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Empty Tomb Craft for Kids

An easy paper plate empty tomb craft for Easter in three levels, preschool to 5th grade, with a stone that rolls away, a free printable template and steps.

Preschool–Grade 5

Empty Tomb 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 27:57–28:10; Luke 24:1–12
Bible story
Jesus Is Alive! (The Resurrection)

What you need

  • 1 paper plate per child (9-inch, plain white)
  • The printed tomb, stone and verse strip page, one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
  • 1 brass paper fastener (brad) per child
  • Crayons or markers (yellow, orange, green, gray, black)
  • Scissors and a glue stick
  • A sharp pencil for a grown-up to poke the brad holes
  • The printed sun and inside-of-the-tomb page, one per child (harder level)

Steps

  1. On the bottom side of the paper plate, color the top part yellow and orange like the sun coming up, and color a strip of green grass along the bottom edge.
  2. Color the tomb gray with green grass along its bottom. Color the doorway black, but leave the linen clothes on the ledge white. Color the stone gray.
  3. Cut out the tomb, the stone and the memory verse strip on the dashed lines. Help younger children with the cutting.
  4. Glue the tomb on the plate so its flat edge sits on the green grass.
  5. A grown-up pokes a hole through the dot on the stone and through the dot on the tomb and the plate. Push the brad through the stone, then the tomb and the plate, and open its legs on the back. The stone now covers the doorway.
  6. Glue the verse strip on the back of the plate. Read it together, then swing the stone away to show the empty tomb.

This empty tomb craft turns a paper plate into the garden tomb on Easter morning. Kids color a sunrise sky and a rock tomb, and a round stone held on with a brad swings away from the door to show the tomb is empty, with only the linen clothes inside. It costs under 50 cents a child, takes about 20 minutes and comes with a free printable template and memory verse strip. It 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: a paper plate, one printed page, one brad and crayons.
  • It retells the story: the great stone at the door, the stone rolled away, the empty tomb and the linen clothes (Matthew 27:60; 28:2, 6; Luke 24:12).
  • Kids can tell it again: they roll the stone away and say, "He is not here: for he is risen." The verse strip, Matthew 28:6 (KJV), goes on the back.

Three ways to make it

  • Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces ahead of time. Kids color the sunrise, the tomb and the stone and glue the tomb on the plate. A grown-up adds the stone with a brad. No scissors.
  • Medium (grades K–2): kids color and cut out the tomb, the stone and the verse strip, glue the tomb on the plate and push the brad through the stone so it swings away from the door.
  • Harder (grades 3–5): kids also cut the doorway open, glue an inside-of-the-tomb panel behind it with the linen clothes on a stone ledge, and glue a paper sun rising behind the tomb. Then they say Matthew 28:6 from memory.

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask who rolled the great stone away (Matthew 28:2), what Peter saw inside the tomb (Luke 24:12), and who they will tell. The angel said, "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said" (Matthew 28:6).

Tips for the classroom

Have a grown-up poke the brad holes with a sharp pencil after the tomb is glued on, with the stone set over the doorway so the dots line up. For preschoolers, cut out all the pieces before class, so all they do is color and glue. For the harder level, print page 3 too.

Teaching the story first? Use the free Easter Sunday school lesson and the Jesus Is Alive word search.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple empty tomb craft for preschoolers?

Cut out the tomb, the stone and the verse strip ahead of time. Preschoolers color the sunrise on a paper plate, color the tomb and the stone, and glue the tomb on. A grown-up adds the stone with a brad so it swings away from the door. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this empty tomb craft cost?

Under 50 cents a child: one paper plate, one printed page, one brass paper fastener and crayons you already have. The template is free to print.

What Bible verse goes with an empty tomb craft?

Matthew 28:6 (KJV), "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." It is printed on the verse strip in the template, and kids glue it on the back of the plate.

How can older kids make this empty tomb craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids also cut out the doorway so it opens, glue an inside-of-the-tomb panel behind it with the linen clothes on a stone ledge (Luke 24:12), and glue a paper sun rising behind the top of the tomb (Matthew 28:1). Then they say Matthew 28:6 from memory.

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