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Salt and Light Craft for Kids

A free salt and light craft for kids in three levels. Fold the paper bushel off the candle so it shines on its candlestick (Matthew 5:15). Free template.

Preschool–Grade 5

Salt and Light 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 5:13–16
Bible story
Salt and Light

What you need

  • The printed template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
  • Crayons or markers in light brown, yellow, orange, light blue, green and brown (plus tan for the harder level)
  • Scissors and a glue stick
  • The printed salt and city page (page 3), one per child (harder level)

Steps

  1. Color the card: the floor light brown, the candlestick yellow, the flame orange, the light lines around the flame yellow, the sky in the window light blue and the hill green. Leave the candle, the wall and the dotted spots white.Color the card: the floor light brown, the candlestick yellow, the flame orange, the light lines around the flame yellow, the sky in the window light blue and the hill green. Leave the candle, the wall and the dotted spots white.
  2. Color the bushel brown on the front. Turn it over and color the back brown too.
  3. Cut out the card, the bushel and the verse strip on the dashed lines.
  4. Fold the bushel's tab on the thin line, then open it again. Put glue on the back of the tab only. Press the tab on the dotted strip next to the candlestick, so the bushel lies to the left of the candle.
  5. Glue the verse strip on the back of the card. Read it together.
  6. Tell it: fold the bushel over the candle. Can you see the light? Men do not light a candle and put it under a bushel (Matthew 5:15). Open the bushel and set it aside: the candle is on a candlestick, "and it giveth light unto all that are in the house" (5:15). "Let your light so shine before men" (5:16).Tell it: fold the bushel over the candle. Can you see the light? Men do not light a candle and put it under a bushel (Matthew 5:15). Open the bushel and set it aside: the candle is on a candlestick, "and it giveth light unto all that are in the house" (5:15). "Let your light so shine before men" (5:16).

This salt and light craft turns one printed page into Jesus' picture of a candle that isn't hidden. "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house" (Matthew 5:15). Kids color the candle and its light, then glue on a paper bushel that folds over the candle and opens again. Hide it, then set the bushel aside and let it shine. The memory verse, Matthew 5:14, goes on the back.

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, a glue stick, crayons and scissors.
  • Kids act out Jesus' words with their hands: cover the candle with the bushel, then open it so the candle "giveth light unto all that are in the house" (Matthew 5:15).
  • It shows both pictures: the harder level adds the salt of the earth (5:13) and a city set on an hill (5:14).
  • It stays simple: no one is drawn, and Jesus is not drawn.
  • It carries the verse home: Matthew 5:14 (KJV), the memory verse for the whole set, is glued on the back of the card.

Three ways to make it

  • Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces and glue the bushel on. Kids color, hide the candle and open the bushel again. No scissors.
  • Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, cut out the pieces, glue on the bushel's tab and glue the verse strip on the back.
  • Harder (grades 3–5): the craft in the second photo. Kids also color and cut out a bowl of salt and a city from page 3, and glue the salt on the floor and the city on the hill in the window (Matthew 5:13–14).

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask where Jesus taught (Matthew 5:1–2), what He said we are of the earth (5:13), what cannot be hid (5:14), where people put a lit candle (5:15) and who people glorify when they see our good works (5:16). Then read Matthew 5:14 together.

Tips for the classroom

Glue only the back of the bushel's tab, so the bushel folds over the candle and opens again. For preschoolers, cut out the pieces and glue the bushels on ahead of time, so all they do is color and hide and show the light. Cardstock keeps the bushel sturdy. If you show a real light in class, use a flashlight or a battery candle, never a real flame.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple salt and light craft for preschoolers?

Cut out each child's card and bushel ahead of time and glue the bushel's tab on for them. Preschoolers color the candle's light, the bushel and the window, then fold the bushel over the candle and open it again while you read Matthew 5:15. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this salt and light 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?

Matthew 5:14 (KJV), "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." It is the memory verse for the whole Salt and Light set, and it is printed on the verse strip that kids glue on the back of the card.

How can older kids make this craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids also color and cut out a bowl of salt and a city from page 3. The salt goes on the floor, because "ye are the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13), and the city goes on the hill in the window, because "a city that is set on an hill cannot be hid" (5:14).

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