Sweet friend, there’s a story my little ones ask for again and again — the one about a traveler left hurting on the side of the road, and the unlikely stranger who stopped to help when everyone else walked on by.
We’ve been chewing on the parable of the Good Samaritan a lot lately. My middle one keeps asking why the first two men kept walking, and honestly, it’s one of the most tender conversations we’ve had at our kitchen table. So I did what I always do when a story settles into our home — I pulled out the craft basket.
These Good Samaritan crafts are simple, low-supply, and made for little hands. They’re perfect for Sunday school, a slow homeschool morning, or just a quiet Tuesday when you want to talk about what it really means to love your neighbor.
If your children are still learning to name and notice big feelings — their own and other people’s — these pair beautifully with our emotions crafts for kids that explore big feelings. Kindness, after all, starts with noticing.
why the good samaritan is such a tender story for little hearts
The parable comes from a simple question a man asked Jesus: who is my neighbor? And instead of a tidy answer, Jesus gave a story — a wounded man, two religious men who passed him by, and a Samaritan, an outsider, who stopped and bandaged his wounds and paid for his care.
What I love about telling this one to children is how clearly they understand it. They know what it feels like to be hurt and overlooked. And they know, deep down, the difference between walking past and stopping. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” — Luke 10:27
If you’re building out a whole collection of Bible story crafts, this one sits right alongside our Joseph Bible crafts that teach big lessons — another story about choosing grace and compassion when it would be far easier not to.
10 simple good samaritan crafts that teach kindness
These follow the heart of the parable from beginning to end, so you can work through them one at a time or pick whichever fits the part of the story you’re reading.
1. good samaritan bandage craft
Draw or print a simple figure of the wounded traveler, then let your little ones “tend” to him with strips of white fabric, gauze, or paper bandages and a few cotton balls. While small hands wrap and care, talk about how the Samaritan didn’t just feel sorry — he stopped, he knelt down, and he did something. “He went to him and bandaged his wounds.” — Luke 10:34
What you need: a printed or hand-drawn traveler figure, strips of white fabric or gauze, cotton balls, glue or tape
2. paper plate donkey craft
The Samaritan lifted the wounded man onto his own donkey and walked beside him to the inn. Make that faithful little donkey from a folded paper plate — gray paint, two long paper ears, a yarn tail, and a sweet googly eye. It opens up such a good conversation about giving up our own comfort so someone else can be carried.
If your littles love working with their hands on small animal shapes, our bright and playful pipe cleaner crafts are a fun way to keep the creating going on a rainy afternoon.
3. “helping hands” handprint craft
Trace or paint your little one’s hands onto cardstock, then write a kind act on each finger — “I can share,” “I can help,” “I can say a gentle word.” It becomes a keepsake and a quiet reminder that those small hands were made to help. We keep ours tucked on the fridge.
If you love a craft that doubles as a quiet little keepsake, you’ll want our adorable prayer crafts for kids — the kind of thing that ends up tucked on the fridge for years.
4. good samaritan popsicle stick puppet craft
Make a popsicle stick puppet for each character — the traveler, the robbers, the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan — and let your littles act out the whole parable in their own words. The retelling is where the lesson really lands.
Puppet crafts shine in a group setting. If you’re putting together a Sunday school rotation, our Abraham and Sarah Bible craft ideas work the very same way for a class full of wiggly little ones.
5. printable sequencing craft
Print or draw simple scenes from the parable — the journey, the robbery, the men who passed by, the Samaritan stopping, the inn — and have your children cut and glue them in order onto a long strip of paper. Putting the story in sequence helps it stay.
6. “love your neighbor” heart craft
Cut a big heart from red or pink cardstock and let your children decorate it however they like — then write the heart of the whole parable right across the middle. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” — Luke 10:27 Hang it somewhere they’ll see it, a quiet little reminder of who we’re called to love.
7. shoebox diorama
Turn an old shoebox into the dusty road from Jerusalem to Jericho — a little brown paper path, a few rock shapes, tiny figures of the traveler and the Samaritan. My eldest worked on ours over two days, and the care she put into it told me the story had truly landed.
8. “i can be a good samaritan” craft
Make a simple little poster or booklet where your children draw the ways they can be a Good Samaritan right where they are — sharing a toy, helping a neighbor, comforting a sad friend, including the child who’s left out. The story stops being about someone else and becomes about them.
9. good samaritan paper plate craft
Turn a paper plate into a simple storytelling craft.
Divide it into sections and let your children draw or glue each part of the parable around the circle, from the lonely road to the injured traveler, the helpers who passed by, the kind stranger, and the safe inn. Then use it as a visual aid as you retell the story together.
If your craft basket leans on paper plates as hard as mine does, you’ll find a whole afternoon’s worth of ideas in our easy paper plate crafts for kids.
10. luke 10:25-37 craft
For older children ready to engage with the scripture, write out the reference Luke 10:25-37 on a decorated card.
Add simple illustrations or symbols along the border, then include a short, kid-friendly retelling of the Good Samaritan story inside. It helps connect the craft to the passage while keeping the message clear and memorable.
If your children love a Bible craft that anchors a brave or compassionate story in scripture, our faith-filled Daniel in the Lions’ Den crafts carry that same steady thread.
a few gentle tips before you pull out the craft basket
Let the conversation lead, not the craft. The glue and paper are just the doorway — the real work happens in the questions your littles ask while their hands are busy, so leave plenty of room for those.
Keep your supplies simple and forgiving. Paper plates, cotton balls, crayons, a roll of tape — the best craft is almost always the one you can start right now with what’s already in the drawer. And please don’t aim for anything Pinterest-perfect. Ours rarely are. There’s usually a wonky googly eye and at least one donkey who looks more like a potato, and we love him all the same.
If you’re making these with a whole room full of little ones, our VBS crafts that bring Bible stories to life are full of ideas that hold up beautifully in a group.
how to keep the kindness going after the glue dries
The craft is lovely, but it’s really just the beginning. In the days after, I try to catch my children being little Samaritans — the toddler who hands her brother the dropped toy, the big sister who slows down to walk with the one who’s tired. I name it out loud when I see it: “That was a Good Samaritan thing to do.”
We look for one small way to care for a real neighbor, too — a jar of muffins left on a porch, a drawing folded into an envelope, a few weeds pulled for the older woman down the lane. Nothing grand. Just enough for little hands to understand that loving your neighbor is something you do on an ordinary Tuesday.
pull out the craft basket and start with just one
You don’t need all ten, sweet friend. Pick the one craft that makes you smile, gather your littles close, and let the story do its quiet work while their hands stay busy. Start with one craft and one small conversation today — that’s all it takes to plant something good.
I’d love to hear which one you try first. Scroll down and leave me a comment — tell me which craft your family is reaching for, or share a little Samaritan moment you’ve caught your own children in lately. There’s nothing I love more than swapping stories across the kitchen table with you.
With love,
Betty
Get the FREE Printable Jonah and the Whale Printable Crafts
Don’t let your kids just hear Jonah’s story—help them step into it.
With these 2 free Jonah activities, children can explore the story in a fun, memorable, hands-on way. They’ll make an interactive pull-tab whale slider craft that reveals five scenes from Jonah’s journey, and follow along with an 8-page coloring storybook that shares the complete story—including God’s important lesson about mercy and compassion that’s so often missed.
frequently asked questions
what age are these good samaritan crafts best for?
Most work beautifully for ages two through ten, with a little adjusting. The handprint and heart crafts are gentle enough for the very littlest, while the sequencing craft, diorama, and Luke 10:25-37 scroll give older children something to sink their teeth into.
what’s the simplest craft to start with?
The “love your neighbor” heart craft is about as simple as it gets — a heart, a few crayons, and one sweet verse across the middle. It comes together in minutes and still opens the door to a real conversation.
how do i explain the good samaritan to a toddler?
Keep it small and warm. I tell mine that a man got hurt, and two people walked right past, but one kind stranger stopped to help — and that Jesus told this story to show us how to love the people around us. Toddlers understand “hurt” and “helping” better than we expect.
can i use these for a sunday school class or co-op?
Yes, and they shine in a group. The puppet craft and paper plate story wheel are especially good for a roomful of little ones, since every child ends up with something to act out and retell. Just prep your supplies ahead of time.
where is the good samaritan story found in the bible?
You’ll find the parable in Luke 10:25-37. It’s worth opening your Bible and reading it aloud together before you craft — there’s something special about little ones seeing that the story comes straight from the pages they’re holding.
