Craft: Jesus and the fishermen

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FOLLOW ME DRAWING

You will need: paper; pens or paint

This craft picks up on the theme of following Jesus, which is integral to the story of the fishermen being called. The children will have to concentrate hard on following and copying exactly for this craft!

Get into pairs and allocate a person A and a person B. Ask Person A to draw a picture, for example a boat or something from the story that has struck them. Get person B to copy the picture person A is drawing. Compare and contrast, then swap the roles. This could help to open up conversations about what it is like to follow someone. What makes it harder and what is easier? To make it harder, sit back to back and have person A describe their drawing to person B, who has to draw the picture without seeing it. What makes this an especially hard way of copying?

TEAM HEART WORK

You will need: small pieces of paper, each with a heart drawn on it; pens; paints; collage materials; glue; scissors

When the fishermen are called to become disciples, they effectively join Jesus’ team. This group craft is a way to start thinking about what it means to be part of a team or community with the same goal.

Give each child a heart paper and get them to decorate it in any way they like using the collage materials. The only rule is that the heart must be distinguishable. Children may want to decorate more than one heart, depending on the time available. When all the hearts are finished, arrange them into a group artwork that can be displayed. Use the time the children spend creating to talk about what being part of a team means, and what it means to help share Jesus’ love with others.

FREE-FLOW FISH

You will need: paper; bubble wrap; paint; permanent markers; foil; scissors

It seems a shame to have a story about fishermen without actually making some fish, so here is an open-ended way for the children to do just that. They might want the fish to represent people they know coming to Jesus, or they might simply want to make some fish!

Show children the range of materials and ask them to make a collection of fish to reflect the huge catch the fishermen made when Jesus told them to cast out their nets again. Options include decorating paper with foil, bubble wrap and permanent markers, drawing with permanent markers on foil, painting on foil or paper, or using bubble wrap to print ‘scales’ on paper fish. See what kind of collection you end up with!

FISHING NET WEAVING

You will need: a large cork board or a large piece of cardboard; pins; coloured wool; coloured ribbon; scissors

One of the key pieces of equipment the fishermen in this story use is their net. This craft allows children to construct a group net and to decorate it while thinking of those they would ‘fish’ for.

Push in pins at regular intervals along each edge of the board or piece of cardboard you are using. Then ask the children to wrap strands of wool around and between them to form a ‘net’. This may look incredibly messy, but that’s all part of the fun! Next, tie coloured ribbon to the net you have created to represent people the children love, and people in their lives who don’t yet know much about Jesus. Alternatively, draw people shapes on pieces of paper, punch a hole in them and use string to tie them to the net. Use the creation time to think about what it means to ‘fish’ for people.