Craft

Beatitudes Craft for Kids

An easy Beatitudes craft for kids in three levels, a mountain card with a turning wheel of eight blessing pictures from Matthew 5. Free printable template.

Preschool–Grade 5

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⬇ Craft template + instructions (PDF) · 7 pages

Free to print and copy for your church, classroom, VBS and home. Please don't resell or re-post our files; link to the page instead.

Ages: Preschool (3–5), Early Elementary (K–2), Upper Elementary (3–5)
Time: 15 to 30 minutes
Scripture: Matthew 5:1–12
Bible story: The Beatitudes

What you need

The printed mountain card, blessing wheel and verse card template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
One paper fastener (brad) per child
Crayons or markers in light blue, green, light brown, yellow, orange, red, purple and pink
Scissors, a glue stick and a sharp pencil (for the grown-up to poke the brad holes)
The printed sun page (page 3), one per child (harder level)

Steps

On the mountain card, color the sky light blue, the mountain green, the path light brown and the ring around the window yellow. On the wheel, color each part a different color, picture and all. The crown next to the teardrop is yellow, the teardrop light blue, the earth green, the bowl orange, the heart red, the eye purple, the dove pink, and the crown next to the dove light brown.
Cut out the mountain card, the wheel and the verse card on the dashed lines. A grown-up snips a small starting cut in the window, and the child cuts around the dashed circle to open it. Help younger children with the cutting.
Turn the mountain card face down. Put glue on the back of the verse card and press it on the back of the card behind the path, on the end the wheel does not cover. The verse faces out.
A grown-up pokes a hole with a sharp pencil at the dot on the card and at the dot in the middle of the wheel. Put the wheel behind the card, dot on dot, push the brad through both holes from the front and open its legs on the back.
Turn the wheel until the yellow crown shows in the window. Read Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Then push the edge of the wheel up a little to show the next picture, and read the next blessing, all the way to the second crown (5:10). Turn the card over and read Matthew 5:9 together.

This Beatitudes craft turns one printed page into the mountain where Jesus sat down and taught (Matthew 5:1–2). Kids turn a wheel behind a round window to show eight pictures, one for each blessing in Matthew 5:3–10: a crown for the poor in spirit, a dove for the peacemakers, and more. Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God," goes on the back. It costs under 50 cents a child, takes about 20 minutes and comes in three levels, from preschool to 5th grade.

The finished craft, easy and medium level

The finished craft, harder level

What it looks like finished: easy and medium (first photo) and harder (second photo).

Why this craft works

Cheap and simple: one printed page, one brad, crayons, scissors and a glue stick.
Kids turn through every blessing: each push of the wheel brings the next picture into the window, so the class reads the Beatitudes in order, Matthew 5:3 to 5:10, with a plain meaning for each one.
It keeps the Bible's details: Jesus went up into a mountain and sat down to teach (5:1). The two crowns show that the first and the eighth blessings both end "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (5:3, 5:10). No people are drawn. The verse card on the back has Matthew 5:9 (KJV).

Three ways to make it

Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces and open the window. Kids color, and you glue on the verse card and put the wheel on with a brad. No scissors.
Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, cut out the pieces and the window, glue the verse card on the back, and a grown-up helps with the brad.
Harder (grades 3–5): kids add a sun from page 3 for the ninth blessing (Matthew 5:11–12) and read each picture's verse in their own Bibles. Then they say the memory verse from memory.

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask what Jesus did when He saw the multitudes (Matthew 5:1) and what "when he was set" means. Turn the wheel to the earth and ask what the meek shall inherit (5:5), then to the dove and ask what the peacemakers shall be called (5:9). Point to the two crowns and ask why there are two (5:3, 5:10).

Tips for the classroom

Print page 2 on cardstock if you can, so the wheel turns smoothly behind the card. A grown-up should poke the brad holes with a sharp pencil. For preschoolers, cut out the pieces and open the windows ahead of time, so all they do is color, turn the wheel and tell the story. The teacher pages include every blessing word for word from the King James Bible with a plain meaning for kids.

Teaching the story first? Use the free Beatitudes Sunday school lesson and the Beatitudes word search.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Beatitudes craft for preschoolers?

Before class, cut out each child's mountain card, wheel and verse card, and cut the window open. Preschoolers color the sky, the mountain and the wheel. Then you glue the verse card on the back and put the wheel on with a brad, and the child turns the wheel to see the pictures. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this Beatitudes craft cost?

Under 50 cents a child: one printed page (cardstock is best), one paper fastener (brad), a little glue and crayons you already have. The template is free to print.

What Bible verse goes with a Beatitudes craft?

Matthew 5:9 (KJV), "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." It is printed on the verse card that kids glue on the back. The wheel's eight pictures go with Matthew 5:3–10.

How can older kids make this Beatitudes craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids cut out the window themselves, add a sun from page 3 to the sky for the ninth blessing, "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:12), and find each picture's verse in their own Bibles. Then they say Matthew 5:9 from memory.