Lesson

Caleb Sunday School Lesson for Kids

A free Caleb Sunday school lesson (Joshua 14:6–15) in four age levels, preschool to preteen, with a game, Bible story, questions, memory verse and take-home.

Preschool–Grade 6

📌 Save to Pinterest

Download

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), Preteen (5–6)
Time: 20–60 minutes (depends on the age level)
Scripture: Joshua 14:6–15
Bible story: Caleb Asks for the Mountain

What you need

A Bible (mark Joshua 14:8 and Joshua 14:12)
Bibles for the kids to look up verses (3rd grade and up)
6 paper strips, a marker and tape (memory verse game, kindergarten to 2nd grade)
Pillows, cushions or a few chairs to make a "mountain" (preschool and kindergarten to 2nd grade)
Masking tape for a line on the floor (3rd to 5th grade)
A whiteboard or large paper and a marker (3rd grade and up)
Paper and pencils (3rd grade and up)
Printed take-home sheets, one per child
Printed Caleb word search and crayons for early finishers

This free Caleb Sunday school lesson teaches kids to follow the LORD all the way, like Caleb. When Caleb was forty, Moses sent him to spy out the land, and while the other men were afraid, Caleb "wholly followed the LORD" (Joshua 14:8). Forty-five years later, at 85, Caleb was still strong and said, "give me this mountain" (14:12), and Joshua gave him Hebron. It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families. Everything is in the order you teach it.

Choose your age level

Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: a Follow Me game, a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, three simple questions, a shortened memory verse ("I wholly followed the LORD my God") with a motion, and a drawing of Caleb's mountain.
Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 3 pages: a Follow Me All the Way game, the story in simple words, five recall questions with answers, the Six Strips memory verse game, and a Strong Like Caleb mountain game.
3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: a Waiting Line game from 40 to 85, kids look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story (the twelve men, the grapes, the grasshoppers, "give me this mountain"), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a Bible look-up race.
Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: students read Numbers 13:25–33 and Joshua 14:6–15 out loud themselves, then discuss standing apart from the crowd, "another spirit," waiting on God and facing the hard mountain. Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (Joshua 14:8 and Numbers 14:24).

Lesson at a glance

Bible passage: Joshua 14:6–15 (with Numbers 13–14 for the background)
Main point: Follow the LORD all the way, with your whole heart, like Caleb did.
Memory verse: Joshua 14:8 (KJV), with Numbers 14:24 added for preteens
Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

Opening game: a short game about following all the way, or about waiting a long time.
Bible story: Moses sends Caleb to spy out the land at forty (Joshua 14:7), the other men are afraid but Caleb wholly follows the LORD (14:8), Moses' promise (14:9), God keeps Caleb alive forty-five years (14:10), "as strong this day" at 85 (14:11), "give me this mountain" (14:12), and Joshua gives him Hebron (14:13–14). Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
Memory verse: a game or motion to help kids learn Joshua 14:8.
What this means for us: follow God all the way, the gospel (Acts 2:38), and a challenge for the week.
Activity: the word search, crossword, maze, worksheet, the Caleb craft, a Strong Like Caleb game, a Bible look-up race or a journal page, depending on the age.
Prayer.

Tips for teaching Caleb

Read Joshua 14:8 straight from the Bible: "but I wholly followed the LORD my God." It is the heart of the lesson, and the chapter says it three times (14:8, 14:9, 14:14).
This story happens forty-five years after the twelve spies (Numbers 13–14). If you teach both, use the twelve spies lesson first.
The Bible calls the people in Hebron the Anakims and says they were very tall (Numbers 13:33). Keep them simple, and keep the focus on Caleb's trust in God.
Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.

Frequently asked questions

How long does this Caleb lesson take?

It depends on the age level. The preschool lesson takes 20 to 30 minutes, the kindergarten to 2nd grade lesson about 45 minutes, and the 3rd to 5th grade and preteen lessons 45 to 60 minutes. For a short class, do the story, three questions and the memory verse.

What is the main point of the story of Caleb for kids?

Caleb wholly followed the LORD, which means he followed God all the way, with his whole heart (Joshua 14:8). God kept him alive and strong for forty-five years and kept His promise: Caleb received Hebron, "because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel" (14:14).

How old was Caleb when he asked for the mountain?

Eighty-five. The Bible says "fourscore and five years old" (Joshua 14:10). A score is twenty, so fourscore is eighty. He was forty when Moses sent him to spy out the land (14:7), and God kept him alive forty-five more years (14:10).

Is this the same Caleb as in the twelve spies story?

Yes. In Numbers 13–14 Caleb was one of the men Moses sent to search the land, and he said, "Let us go up at once, and possess it" (Numbers 13:30). Joshua 14 happens forty-five years later, when Caleb asks for the mountain God promised him.