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Handwriting on the Wall Craft for Kids

A handwriting on the wall craft for kids in three levels, a palace wall card with a balance that tips, "weighed in the balances" (Daniel 5). Free printable.

Preschool–Grade 5

Handwriting on the Wall 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
Daniel 5:1–31
Bible story
The Handwriting on the Wall

What you need

  • The printed template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
  • 1 brass paper fastener (brad) per child
  • Crayons or markers in gray, brown and orange (and yellow for the harder level)
  • Scissors, a glue stick and a sharp pencil (for poking the brad hole)
  • The printed golden vessels page (page 3), one per child (harder level)

Steps

  1. Color the card: leave the wall white (plaister is a smooth white plaster), color the floor gray, the candlestick brown, its flame orange, and the balance post brown. Leave the writing marks as they are.Color the card: leave the wall white (plaister is a smooth white plaster), color the floor gray, the candlestick brown, its flame orange, and the balance post brown. Leave the writing marks as they are.
  2. Color the whole balance beam piece gray: the beam, the chains and the two pans.
  3. Cut out the card, the balance beam and the verse strip on the dashed lines. Help younger children with the cutting.
  4. Lay the dot in the middle of the beam on top of the dot at the top of the post. A grown-up pokes a small hole through both dots with a sharp pencil. Push the brad through from the front and open its legs flat on the back.
  5. Turn the card over. Glue the verse strip on the back, below the brad, and read it together.
  6. Tell it: point to the writing and say the four words, "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN" (Daniel 5:25). Then tip the beam so one pan goes up high as you say, "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting" (5:27).Tell it: point to the writing and say the four words, "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN" (Daniel 5:25). Then tip the beam so one pan goes up high as you say, "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting" (5:27).

This handwriting on the wall craft turns one printed page into the palace wall where King Belshazzar saw the writing. At his feast the king drank from the golden vessels of God's house, and "in the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall" (Daniel 5:5). Daniel read it: "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting" (5:27). Kids color the wall card and fasten a balance with a brad so it tips up and down. It comes in three levels, with the template and teacher notes in one free PDF.

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, glue, crayons and scissors.
  • Kids can tell the story with it: point to the writing, say "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN" (Daniel 5:25), and tip the balance for "weighed in the balances" (5:27).
  • It follows the Bible closely: the candlestick, the plaister wall, the writing and the golden vessels all come from Daniel 5:3–5, and the balance comes from Daniel's words in 5:27.
  • It teaches humility: the king knew what God had done, but he "hast not humbled thine heart" (5:22).
  • It carries the verse home: Daniel 5:27 (KJV) is glued on the back of the card.

Three ways to make it

  • Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces and fasten the balance. Kids color and tip it. No scissors.
  • Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color and cut out the pieces, and a grown-up pokes the brad hole.
  • Harder (grades 3–5): the craft in the second photo. Kids also add a strip of golden vessels from page 3, because the king "brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God" (Daniel 5:3).

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask how many lords came to the feast (Daniel 5:1), where the golden vessels came from (5:3), where the fingers wrote (5:5), who could read the writing (5:8, 5:17), what the king had not done (5:22) and what TEKEL meant (5:27). Then read Daniel 5:27 together.

Tips for the classroom

Cardstock keeps the card stiff so the balance tips smoothly on its brad. For preschoolers, cut out the pieces and fasten the brads ahead of time. The writing is drawn as plain marks; the real words are in Daniel 5:25, so say them out loud together.

Teaching the story first? Use the free handwriting on the wall lesson and the word search.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple handwriting on the wall craft for preschoolers?

Cut out each child's card, balance beam and verse strip ahead of time and attach the beam with a brad yourself. Preschoolers color the floor, the candlestick, the post and the beam, then tip the balance up and down. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this handwriting on the wall craft cost?

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

What Bible verse goes with this craft?

Daniel 5:27 (KJV): "TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." It is printed on the verse strip that goes on the back of the card.

How can older kids make this craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids also color and cut out a strip of golden vessels from page 3 and glue it on the card, because the king "brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God" and drank in them (Daniel 5:3).

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