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Paper + Clothespin Jonah and the Whale

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Jonah and the whale craft for kids

This Jonah and the whale clothespin craft is super simple to make with kids of all ages. My 6-year-olds loved it because they could 'customize' their whale and it actually chomps.

You can easily adapt this for older kids by letting them get more elaborate with their whale: decorating it with glitter and sequins and markers, or making it look more whale-like.  This is also a great craft for toddlers, preschoolers, and smaller kids if they have some help with cutting and gluing parts of the crafts.  (Tip for smaller kids: Pre-cut all the pieces.  Let them decorate their whale and Jonah however they'd like.  Then help them glue the pieces together.)

This is another of our Messy Church crafts.  We made these whales with kids of all ages and then used them to help tell the story of Jonah and the Whale.

jonah and the whale easy bible craft for kids

Materials Needed

  • blue or grey cardstock for the whale
  • 1 googly eye (or a black marker to draw an eye)
  • scissors
  • white cardstock for Jonah
  • glue
  • pencil crayons (or crayons or marker)
  • clothespin
jonah and the whale craft materials

How to Make Jonah and the Whale out of Paper + a Clothespin

  1. Cut out a whale shape from your blue or grey cardstock.
  2. Cut out a Jonah shape from your white cardstock and colour him in.
  3. Cut your whale in half horizontally.
  4. Glue your googly eye on your whale (or draw the eye on with marker).
  5. Glue each half of the whale to the clothespin.  (Make sure that both halves line up.  Also make sure that you glue only the edge of each half-whale to one half of the clothespin.)
  6. Glue Jonah on the reverse side of the clothespin, so that he peeks out when you open the clothespin.

This is a great craft to do with the kids for Sunday school, Messy Church, or family Bible time.  Read Jonah 1-4 to go with the craft.

Jonah and the whale craft for kids

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