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Palm Sunday Craft for Kids

An easy Palm Sunday craft for kids in three levels, a paper road into Jerusalem with garments, branches, palm branches and the colt. Free printable template.

Preschool–Grade 5

Palm Sunday 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
Matthew 21:1–11; John 12:12–15
Bible story
The Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday)

What you need

  • The printed road template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
  • 1 sheet of light blue construction paper per child (9 by 12 inches)
  • Crayons or markers in brown, gray, red, blue, purple and green
  • Scissors and a glue stick
  • The printed gate doors page (page 3), one per child (harder level)

Steps

  1. Color the road brown, all the way up into the gateway, and color the wall gray. Color the ass and the colt gray, the clothes on the ass red and the clothes on the colt blue. Color the three garments red, blue and purple. Color the two palm branches and the two branches from the trees green.
  2. Cut out the road, the ass and colt card, the three garments, the four branches and the verse strip on the dashed lines. Help younger children with the cutting.
  3. Hold the light blue paper the tall way. Glue the road in the middle, with the city gate near the top.
  4. Spread the garments and the branches from the trees on the road, going up toward the gate: the purple garment at the bottom, a branch, the blue garment, a branch, and the red garment near the gate (Matthew 21:8).
  5. Glue the ass and colt card at the bottom of the paper, just below the road.
  6. Glue one palm branch standing up on each side of the road, stem down (John 12:13).
  7. Glue the verse strip on the back and read it together. Then say "Hosanna!" together.

This Palm Sunday craft turns one printed page into the road into Jerusalem from Matthew 21:1–11. Kids spread garments and branches on the road (Matthew 21:8), stand palm branches beside it (John 12:13) and glue the ass and the colt with clothes on them at the bottom (21:7), all leading up to the city gate. The memory verse, "Hosanna to the Son of David" (Matthew 21:9), 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, one sheet of construction paper and crayons.
  • It follows the Bible closely: the garments and branches from the trees come from Matthew 21:8, the palm branches from John 12:13, and the ass and the colt with clothes on them from Matthew 21:2–7.
  • It points to the King: no one is drawn on the road. Kids tell you who rode on the colt and what the people shouted.
  • It carries the verse home: the template includes Matthew 21:9 (KJV) on a strip to glue on the back.

Three ways to make it

  • Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces. Kids color and glue the road scene with your help. No scissors.
  • Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, cut out the pieces and glue the road, garments, branches and the ass and colt.
  • Harder (grades 3–5): kids add gate doors from page 3 that open to show "Who is this? ... This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee" (Matthew 21:10–11), and glue Zechariah 9:9 on the back to see the prophecy Jesus fulfilled (Matthew 21:4–5).

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask what Jesus told the two disciples to bring (Matthew 21:2), what the people spread on the road (21:8), what they took when they went out to meet Him (John 12:13) and what they shouted (Matthew 21:9). Then say "Hosanna!" together.

Tips for the classroom

For preschoolers, cut out the pieces ahead of time so all they do is color and glue. The KJV calls the animals "an ass" and "a colt the foal of an ass" (Matthew 21:5); an ass is the animal we call a donkey today. Jesus is not drawn on the template; the road is waiting for the King.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Palm Sunday craft for preschoolers?

Cut out each child's pieces ahead of time. Preschoolers color the road, the garments and the branches, then glue them on light blue paper with your help: the road in the middle, the garments and branches on the road, the ass and colt at the bottom. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this Palm Sunday craft cost?

Under 50 cents a child: one printed page, one sheet of construction paper and crayons you already have. The template is free to print.

What Bible verse goes with a Palm Sunday craft?

Matthew 21:9 (KJV), "And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." It is printed on the verse strip that kids glue on the back.

How can older kids make this Palm Sunday craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids add gate doors from page 3 that open to show the city's question, "Who is this?", and the crowd's answer (Matthew 21:10–11), and glue Zechariah 9:9 on the back to see the prophecy Jesus fulfilled (Matthew 21:4–5).

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