Craft

Wise and Foolish Builders Craft for Kids

A wise and foolish builders craft for kids in three levels, a house on the rock and a house on the sand that falls down. Free printable template and steps.

Preschool–Grade 5

Download

⬇ Craft template + instructions (PDF) · 6 pages

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 7:24–27
Bible story: The Wise and Foolish Builders

What you need

The printed rock and sand card, 2 houses and verse card template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
1 paper fastener (brad) per child
Crayons or markers in light blue, gray, yellow, light brown, red and dark brown
Scissors, a glue stick, and a sharp pencil for the grown-up to poke two holes
The printed rain cloud, floods and winds page (page 3), one per child, and a dark blue and a blue crayon (harder level)

Steps

On the card, color the sky light blue, the rock gray and the sand yellow. Color both houses the same way, the walls light brown, the roofs red, the doors dark brown and the windows yellow.
Cut out the card, the 2 houses and the verse card on the dashed lines. Help younger children with the cutting.
Turn the card face down. Put glue on the back of the verse card and press it on the back of the card. The verse faces out.
Turn the card face up. Put glue on the back of the house without the + mark and press it on the dotted spot on the rock.
A grown-up pokes a hole with a sharp pencil through the + on the other house and through the + on the card above the sand. Push the paper fastener through the house, then through the card, and open its legs flat on the back. The house now stands on the sand and can turn.
Tell the story with the card. Jesus said, "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock" (Matthew 7:24). Make rain sounds: the house on the rock fell not (7:25). Then turn the house on the sand until it falls over: "it fell: and great was the fall of it" (7:27). Turn the card over and read Matthew 7:24 together.

This wise and foolish builders craft turns one printed page into the two houses from the parable Jesus told in Matthew 7:24–27. Kids glue one house "upon a rock" and fasten the other "upon the sand" with a paper fastener, so it can fall over: "and great was the fall of it" (7:27). Matthew 7:24 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 paper fastener, crayons, scissors and a glue stick.
Kids make the house fall: the house on the rock is glued tight, and the house on the sand turns on its fastener until it falls over. Kids see the difference Jesus described between hearing His sayings and doing them (Matthew 7:24, 7:26).
It keeps the Bible's details: the rain, the floods and the winds beat upon both houses (7:25, 7:27). The two houses look the same, because Jesus said the difference was what each one was built on. No people are drawn. The verse card on the back has Matthew 7:24 (KJV).

Three ways to make it

Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces, glue the verse card on and fasten the sand house. Kids color, glue the other house on the rock and make the sand house fall. No scissors.
Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, cut out the pieces, glue the verse card on the back, glue one house on the rock and fasten the other on the sand.
Harder (grades 3–5): kids add a rain cloud, the floods and the winds from page 3, then make the house on the sand fall. Then they say the memory verse from memory.

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask who is like the wise man who built his house upon a rock (Matthew 7:24) and who is like the foolish man (7:26). Ask what three things beat upon both houses (7:25, 7:27), and why the house on the rock fell not. Then ask what is one thing Jesus said that they can do this week.

Tips for the classroom

Print page 2 on cardstock if you can, so the card stays flat and the fastener holds. A grown-up pokes the two holes with a sharp pencil over a ball of play dough. For preschoolers, cut out the pieces, glue the verse card on and fasten the sand house ahead of time, so all they do is color, glue and tell the story.

Teaching the story first? Use the free wise and foolish builders Sunday school lesson and the wise and foolish builders word search.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple wise and foolish builders craft for preschoolers?

Before class, cut out each child's card and two houses, glue the verse card on the back, and put the paper fastener through the house on the sand. Preschoolers color the card and glue the other house on the rock. Then they turn the sand house to make it fall. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this wise and foolish builders craft cost?

Under 50 cents a child: one printed page (cardstock is best), one paper fastener, a little glue and crayons you already have. The template is free to print.

What Bible verse goes with a wise and foolish builders craft?

Matthew 7:24 (KJV), "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock." It is printed on the verse card that kids glue on the back.

How can older kids make this wise and foolish builders craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids also color and cut out a rain cloud, a floods strip and a winds piece from page 3 and glue them on the card, because "the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew" on both houses (Matthew 7:25, 7:27). Then they say Matthew 7:24 from memory.