This Jacob’s Ladder paper craft scene with it’s curved sky and layered clouds allows the child to look at the image from various angles. Peering down through the clouds from heaven or up from the ground through Jacob’s eyes.
This story of Jacob’s ladder dream has so many facets that could be spun off into games. The ladder, the stone, the voice of God. There is a selection here to suit various group sizes and space layouts.
Gather a selection of different materials. Have the children choose what is the best use for each material. e.g. thin cotton may be good as a bedsheet, but would it be good as a trampoline? Wood may be good for a door, but what about a slide? End with a stone. Would any of the kids like the stone as their pillow?
Link: Jacob using a stone as a pillow
Angels Climbing
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Using tape or chalk, draw a ladder stretching across your room. Have the kids do relay races, climbing up and down the ladder using both their hands and feet, tagging their team member when they reach the end.
Link: The angels climbing and descending the ladder.
Who am I
Ages 7+
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
This classic game involves sticking names to foreheads and the person identifying themselves by asking yes/no questions.
Link: God identified himself to Jacob so that Jacob would understand who he was. Why do you think God did that?
The Cairn
Under 7’s
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Cairns, altars, piles of stones as markers, all tie into Jacob’s response to this encounter. Grab a load of cushions and pillows to act as stones, or use building bricks. How tall a column can the children build.
Link: The stone marked as holy. Discuss what this tower could represent in your circumstances.
Angel Throw
All Ages
Small group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Draw or place a ladder on the floor and have the children throw a beanbag into each section. Score 3 points for each section with an angel inside + 1 point for every extra angel in that section.
Link: The ladder full of angels.
Leaving is always tough and for Jacob to go and have to find a wife from a distant land when his bother already had two local girls whom he called his wives but have felt unfair. Going when your brother is seeing red and leaving the care of the family household in his hands must have seemed mad. It’s not surprising that it’s at this moment when all seems lost that God steps in and Meets Jacob, reminds him of the birthright he inherited and how land and flocks and tents are nothing compared to God’s promises.
This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.
Jacob had cheated his brother out of his birthright, stolen his blessing, and now he needed to leave. His father had told him he must go to find a wife from a different land. He knew his brother was so angry with him, he wondered now as he walked away if he would ever be welcomed home again.
He looked back at the tents he had always lived in, the sheep that his family owned, the trees he had climbed as a child, the tent where his mother had once slept, another for his brother and his wife, he was leaving it all.
Further and further he walked as the sun rose and shadows grew long again. Eventually, he stopped exhausted. He found a rock to lean his head against and closed his eyes to sleep.
In his dreams, he was no longer alone. A huge ladder stretched from the ground up into the heavens, and Angels were going up and down. Besides him the Lord stood.
“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham.” said the Lord. “The place where you now sleep will one day be for your family and their children and their children too. Your family will grow large, like dust in the air it will spread to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. Every family on the earth shall be blessed by your family one day.”
Jacob smiled in his sleep, his grandfather Abraham had been promised descendants that number the stars, his father’s arrival had been foretold by angels and now the promise was passing onto him.
“Know that I am with you” the Lord said, “everywhere you go I will go too, and will bring you back to this land one day. This is my promise to you”
When Jacob woke up, he was amazed and a little frightened, was he laying at heaven’s gate? He took the stone he had slept on and some more and built an altar. Then he poured oil over the stones to mark them. He named the place Bethel – which means house of God.
Jacob continued on his journey, knowing that he was the next chapter in God’s big plan.
There are many Jacobs ladder crafts out there for this passage, and that’s great, but when reality hits and the dream is over, this craft captures Jacobs’ response. He wants to mark this place as holy, mark the experience and promise with something tangible. The practice of marking things with stones or piles of stones (cairns) is well practiced in many cultures.
This uses packaging card, but you could just as easily use craft foam, or real stones. Make sure your glue suits your chosen materials.
Each JWL lesson has a collectable card alongside high-quality character images and a colouring page that links to each lesson. Click on the images below to see a larger version. Save the images by right click + ‘save image as’ (computers) OR long press + ‘save image’ (mobile).
These images are NOT copyright free.
These resources are provided for personal/classroom use only. Use can use them for teaching, games, publicity, decor, big screen presentations, flannelgraphs, stickers, or any other non-commercial activity in your church, school, home, or organised group. You may not use them in products you are going to sell – both printed and digital, or to upload the original images online, on websites, social media or in YouTube videos. Any questions, please reach out to me using the contact page link at the end of the page.
