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Doubting Thomas Craft for Kids

An easy Doubting Thomas craft for kids in three levels, a pop-up card with a shut door on the front and a heart that stands up inside. Free printable template.

Preschool–Grade 5

Doubting Thomas Craft for Kids
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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
John 20:19–31
Bible story
Thomas Sees Jesus

What you need

  • The printed pop-up card, front door, heart and verse card template (page 2), one per child (cardstock works best)
  • Crayons or markers in brown, light gray, light blue and red
  • Scissors and a glue stick
  • The printed book pages and book cover page (page 3), one per child (harder level), and a dark blue crayon

Steps

  1. Color the inside of the card: the door brown and the window light blue. Color the front door piece: the door brown and the frame around it light gray. Color the heart red.Color the inside of the card: the door brown and the window light blue. Color the front door piece: the door brown and the frame around it light gray. Color the heart red.
  2. Cut out the card, the front door, the heart and the verse card on the dashed lines.Cut out the card, the front door, the heart and the verse card on the dashed lines.
  3. Fold the card in half on the long dotted line across the middle, with the drawings on the outside. Cut the two short solid lines through both layers, starting at the fold.
  4. Fold the flap between the two cuts forward and back on its dotted line, and press hard. Open the card, fold it the other way so the drawings are inside, and push the flap to the inside as you close it. Press it shut. When you open the card, a little step pops up.
  5. Glue the bottom of the heart on the front of the step (the gray glue spot), point down, so the heart stands up in front of the wall.
  6. Close the card. Glue the front door on the front and the verse card on the back. The door is shut, just like the doors in John 20:26. Open the card, and the heart stands up, because Thomas believed and said, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).Close the card. Glue the front door on the front and the verse card on the back. The door is shut, just like the doors in John 20:26. Open the card, and the heart stands up, because Thomas believed and said, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).

This Doubting Thomas craft turns one printed page into a pop-up card: a shut door on the front, and a red heart that stands up when you open it. The disciples were behind shut doors, but Jesus "came and stood in the midst," and when Thomas saw Him he said, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:26–28). The memory verse, John 20:29, 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, crayons, scissors and a glue stick.
  • It shows what the Bible says: the doors were shut both times Jesus came (John 20:19, 26), and Thomas believed (20:28). The craft shows a shut door and a heart for believing: no people, and Jesus is not drawn.
  • It carries the verse home: the verse card on the back has John 20:29 (KJV), "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Every time kids open the card, they remember that we can believe in Jesus too.

Three ways to make it

  • Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces and pop up the step. Kids color and help glue the heart, the door and the verse card. No scissors.
  • Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, cut out the pieces, cut two short lines with help, pop up the step and glue on the heart, the front door and the verse card.
  • Harder (grades 3–5): kids add a little book from page 3, with John 20:31 inside, glued on the floor of the card in front of the heart. Then they say the memory verse from memory.

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask why the doors were shut (John 20:19), what Thomas said he needed before he would believe (20:25), and what Thomas said when he saw Jesus (20:28). Jesus said, "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (20:29).

Tips for the classroom

Print page 2 on cardstock if you can, so the pop-up step stands up well. Make one card before class so you can show the kids how the step pops up, and crease the flap hard both ways.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Doubting Thomas craft for preschoolers?

Before class, cut out each child's card, front door, heart and verse card, cut the two short lines and pop up the step. Preschoolers color the doors and the heart, and you help them glue the heart on the step and the door on the front. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this Doubting Thomas craft cost?

Under 50 cents a child: one printed page (cardstock is best), and crayons and a glue stick you already have. The template is free to print. The harder level adds one more printed page.

What Bible verse goes with a Doubting Thomas craft?

John 20:29 (KJV), "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." It is printed on the verse card on the back of the card. The harder level adds a little book with John 20:31 inside.

How can older kids make this Doubting Thomas craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids fold a little book from page 3 with John 20:31 inside, "these are written, that ye might believe," and glue it on the floor of the card in front of the heart. Then they say John 20:29 from memory.

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