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Joshua and Caleb Craft for Kids

An easy Joshua and Caleb craft for kids in three levels, a paper cluster of grapes that hangs on a craft stick staff (Numbers 13:23). Free printable template.

Preschool–Grade 5

Joshua and Caleb 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
Numbers 13:17–33; Numbers 14:6–9
Bible story
Joshua, Caleb and the Twelve Spies

What you need

  • The printed template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
  • 1 jumbo craft stick (about 6 inches long) per child, for the staff
  • Crayons or markers in purple, green and brown
  • Scissors and a glue stick
  • The printed pomegranate and fig page (page 3), one per child, and a red crayon (harder level)

Steps

  1. Color all the grapes purple, the leaf green and the tab at the top brown.Color all the grapes purple, the leaf green and the tab at the top brown.
  2. Cut out the cluster of grapes and the verse card on the dashed lines. Help younger children with the cutting.
  3. Turn the cluster over. Lay the craft stick across the back of the brown tab, just above the grapes, with the cluster in the middle of the stick.
  4. Fold the top of the tab down over the stick on the dotted line and glue it on the back. Now the cluster hangs from the staff.
  5. Glue the verse card on the back of the grapes, under the tab, and read it together.
  6. Two children hold the two ends of the stick and carry the grapes together: they bare it between two upon a staff (Numbers 13:23).Two children hold the two ends of the stick and carry the grapes together: they bare it between two upon a staff (Numbers 13:23).

This Joshua and Caleb craft turns one printed page and a craft stick into the cluster of grapes from Numbers 13. At the brook of Eshcol the men "cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff" (Numbers 13:23). Kids color a big bunch of grapes and hang it on a craft stick staff, then two kids carry it together. The memory verse, Joshua 1:9, 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, one jumbo craft stick and crayons.
  • It follows the Bible closely: the cluster of grapes on a staff comes from Numbers 13:23, and the harder level's pomegranate and fig come from the same verse.
  • Kids act it out: two children hold the ends of the staff and carry the grapes "between two," just as the Bible says.
  • It carries the verse home: the template includes Joshua 1:9 (KJV) on a card to glue on the back.

Three ways to make it

  • Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces and fold the tab over the stick. Kids color the grapes and glue the verse card with your help. No scissors.
  • Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, cut out the cluster and hang it on the craft stick staff.
  • Harder (grades 3–5): kids add a pomegranate and a fig from page 3 at the two ends of the staff (Numbers 13:23).

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask how many men Moses sent (Numbers 13:2, 4–15), what they carried between two upon a staff (13:23), what ten of the men said they were like (13:33), what Caleb said (13:30) and what Joshua and Caleb said about the LORD (14:9). Then read Joshua 1:9 together.

Tips for the classroom

For preschoolers, cut out the pieces ahead of time and fold the tab over the stick yourself so the grapes hang straight. The Bible does not name the two men who carried the grapes, so the craft shows only the grapes and the staff.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Joshua and Caleb craft for preschoolers?

Cut out each child's cluster of grapes and verse card ahead of time. Preschoolers color the grapes purple, the leaf green and the tab brown. You fold the tab over a jumbo craft stick and glue it, so the grapes hang from the staff. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this twelve spies craft cost?

Under 50 cents a child: one printed page, one jumbo craft stick and crayons you already have. The template is free to print.

What Bible verse goes with this Joshua and Caleb craft?

Joshua 1:9 (KJV), "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." It is printed on the verse card that kids glue on the back of the grapes.

How can older kids make this craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids add a pomegranate and a fig from page 3, each hanging on its own long strip at the two ends of the staff, because "they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs" (Numbers 13:23).

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