By Rev. Doug Forbes

Children enjoy making bright, colorful string art projects. String art is a wonderful way to help young people develop their creativity and to remember Bible stories.

For String Art you need: Bibles, Bible concordances, a box of galvanized 12-penny common nails, safety glasses, plain white paper, three-quarter inch pine boards cut to 7-by-7 inches, a black fine point marker and yarn or thread in a variety of colors.

Ask your students to use their Bibles and concordances to find a favorite Bible story they would like to illustrate with String Art.

Cut the paper to 7-by-7 inches and ask the children to draw a simple picture or design on their sheet that symbolizes a favorite Bible story. With the black fine point marker, put a dot at each key point or corner of their design. Have each child overlay their paper on a pine board and put on safety glasses. Hammer a nail approximately one-third of the way into each black dot until the nail is secure. After all the nails are secure, remove the paper. Tie a piece of yarn or thread to the first nail and begin wrapping the yarn once around the top of each nail and on to the next nail, until your design is completed. You may wish to use several colors of yarn for a more dramatic effect.

When each craft is completed ask each student to take a turn explaining how their design relates to their favorite Bible story. After each child shares, ask the group what Bible truth the story illustrates and how it relates to them today.

For younger children, draw a 7-by-7 inch design on a master sheet and make a photocopy for each child. Possible designs could include the ship from which Jesus calms the storm, Noah’s Ark, or the star that the wise men followed to find the baby Jesus.

As we teach our precious children whom God has entrusted to our care, it is important to vary our methods of teaching to keep their interest level high and to help them remember the Bible stories and morals. As we prepare our lessons, let’s remember to begin with prayer for God’s guidance, asking that the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts, and our students’ hearts, with His love.

Photo: Rev. Doug and Kathy Forbes with their ten grandchildren, who often inspire their articles.