Thankfulness Bible Craft, Activity, & Lesson Plan for Kids

Teaching a Sunday School lesson on thankfulness, or looking for gratitude games and activities for Thanksgiving? Find everything you need in this mini Bible lesson on gratitude, which includes a thankfulness Bible craft idea along with a fun thankfulness activity for kids. Scroll down for details!

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Teach kids thankfulness!

Have you spent time around a whiny, ungrateful child? It’s no fun.

But in an age when we have so much stuff—abundant food, beautiful houses, nice clothes, cool toys, and fancy technology—it’s easy to take good things for granted. And that can be a slippery slope right into entitled selfishness.

To combat that, teach your kids to recognize God’s goodness and to practice thankfulness for it!

A simple thankfulness Bible craft & a fun gratitude activity for kids

In this post you’ll find:

• A key Bible verse about thankfulness
• An easy children’s Bible lesson on thankfulness
• A simple thankfulness Bible craft for kids
• A quick gratitude game

As a fun bonus, the activity uses the craft you made previously! Or, if you want to skip the craft and just do the activity, you can pick up the supplies needed for the activity here.

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Mini Bible lesson on gratitude

You won’t find a more classic Bible verse about thankfulness than this one:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good…”
(Psalm 118:1)

That same phrase is found multiple times throughout the Psalms (and again in 1 Chronicles, too). And when the Bible repeats something, it’s worth paying attention.

Here’s an easy way to teach a quick Sunday School lesson on thankfulness or a Bible lesson on gratitude for youth or children’s ministry!

Teach your kids this Bible verse about thankfulness

• To introduce this Bible verse about thankfulness, ask your kids to think of evidence that God is good. Brainstorm as many things as you can think of. Then open your Bible to Psalm 118:1 and read the verse to your kids.
• Ask the kids if they can identify the command that’s given in this verse.
• If you’d like, you can write or print this verse out on a separate piece of paper. Then you can highlight or underline the command with a colored marker.
• Next, ask the kids if they can identify why we should give thanks. You can highlight or underline the “why” in another color.
• Finally, say the verse together several times. It’s not a long or difficult verse. Even young children should be able to catch on quickly, particularly if you focus only on the first half of the verse. After saying the verse several times, close the Bible (or hide your paper) and try to say the verse from memory.
• Once your kids are familiar with the verse, you can get started on the craft and activity below!

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Thankfulness Bible Craft Idea: “Give Thanks” Burlap Banner

I noticed this super cute banner on Amazon and I immediately thought, “That wouldn’t be hard to make!”

If you use the sponge technique that I describe below, kids of all ages can make this craft pretty easily. And the end result is a very nice-looking banner that looks great on any wall or mantle.

Plus, you can continue to talk about the Bible verse as you work on the craft. That means your kids will be more likely to remember the verse! 😉

Craft supplies needed:

• A blank burlap banner – you will need two of these to write out the entire phrase “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good”
• Stencils
• Paint – I think acrylic paint would work best on the burlap, but if you’re working with very small children you may prefer another type of paint
• A paper plate
• A large sponge
• A printout of Psalm 118:1, for reference.

Craft instructions:

1. Lay out the Bible verse printout, for reference.
2. Lay out the banner pieces on your work surface.
3. Pour paint into your paper plate.
4. Carefully lay the “G” stencil over the first piece of the banner.
5. Dip the sponge in the paint.
6. Press the sponge down over the stencil.
7. Set the sponge aside and lift up the stencil.
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 to spell out the rest of the phrase (“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good”). You can also write only “Give thanks to the Lord” or even simply “Give thanks,” especially if you are working with small kids.
9. Allow the banner pieces to dry before stringing onto the cord and hanging the banner.

This banner isn’t just for looking pretty, though. My favorite feature of this banner is that the pieces come off the cord. So you can do a little Bible verse review activity, too.

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Thankfulness Bible activity for kids

Activities are one of my favorite methods of teaching Bible truths to kids. Because they’re multi-sensory and they involve movement, they help kids remember much better!

Activity supplies needed:

• Banner pieces – use the ones you made, or buy a banner like this one
• Banner cord
• Bible verse printout (optional)
• Timer or stopwatch

Activity prep:

1. Pull all the banner pieces off of the cord.
2. While your children are out of the room, hide the banner pieces around the room. (You can vary the difficulty of the hiding places depending on the ages of your kids.)
3. I recommend doing this activity from memory, but if your kids need an additional prompt, you can lay out the Bible verse printout for reference.

Activity instructions:

1. Tell your kids that the letters to the Bible verse are hidden around the room.
2. The kids must find all the letters (the banner pieces) and then string them onto the banner cord in the proper order to write the verse.
3. Time this activity in one of two ways. You can set a fixed time, and challenge the kids to find and arrange the Bible verse before time runs out. Or, you can time the kids as they complete the activity and challenge them to finish in the shortest time possible.

If you bought or made more than one banner, you can also make this a competitive activity.

1. Before the kids come into the room, hide both sets of banner pieces around the room.
2. Then break the kids into two teams. Challenge each team to find and complete the Bible verse.
3. If they find extra pieces (from the other banner), they need to put them back into hiding.
4. The team that finds and finishes the Bible verse first wins.

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3 fun ideas for teaching kids thankfulness

There you have it—3 simple ways to teach children’s Bible lessons on thankfulness–perfect for your Sunday School class or children’s ministry!

And remember, you can always keep things simple and choose just one of the ideas above to do with your kids.

Finally, don’t forget to download your free printable guide for introducing the verse!

And happy teaching. 🙂