VBS HQ
Menu
Craft

Jacob and Esau Craft for Kids

An easy Jacob and Esau craft for kids in three levels, a stand-up tent with the red pottage inside and Jacob's present of animals. Free printable template.

Preschool–Grade 5

Jacob and Esau Craft for Kids
📌 Save to Pinterest

Download

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
Genesis 25:19–34; Genesis 27; Genesis 32–33
Bible story
Jacob and Esau

What you need

  • The printed tent, pottage picture and verse card template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
  • Crayons or markers in brown, tan, red and light brown
  • Scissors and a glue stick
  • The printed animals page (page 3), one per child (harder level)

Steps

  1. Color the bands on both halves of the tent brown and tan, every other band. On the pottage picture, color the pottage red (Genesis 25:30), the bowl brown and the bread light brown.Color the bands on both halves of the tent brown and tan, every other band. On the pottage picture, color the pottage red (Genesis 25:30), the bowl brown and the bread light brown.
  2. Cut out the tent, the pottage picture and the verse card on the dashed lines. Then cut up the short dashed line in the middle of the tent's bottom half to make the door. Help younger children with the cutting.
  3. Fold the tent in half on the dotted line across the middle, colors on the outside, and stand it up like a tent. Fold the two door flaps back on their dotted lines.
  4. Glue the pottage picture inside the tent, on the back wall, so you can see it through the open door (Genesis 25:29–34).
  5. Turn the tent around and glue the verse card on the outside of the back wall. Read it together.
  6. Tell the story with the tent. Jacob was "a plain man, dwelling in tents" (Genesis 25:27), and Esau sold his birthright for bread and red pottage (25:30–34). Later Jacob lied to his father to get the blessing (27:19), and years later Esau ran to meet him and embraced him (33:4).Tell the story with the tent. Jacob was "a plain man, dwelling in tents" (Genesis 25:27), and Esau sold his birthright for bread and red pottage (25:30–34). Later Jacob lied to his father to get the blessing (27:19), and years later Esau ran to meet him and embraced him (33:4).

This Jacob and Esau craft turns one printed page into a paper tent that stands up, because Jacob was "a plain man, dwelling in tents" (Genesis 25:27). Kids fold back the door flaps and glue a picture of red pottage and bread inside, the meal Esau sold his birthright for (Genesis 25:30–34), then tell the story: Jacob's lie to his father, and years later Esau running to meet him (Genesis 33:4). The memory verse 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 stands up: a real tent shape with a door that opens, so kids want to keep it and tell the story at home.
  • It keeps the Bible's details: red pottage of lentils with bread (Genesis 25:30, 25:34), and for older kids a goat, a ewe and a camel from the present Jacob sent ahead to Esau, with a space between each drove (32:14–16). No people are drawn. The verse card on the back has Ephesians 4:32 (KJV).

Three ways to make it

  • Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out and fold the tent. Kids color it, then glue the pottage picture inside and the verse card on the back. No scissors.
  • Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, cut out the pieces, cut the door, fold the tent and glue the pottage picture inside.
  • Harder (grades 3–5): kids add Jacob's present from page 3: a she goat, a ewe and a camel that stand in a line in front of the tent. Then they say the memory verse from memory.

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask which brother stayed home by the tents (Genesis 25:27) and what Esau sold for the red pottage (25:33–34). Then ask whether it was right for Jacob to say, "I am Esau thy firstborn" (27:19), and what Esau did when he saw Jacob again: he "ran to meet him, and embraced him" (33:4).

Tips for the classroom

Print page 2 on cardstock if you can, so the tent stands well. For preschoolers, cut out and fold the tent ahead of time, so all they do is color and glue.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Jacob and Esau craft for preschoolers?

Before class, cut out each child's tent, pottage picture and verse card, cut the door slit and fold the tent. Preschoolers color the tent and the pottage picture, then you help them glue the picture inside the tent and the verse card on the back. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this Jacob and Esau 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.

What Bible verse goes with a Jacob and Esau craft?

Ephesians 4:32 (KJV), "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." It is printed on the verse card that kids glue on the back of the tent.

How can older kids make this Jacob and Esau craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids also color and cut out a she goat, a ewe and a camel from page 3, fold their tabs so they stand, and line them up in front of the tent with a space between each one, like the present Jacob sent ahead to Esau (Genesis 32:13–16). Then they say Ephesians 4:32 from memory.

More for this Bible story