Give your kids the full story of Jonah—through two interactive crafts that teach obedience, faith, and God’s mercy.
If you want your kids to do more than just hear the story of Jonah, you’re going to love what these two free activities make possible—an interactive slider craft and a coloring storybook that walk them through the entire story from start to finish.
The slider craft features a pull-tab whale your kids color and assemble, then slide through five sequential scenes—from Jonah running away all the way to his safe return to land. The coloring storybook goes even deeper, with eight illustrated pages covering the full narrative, including God’s lesson about mercy and compassion that often gets left out.
Together, these two activities give your kids a complete picture of Jonah’s story—through something they can build and play with, and something they can read and color at their own pace.
Here’s how to use them
Both activities are simple to put together. Here’s a quick guide for each one so you can jump right in.
Jonah & the Whale Slider Craft
Print and color the whale template and story strip.
Cut out the whale, the square window, and the story strip.
Glue the whale onto cardstock or thick paper for sturdiness.
Cut two thin strips of cardboard and glue one above and one below the window on the back—leave the middle open to create the sliding track.
Insert the story strip through the track behind the whale.
Fold and glue the ends of the strip to create pull tabs.
Pull the strip slowly to reveal each scene of Jonah’s story.
Jonah and the Whale Coloring & Sequencing Activity
Print all eight pages.
Color each illustrated page together with your kids.
Read the story text on each page as you go.
Once finished, mix up the pages and have your kids put them back in the right order as a sequencing activity.