This Loaves and Fishes preschool craft contains instructions on how to make a mobile that goes along with the story. Have a “swimmingly” good time! Crafts are an efficient and fun way to help your students retell the story themselves one day and to often to remember important events and learn important moral values.

Prior Knowledge and Prep

Make sure your class is familiar with the story. Read the story of the Loaves and Fishes if necessary. You can use your religious education curriculum, or you can read it straight from the Bible. The story is found in all four gospels. The most popular one is found in John 6:1-13. You can also use a children’s Bible. After reading, count the number of students in class and talk about how big the number 5,000 actually is.

Materials

• A picture of a fish for each student
• A picture of a loaf of bread for each student
• A picture of a crowd or group of people for each student
• A picture of a basket for each student
• Brown construction paper (9 x 12)
• A one inch strip of brown construction paper for each student
• Hole punch
• Fishing line or yarn
• Scissors
• Crayons
• Stapler
• Pencils (optional)

You should make a mobile before class to show as an example.

Procedure

Have students draw a criss-cross pattern on their construction paper to resemble a basket. This will represent the basket that they boy had with him. Make a loop with the strip and staple it to the top of the construction paper.

Pass out the pictures of the fish, bread, crowd, and basket to each of your students. Have your students color them. Then, have students cut them out.

Have them write the number represented from the story on the back of the pictures. They will write a 2 on the back of the fish, 5 on the loaf of bread, 5,000 on the crowd, and 12 on the basket. This represents the number of fish, loaves of bread, people, and leftover baskets.

Punch a hole at the top of each picture that your students cut out. Then, punch four holes at the bottom of the “basket" (brown construction paper).

Cut varying lengths of fishing line. You will need four pieces of fishing line per student. Attach one piece of fishing line to the construction paper basket by tying a knot. Repeat this procedure for the other three pieces. You will probably have to do this for the students. Then, attach the picture of the fish using the fishing line by tying a knot. Repeat this procedure for the other three pictures.

This loaves and fishes craft will create a wonderful memory aid to help students retell the story. The numbers on the back will help them remember the major events from the story. These mobiles can also be used to decorate your classroom by hanging the mobiles from the ceiling, or you can hang them in the hallway.