Arts >> Art >> Other Art

Art Projects for Sunday School

Memorizing scripture and listening to bible stories are good ways to learn, but they don't engage children the way hands-on projects do. Put away your lecturing hat for a while and let your Sunday school students express themselves through a variety of creative mediums and art projects.
  1. Painting and Drawing

    • Painting is a colorful and expressive way to learn.

      Hang a large sheet of roll paper along the wall, supply paint and let students recreate a scene from the Bible. They can all work together on one scene, create scenes individually or tell different parts of one story. Distribute colored pencils and paper and have students make a self-portrait to celebrate themselves as one of God's creations. Buy a small canvas for each child and instruct students to paint the way they imagine the Garden of Eden (or another biblical locale). For younger children, play kid-friendly music while they color in religious-themed coloring books.

    Electronic Art

    • Use the Internet to create electronic art and reach others in the church.

      Find an easy website-building platform and let students create a website for their Sunday school class. Encourage them to add photos, clip art, quotes and links to sites that inspire them. If students can type, create a blogger account for the class and let them take turns posting thoughts, ideas and photos from church activities. Get a list of members' email addresses from the church office and let students design an e-greeting card; or, use electronic paint software to create e-paintings to decorate the classroom.

    Audio and Video

    • Audiovisual art lasts for years as a reminder of students' hard work.

      Help students write a play based on a Bible story or theme. Videotape the play and upload it to the church website or to a video-sharing site. Or, choose one student to be the reporter and let the other students pick a character from the Bible to research and then impersonate. Conduct interviews and videotape them. Have the reporter ask the characters what they think of a current event. Present it to the church congregation as a special news bulletin. If you have a musical class, have students collaborate to write songs (or just new lyrics to the tune of a popular song). Record the students singing the songs, put them on a CD and give or sell them to church members.

    Other Art

    • Board games can help reinforce learning and add fun to the lesson.

      Use one or two sheets of roll paper folded together to create a newspaper. Have students pretend to be newspaper staff living in a biblical city as life-changing events are taking place. Write stories and editorials, draw "photos" and create advertisements. Or tell students to pick a biblical theme (forgiveness, for example) and create a collage that represents it. Use magazine cutouts, photos, words or even fabrics. If you have access to clay, have students sculpt a replica of a biblical building or person. Or create a board game with poster board and markers. Pick a theme and an objective; for example, Moses trying to get out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land.

Other Art

Related Categories