Feature Pets

Stores that carry calendars often offer them at significantly reduced prices this time of year. A good place to check are dollar-type stores.

Puzzles:

• Trim larger calendar pictures down and crop close to the animals. Glue the picture onto tag board and cut horizontally into about three or four strips to make a simple pet puzzle for younger preschool children.
  
• Cut the pictures into more complicated pieces if you want to use them with older children.
  
• Laminate the pieces to make them last longer. Often the cover of the calendars are already laminated.
  

Pins:

Cut the small pictures on the back of the calendar out and use them to make pins as described in #1.