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Jesus Restores Peter Craft for Kids

An easy Jesus Restores Peter craft for kids in three levels, a sea card where an empty net lifts to show the net full of great fishes (John 21). Free template.

Preschool–Grade 5

Jesus Restores Peter 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 21:1–19
Bible story
Jesus Restores Peter

What you need

  • The printed template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
  • Crayons or markers in light blue, yellow, blue, tan, brown, gray and red, plus any colors for the drawing
  • Scissors and a glue stick
  • The printed harder page (page 3), one per child, plus a green crayon (harder level)

Steps

  1. Color the sky light blue, the morning sun yellow, the sea blue and the shore tan.Color the sky light blue, the morning sun yellow, the sea blue and the shore tan.
  2. Color the ship and its mast brown, and leave the rolled sail white. Color the great fishes in the net gray and the net's top rope brown.
  3. On the shore, color the fire of coals red, the fish on the coals gray and the two loaves of bread brown. Color the window frame brown.
  4. In the oval window, draw Peter on the shore.
  5. On the net flap, leave the empty net white and color its top rope brown.
  6. Cut out the card, the net flap and the verse strip on the dashed lines.
  7. Fold the net flap's tab back on the dotted line. Glue only the tab on the top edge of the full net, right beside the ship, so the empty net covers the full net and lifts up.
  8. Glue the verse strip on the back of the card. Read it together.
  9. Tell it: "that night they caught nothing" (John 21:3). Jesus said, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship" (21:6). Lift the flap: the net is full of great fishes (21:11)! Point to the fire: "Come and dine" (21:12). Then read the verse on the back: "lovest thou me?" (21:15).Tell it: "that night they caught nothing" (John 21:3). Jesus said, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship" (21:6). Lift the flap: the net is full of great fishes (21:11)! Point to the fire: "Come and dine" (21:12). Then read the verse on the back: "lovest thou me?" (21:15).

This Jesus Restores Peter craft turns one printed page into a sea card with a net that lifts. Peter and the other disciples fished all night and caught nothing, but Jesus said, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship," and the net was full of great fishes (John 21:3–11). Kids lift the empty net to find the full one, draw Peter on the shore by the fire of coals, and read the question Jesus asked him: "lovest thou me?" (John 21:15).

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, a glue stick, crayons and scissors.
  • The miracle in one lift: the empty net for "that night they caught nothing" (John 21:3), and the full net underneath for "full of great fishes" (21:11).
  • Kids put Peter in it: each child draws Peter on the shore by the fire of coals with fish and bread (21:9). No other person is printed, and Jesus is never drawn.
  • It carries the verse home: John 21:15 (KJV), the memory verse for the whole Jesus Restores Peter set, is glued on the back of the card.

Three ways to make it

  • Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces and glue the net flap on. Kids color and draw Peter in the window. No scissors.
  • Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, draw, cut out the pieces and glue the net flap by its tab.
  • Harder (grades 3–5): the craft in the second photo. Kids add a pasture strip from page 3 with a lamb, two sheep and three hearts, for "Feed my lambs" and "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15–17).

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask what the disciples caught all night (John 21:3), which side to cast the net on (21:6), how many great fishes were in the net (21:11), what was on the fire of coals (21:9), what Jesus asked Peter three times (21:15–17) and what He said at the end (21:19). Then read John 21:15 together.

Tips for the classroom

For preschoolers, cut out the pieces and glue the net flap on ahead of time, so all they do is color, draw and lift the net. Cardstock makes the flap last longest.

Teaching the story first? Use the free Jesus Restores Peter lesson and the word search.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Jesus Restores Peter craft for preschoolers?

Cut out each child's card, net flap and verse strip ahead of time. Preschoolers color the sea, the ship and the fishes and draw Peter in the window. Glue the net flap on for them by its tab, so it lifts up. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this Jesus Restores Peter craft cost?

Under 50 cents a child: one printed page, a glue stick 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?

John 21:15 (KJV), "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs." It is the memory verse for the whole Jesus Restores Peter set, printed on the verse strip that kids glue on the back.

How can older kids make this craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids add a pasture strip from page 3 that hangs below the card, with a lamb, two sheep and three hearts, for the three times Jesus asked "lovest thou me?" and said "Feed my lambs" and "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15–17).

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