Craft

Nehemiah Sunday School Craft for Kids

A Nehemiah Sunday school craft for kids in three levels, a city wall card where kids glue new stones into the broken wall. Free printable template.

Preschool–Grade 5

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⬇ Craft template + instructions (PDF) · 6 pages

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: Nehemiah 1–6
Bible story: Nehemiah Rebuilds the Wall

What you need

The printed wall card, 5 new stones and verse card template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
Crayons or markers in light blue, yellow, orange, light brown, dark brown, green and gray
Scissors and a glue stick
The printed fox and trumpet page (page 3), one per child (harder level)

Steps

On the wall card, color the sky light blue, the sun yellow, the houses orange, the wall light brown, the gate dark brown and the ground green. Leave the five dotted empty spots in the wall white. Color the 5 new stones gray.
Cut out the wall card, the 5 new stones and the verse card on the dashed lines. Help younger children with the cutting.
Turn the wall card face down. Put glue on the back of the verse card and press it on the back of the wall card. The verse faces out.
Turn the wall card face up. Put glue on the back of each gray stone and press it over one dotted empty spot, until all five spots are filled and the wall has no gaps.
Tell the story with the card. The wall of Jerusalem "is broken down" (Nehemiah 1:3), so Nehemiah prayed (1:4) and the people said, "Let us rise up and build" (2:18). Each stone you glued closes a gap in the wall. The wall "was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days" (6:15). Turn the card over and read Nehemiah 6:3 together.

This Nehemiah Sunday school craft turns one printed page into the wall of Jerusalem, which "is broken down" (Nehemiah 1:3). Kids glue five new stones into the empty spots until the wall has no gaps, just as the people said, "Let us rise up and build" (2:18) and finished the wall "in fifty and two days" (6:15). Nehemiah 6:3 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 do the building: every stone a child glues in closes a gap, a picture of how "the people had a mind to work" (Nehemiah 4:6) and built the wall together.
It keeps the Bible's details: a broken wall and a burned gate (1:3), new stones until "there was no breach left therein" (6:1), and a wall finished in 52 days (6:15). For older kids, a fox for Tobiah's mocking (4:3) and a trumpet for "our God shall fight for us" (4:20). No people are drawn. The verse card on the back has Nehemiah 6:3 (KJV).

Three ways to make it

Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces and glue the verse card on. Kids color, and you help them glue the stones into the wall. No scissors.
Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, cut out the pieces, glue the verse card on the back and glue the 5 new stones into the wall.
Harder (grades 3–5): kids add a fox standing on top of the wall and a trumpet on the gate tower from page 3. Then they say the memory verse from memory.

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask what news Nehemiah heard about Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:3) and what he did first (1:4). Then glue in the last stone and ask how long it took to finish the wall (6:15). For the harder level, point to the fox and ask what Tobiah said about it (4:3), and whether the wall fell.

Tips for the classroom

Print page 2 on cardstock if you can, so the card stays flat under the glued stones. Cover the whole back of each stone with glue. For preschoolers, cut out the pieces and glue the verse card on ahead of time, so all they do is color, glue and tell the story.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Nehemiah craft for preschoolers?

Before class, cut out each child's wall card and five stones, and glue the verse card on the back. Preschoolers color the sky, the houses and the wall, then put glue on the gray stones and press one into each empty spot to rebuild the wall. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this Nehemiah craft cost?

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

What Bible verse goes with a Nehemiah craft?

Nehemiah 6:3 (KJV), "And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" It is printed on the verse card that kids glue on the back.

How can older kids make this Nehemiah craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids also color and cut out a fox and a trumpet from page 3. The fox stands on top of the finished wall, because Tobiah mocked that a fox would break it down (Nehemiah 4:3), and the trumpet goes on the gate tower, because Nehemiah said, "our God shall fight for us" (4:20). Then they say Nehemiah 6:3 from memory.