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10 Commandments Craft for Kids

An easy Ten Commandments craft for kids in three levels, two stone tablets with lift-up covers that stand up, and Mount Sinai for older kids. Free template.

Preschool–Grade 5

10 Commandments 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
Exodus 19–20; Exodus 31:18
Bible story
The Ten Commandments

What you need

  • The printed tablets and covers template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest, so the tablets stand up)
  • Gray crayons or markers
  • Scissors and a glue stick
  • The printed Mount Sinai page (page 3), one per child (harder level)
  • Brown, gray and yellow crayons for the mountain, the cloud and the lightning (harder level)

Steps

  1. Color the two stone covers gray. Color the thin stone border around each tablet gray too. Leave the writing on the tablets white so you can read it.Color the two stone covers gray. Color the thin stone border around each tablet gray too. Leave the writing on the tablets white so you can read it.
  2. Cut out the tablets (one piece), the two covers and the verse strip on the dashed lines. Help younger children with the cutting.
  3. Fold the tablets in half on the dotted line, so they stand up like an open book.
  4. Put glue on the back of each cover, only along its rounded top. Press one cover on each tablet, on the rounded top where it says "glue the cover here," so the cover lifts up to show the commandments.
  5. Glue the verse strip on the back of the tablets and read it together.
  6. Stand the tablets on the table. Lift each cover and count the ten commandments together.Stand the tablets on the table. Lift each cover and count the ten commandments together.

This Ten Commandments craft turns one printed page into the two tables of stone from Exodus: two tablets that stand up like an open book, each with a gray stone cover that lifts up to show the ten commandments in plain words, with their verses from Exodus 20:3–17. The first commandment, Exodus 20:3, 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, a gray crayon and a glue stick.
  • It tells the story the way the Bible does: God gave Moses "two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God" (Exodus 31:18). Kids lift each stone cover to read what God said, numbered in the order Exodus 20 gives it.
  • It carries the verse home: the template includes Exodus 20:3 (KJV) on a strip to glue on the back.

Three ways to make it

  • Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out and fold the pieces. Kids color the covers gray and glue them on with your help, then lift them while you read. No scissors.
  • Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, cut out the pieces, fold the tablets, glue on the covers and stand the tablets up.
  • Harder (grades 3–5): kids also make Mount Sinai from page 3, with the thick cloud and lightning on top (Exodus 19:16), and two stands so it stands up behind the tablets. Then they say the ten commandments in order from memory.

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask who wrote on the tables of stone (Exodus 31:18), what the first commandment is (20:3) and who God tells us to honor (20:12). Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37–39).

Tips for the classroom

Print page 2 on cardstock if you can, so the tablets stand. For preschoolers, cut out and fold the pieces ahead of time, so all they do is color and glue. Remind kids to put glue only on the rounded top of each cover. Number 7 is printed at a child's level as Keep your promises in marriage (Exodus 20:14).

Teaching the story first? Use the free Ten Commandments Sunday school lesson and the Ten Commandments word search.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Ten Commandments craft for preschoolers?

Cut out each child's tablets, covers and verse strip ahead of time and fold the tablets. Preschoolers color the covers gray, and you help them glue each cover on by its rounded top. Then they lift the covers while you read the ten commandments in plain words. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this Ten Commandments craft cost?

Under 50 cents a child: one printed page (cardstock is best), a glue stick and a gray crayon you already have. The template is free to print.

What Bible verse goes with a Ten Commandments craft?

Exodus 20:3 (KJV), "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." It is the first commandment, and it is printed on the verse strip that kids glue on the back.

How can older kids make this Ten Commandments craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids also make Mount Sinai from page 3, with the thick cloud and lightning on top (Exodus 19:16), and two paper stands so it stands up behind the tablets. Then they say the ten commandments in order from memory, using the covers to check themselves.

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