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Manna and Quail Craft for Kids

An easy manna and quail craft for kids in three levels, a camp card with seven lift-up dew flaps that show each morning's manna. Free printable template.

Preschool–Grade 5

Manna and Quail 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
Exodus 16
Bible story
Manna and Quail

What you need

  • The printed camp card, dew strip and verse card template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
  • Crayons or markers in brown, tan, light blue and yellow
  • Scissors and a glue stick
  • The printed pot of manna page (page 3), one per child (harder level)

Steps

  1. On the camp card, color the tents and the quails brown and all the ground tan. Leave the manna piles white (Exodus 16:31). Color the whole dew strip light blue, for the dew (16:13–14).On the camp card, color the tents and the quails brown and all the ground tan. Leave the manna piles white (Exodus 16:31). Color the whole dew strip light blue, for the dew (16:13–14).
  2. Cut out the camp card, the dew strip and the verse card on the dashed lines. Then cut the six dashed slits on the dew strip, from the bottom edge up to the dotted line, to make seven flaps. Help younger children with the cutting.
  3. Put glue on the back of the dew strip's top band only, above its dotted line. Press it onto the camp card with its top edge on the camp card's dotted line, so the seven flaps cover the seven mornings. The marks on each flap match the marks under it.
  4. Fold each flap up on the dotted line and let it fall back down, so the flaps lift easily.
  5. Turn the card over and glue the verse card on the back. Read it together.
  6. Tell the story with the card. At even the quails came up and covered the camp (Exodus 16:13). Lift the flaps one at a time. Mornings 1 to 5 show one pile, an omer for every man (16:16). Morning 6 shows two piles, twice as much (16:22). Morning 7 shows none, because on the seventh day "there shall be none" (16:26).Tell the story with the card. At even the quails came up and covered the camp (Exodus 16:13). Lift the flaps one at a time. Mornings 1 to 5 show one pile, an omer for every man (16:16). Morning 6 shows two piles, twice as much (16:22). Morning 7 shows none, because on the seventh day "there shall be none" (16:26).

This manna and quail craft turns one printed page into a camp card with seven lift-up flaps of dew. At the top, quails cover the camp, because "at even the quails came up, and covered the camp" (Exodus 16:13). Kids lift each morning's flap to find the manna: one pile for days one to five, an omer for every man (16:16), two piles on the sixth day (16:22), and none on the seventh (16:26). 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.
  • Kids lift and count: seven flaps for seven mornings teach the Bible's own pattern: gather every day, twice as much on the sixth day, none on the seventh.
  • It keeps the Bible's details: the quails at even (Exodus 16:13), the dew, and the manna drawn as small white rounds, "like coriander seed, white" (16:31). For older kids, the pot of manna Aaron kept (16:33). No people are drawn. The verse card on the back has Philippians 4:19 (KJV).

Three ways to make it

  • Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces and glue the dew strip on. Kids color, glue the verse card on the back and count the piles under the flaps. No scissors.
  • Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, cut out the pieces, cut the slits and glue the dew strip on.
  • Harder (grades 3–5): kids add the pot of manna from page 3, which stands beside the card. Then they say the memory verse from memory.

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask what covered the camp in the evening (Exodus 16:13) and what lay on the ground when the dew was gone (16:14–15). Then lift flap 6 and ask why there are two piles (16:22), and lift flap 7 and ask why there is none (16:26).

Tips for the classroom

Print page 2 on cardstock if you can, so the flaps lift well. Glue only the top band of the dew strip. For preschoolers, cut out the pieces and glue the strip on ahead of time, so all they do is color, glue and count.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple manna craft for preschoolers?

Before class, cut out each child's camp card, dew strip and verse card, cut the six slits and glue the dew strip on. Preschoolers color the tents, quails and ground, color the flaps light blue and glue the verse card on the back. Then they lift each flap and count the piles of manna. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this manna and quail 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 manna craft?

Philippians 4:19 (KJV), "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." It is printed on the verse card that kids glue on the back of the camp card.

How can older kids make this manna craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids also color and cut out the pot of manna from page 3, fold its tab back and stand it beside the camp card, because Aaron put an omer of manna in a pot to be kept (Exodus 16:33). Then they say Philippians 4:19 from memory.

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