Craft

Rehoboam Craft for Kids

An easy Rehoboam craft for kids in three levels. Open the light yoke and heavy yoke doors to find the old men and the young men (1 Kings 12). Free printable.

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: 1 Kings 12:1–20
Bible story: Rehoboam and the Divided Kingdom

What you need

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

Steps

Color the card: the top strip light blue (the sky) and the bottom strip brown (the ground). Leave the two ovals white.
In the left oval, draw the old men who gave Rehoboam wise counsel (1 Kings 12:6–7). In the right oval, draw the young men that were grown up with him (12:8).
Color the light yoke door yellow with a light brown yoke, and the heavy yoke door gray with a dark brown yoke. Cut out the card, the two doors and the verse strip on the dashed lines. Help younger children with the cutting.
Bend each door's tab on the dotted line. Glue the light yoke door's tab on the dotted box at the left edge of the card, and the heavy yoke door's tab on the dotted box at the right edge, so the two doors close over the ovals and meet in the middle.
Turn the card over. Glue the verse strip on the back and read it together.
Tell it: the people asked the new king to make their "heavy yoke" lighter (1 Kings 12:4). Open the light yoke door: the old men said, "speak good words to them" (12:7). Open the heavy yoke door: the young men said, "I will add to your yoke" (12:11). Rehoboam forsook the old men's counsel and answered the people roughly (12:13–14).

This Rehoboam craft turns one printed page into the choice King Rehoboam faced at Shechem. The people asked him to make his father's "heavy yoke" lighter (1 Kings 12:4). The old men told him to "speak good words to them" (12:7), but the young men told him to say, "I will add to your yoke" (12:11). Kids draw the old men and the young men, then glue a light yoke door and a heavy yoke door over them that open like gates. Rehoboam forsook the old men's counsel, and Israel "departed unto their tents" (12:16). It comes in three levels, with the template and teacher notes in one free PDF.

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, glue, crayons and scissors.
Kids can tell the story with it: point to the heavy yoke, then open each door to find who gave which counsel.
It follows the Bible closely: the heavy yoke (1 Kings 12:4), the old men's counsel (12:7), the young men's counsel (12:10–11) and the tents (12:16) all come from the text.
It points to God's way: the old men's counsel, to serve the people and speak good words, is the way of Jesus, who "came not to be ministered unto, but to minister" (Mark 10:45).
It carries the verse home: 1 Kings 12:7 (KJV) is glued on the back of the card.

Three ways to make it

Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces. Kids color and draw, and you help them glue the two doors. No scissors.
Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, draw, cut out and glue the pieces themselves.
Harder (grades 3–5): the craft in the second photo. Kids also cut out four tents from page 3 and glue them on the ground, because "Israel departed unto their tents" (1 Kings 12:16).

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask where Israel came to make Rehoboam king (1 Kings 12:1), what the people asked for (12:4), what the old men said (12:7), what the young men said (12:11), how the king answered (12:13), and where Israel went (12:16). Then read 1 Kings 12:7 together.

Tips for the classroom

Cardstock keeps the doors sturdy for lots of opening. For preschoolers, cut out the pieces ahead of time and help with the glue. The craft shows Rehoboam's choice between two kinds of counsel; the lesson tells the rest of the story.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Rehoboam craft for preschoolers?

Cut out each child's card, two doors and verse strip ahead of time. Preschoolers color the pieces and draw people in the two ovals. You help them glue each door's tab at the side of the card. Then they open the light yoke door ("speak good words") and the heavy yoke door. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this Rehoboam craft cost?

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

1 Kings 12:7 (KJV): "And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever." It is printed on the verse strip that goes on the back of the card.

How can older kids make this craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids also cut out four tents from page 3 and glue them on the ground under the doors, because when the king would not listen, the people said, "to your tents, O Israel" and "departed unto their tents" (1 Kings 12:16).