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The Way, the Truth, and the Life Craft for Kids

An easy Way, the Truth, and the Life craft for kids in three levels. A paper road unfolds from a heart up to a house with many windows. Free printable template.

Preschool–Grade 5

The Way, the Truth, and the Life 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
John 14:1–6
Bible story
The Way, the Truth, and the Life

What you need

  • The printed template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
  • Crayons or markers in brown, green, yellow, red and light blue, plus any colors for drawing
  • Scissors and a glue stick
  • The printed house front page (page 3), one per child (harder level)

Steps

  1. Color the road brown and the little tufts of grass beside it green.Color the road brown and the little tufts of grass beside it green.
  2. Color the house: the walls yellow, the roof red, the door brown and the six windows light blue.
  3. Color the heart red. In the white oval, draw yourself.
  4. Cut out the road, the house, the heart and the verse strip on the dashed lines. Help younger children with the cutting.
  5. Glue the verse strip on the back of the house, near the top of the walls, and read it together.
  6. Fold the road on the two dotted lines in its middle, back and forth like a fan.
  7. Put glue on the printed side of the tab that says glue to heart, and press it on the back of the heart at the top middle, so the road comes up out of the top of the heart.
  8. Put glue on the printed side of the tab that says glue to house, and press it on the back of the house at the bottom middle, under the door, so the road leads up to the door.
  9. Tell it: fold the road up so the house lies on the heart. Ask Thomas's question, "how can we know the way?" (John 14:5). Then lift the house, and the road opens: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).Tell it: fold the road up so the house lies on the heart. Ask Thomas's question, "how can we know the way?" (John 14:5). Then lift the house, and the road opens: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).

This Way, the Truth, and the Life craft turns one printed page into a road that unfolds from a heart up to a house with many windows. Jesus told His disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled" and "In my Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:1–2). Kids draw themselves in the heart, fold the road up, and ask Thomas's question: "how can we know the way?" (14:5). Then they lift the house, and the road opens, because Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6). The memory verse is 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, glue, crayons and scissors.
  • Kids act out the question and the answer: folded up, ask "how can we know the way?" (John 14:5); lift the house, and the road opens: "I am the way" (14:6).
  • It starts with the heart: each child is drawn in the heart, because Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled" (14:1).
  • It points to Jesus: the road stands for His words. Jesus is not drawn.
  • It carries the verse home: John 14:6 (KJV) is glued on the back of the house.

Three ways to make it

  • Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces and fold the road. Kids color, draw themselves in the heart and help glue. No scissors.
  • Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, draw, cut, fold and glue the pieces.
  • Harder (grades 3–5): the craft in the second photo. Kids draw people they love in the windows and glue on a house front from page 3, whose windows open like shutters: "I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask what Jesus said about our heart (John 14:1), what is in His Father's house (14:2), what He promised to do (14:2–3), who asked "how can we know the way?" (14:5) and what Jesus answered (14:6). Then read John 14:6 together.

Tips for the classroom

Cardstock makes the road fold and open smoothly. For preschoolers, cut out the pieces and fold the roads before class, so all they do is color, draw and glue. Gluing the tabs is the only tricky step: show it once on your own sample first.

Teaching the story first? Use the free Way, the Truth, and the Life lesson and the word search.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Way, the Truth, and the Life craft for preschoolers?

Cut out each child's road, house, heart and verse strip ahead of time, and fold the road. Preschoolers color the pieces and draw themselves in the heart. Then help them glue the road to the heart and the house. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this John 14:6 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?

John 14:6 (KJV), "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." It is printed on the verse strip that kids glue on the back of the house.

How can older kids make this craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids draw themselves and people they love in the house's windows, then glue a house front from page 3 on top. Its five windows open like shutters, for "I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).

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