Craft

Nicodemus Crafts for Kids

An easy Nicodemus craft for kids in three levels, a paper windsock with streamers for John 3:8, a night window and a heart for John 3:16. Free printable template.

Preschool–Grade 5

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⬇ Craft template + instructions (PDF) · 5 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: John 3:1–21
Bible story: Jesus and Nicodemus

What you need

The printed template (page 2), one per child (plain printer paper rolls into a tube most easily)
Crayons or markers in dark blue, red, blue, light blue and yellow, plus any colors for drawing Nicodemus
Scissors, a glue stick and clear tape
A 12-inch piece of yarn for the handle, one per child
The printed world page (page 3), one per child, a green crayon and an 8-inch piece of yarn (harder level)

Steps

Color the windsock: the sky dark blue (the curly wind lines stay black on top), the heart red and the water along the bottom blue. Leave the oval window white. Color the streamers, every other one light blue and yellow.
In the window, draw Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night (John 3:2).
Cut out the windsock, the 6 streamers and the verse strip on the dashed lines. Help younger children with the cutting.
Turn the windsock over. Glue the glue end of each streamer on the back, along the bottom edge behind the water, spaced out, so the streamers hang down below the windsock.
Roll the windsock into a tube with the picture on the outside. Put glue on the glue tab and press the other end over it. Add a piece of tape to hold it.
Tape both ends of the 12-inch yarn inside the top edge, on opposite sides, for a handle.
Glue the verse strip on the back of the windsock, over the seam, and read it together.
Tell it: hold the windsock up and blow on it, or walk with it. Jesus said, "The wind bloweth where it listeth" (John 3:8). You can't see the wind, but you can see the streamers move. Point to the heart and say, "For God so loved the world" (John 3:16).

This Nicodemus craft turns one printed page into a paper windsock for John 3. Nicodemus "came to Jesus by night" (John 3:2), and Jesus told him, "Ye must be born again" (3:7) and said, "The wind bloweth where it listeth" (3:8). Kids draw Nicodemus in a night window, then blow on the streamers to see the wind they can't see. A red heart stands for "For God so loved the world" (3:16), and the memory verse is 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, glue, tape and a piece of yarn.
Kids feel the lesson: they can't see the wind, but they see the streamers move, the picture Jesus gave Nicodemus: "so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).
It tells the story: a dark blue night sky, because Nicodemus came to Jesus by night (3:2), and water along the bottom for "born of water and of the Spirit" (3:5).
Every child draws Nicodemus: in the oval window. Jesus is not drawn; the heart stands for John 3:16.
It carries the verse home: John 3:16 (KJV) is glued on the back of the windsock.

Three ways to make it

Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces, glue on the streamers and roll the tube. Kids color, draw Nicodemus and blow on the streamers. No scissors.
Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, draw Nicodemus, cut out the pieces, glue on the streamers and roll the tube.
Harder (grades 3–5): the craft in the second photo. Kids also make a paper world from page 3 and hang it on yarn through the middle of the windsock: "For God so loved the world" (John 3:16).

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask who Nicodemus was (John 3:1), when he came to Jesus (3:2), what Jesus told him (3:7), what Jesus said we must be born of (3:5), what Jesus said about the wind (3:8) and who God loves (3:16). Then read John 3:16 together.

Tips for the classroom

For preschoolers, cut out the pieces and do the rolling and taping ahead of time, so all they do is color, draw and blow. Plain printer paper rolls into a tube more easily than cardstock.

Teaching the story first? Use the free Jesus and Nicodemus Bible lesson and the Jesus and Nicodemus word search.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Nicodemus craft for preschoolers?

Cut out each child's windsock, streamers and verse strip ahead of time. Preschoolers color the pieces and draw Nicodemus in the window. You glue on the streamers, roll the tube and tape on the yarn handle. Then they blow on the streamers to watch the wind move them. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this Nicodemus craft cost?

Under 50 cents a child: one printed page, a little glue and tape, a piece of yarn and crayons you already have. The template is free to print. The harder level adds a second page and a little more yarn.

What Bible verse goes with this Nicodemus craft?

John 3:16 (KJV), "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." It is printed on the verse strip that kids glue on the back of the windsock.

How can older kids make this craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids also make a paper world from page 3, two circles glued together on a piece of yarn, and hang it down through the middle of the windsock, for "God so loved the world" (John 3:16).