Joseph & Mary (Matthew 1)

This is a craft, a puzzle, a game, it’s made for Joseph and Mary but it could be adapted for just about any character on the site. Hide it round the room, use each piece as a reward for a comprehension question, or just put it out as a puzzle to reveal which character we will be looking at today. These are rather fun to play with afterwards for any age!

It’s not a new idea, but it’s great for a series of characters where the images the kids made slowly build up a story. Throw in an angel and shepherd and if you wish you could even make a baby Jesus.

To make these you’ll need 7 craft sticks or tongue depressors per puzzle, some liquid glue, a printout of the character you are making, a craft knife and a ruler.

Print and cut out your character, you can find the images on the heroes posts. Measure your craft sticks height and width and print the correct size for your printer. You should be able to do this by through either a print program or by setting the paper size on your printer.

MORE DURABLE METHOD FOR OLDER KIDS.

Line up your sticks, cover the back of your printout with liquid glue and attach it onto the sticks. Try and keep the sticks together as you do this. If you think you may have a problem use a couple of pieces of tape to secure the back!

Make it more damage proof by adding a square of sticky back plastic over the design. Alternatively paint liquid glue over the top to seal the paper.

Leave it to dry, if you don’t you will tear the paper when you try and cut the sticks apart. Once dry fold the sticks to give small crease lines.

For a cleaner cut, place the work picture side up. Using the curve of the sticks, to guide you in, slice through the paper (and sticky back plastic) to separate the image.

SAFER METHOD FOR YOUNGER KIDS.

Worried about the craft knife? Spit the picture into strips before you stick it down. Draw a line along the side of your picture and then using your craft stick as a spacer continue drawing lines until the image is split.