Toys I always look for at Dollar Tree for Bible Story telling and play.
We just got a Dollar Tree in our little town a few years back and I am addicted. It is so easy to grab inexpensive car trip toys, beach and backyard activities, and craft supplies. But my favorite thing to look for are Bible Story supplies! I just went and took some pictures just this week of things that are currently at our Dollar Tree that I get when I see, and/or keep on hand for endless Bible Story crafts and activities. I hope this helps you as you prepare for Bible time in the future! I will try to mention Bible stories with each photo so you know what direction I was thinking as I picked up each of these. Forgive me if most stories are in the Gospels, we’ve been sitting heavy in the life and ministry of Jesus over the past year and so those stories are in the forefront! So many of these could also be used for Old Testament stories and stories of the Church in Acts.
Tool Kits… I love to have tool sets on hand for any Bible story that involves building. Nehemiah, Noah, Solomon & the Temple, Wise Man & Foolish Man… etc. There were three different variations of these tool sets; I picked up all three!
Doctor Sets… I’ve seen various sets at multiple times. These are presently at our Dollar Tree. If you don’t have any doctor sets, I would strongly encourage you to grab one to have on hand. Play doctor can be used for Bible story play for many stories. I think of all of the times Jesus healed the sick in the Gospels… lepers, blind, paralyzed.
Fishing Sets… Aren’t these the cutest little fishing pole games? We go fishing a lot when we get to any of the “fishy” stories in the Bible. (creation, jonah, Fishers of Men, Miraculous Catch…) Most times we use handmade magnetic fish and pole, but I grabbed a couple of these to mix it up next time.
Money & Coins… From time to time, Dollar Tree will carry these little play-money register sets. I always grab it, both for Bible Stories and for School! If you’re like us, your kids are forever losing coins and the paper pieces get thrown away too often. I also will often grab these gold and silver large coins for sensory bins and other play. They are perfect for coin rubs (place under a sheet of paper and rub a crayon over it. The image of whatever is printed will show. Kids think it’s magical haha). Play money and coins are perfect for use in stories such as the lost coin, the call of Matthew or the story of Zaccheus. I love the large coins in retelling the story of Joseph as he put his brothers’ payment back in their sacks when coming to Egypt for food. You can hide the coins in sand bins, have them search the house (lost coin), make little coin sacks to carry them in, etc. The paper money would be fun for talking about Zaccheus and Matthew being tax collectors.
Small animals… My favorite thing at the Dollar Tree is checking out what kind of animal selection they have. I love having tiny animals on hand to play with play dough or sand or water play. We do this when talking about creation or Noah. Isolated animal stories would have lions for Daniel, birds for Jesus talking about caring for the sparrows, or God using ravens to feed Elijah. Pigs for the prodigal son, or the parable of the pearl. And then there are sheep… I will always, always buy sheep when available. There is so much to learn about shepherds, so many stories about sheep. So many heroes of the faith were shepherds. Start at the beginning.. Cain and Abel. Cain was a gardener, his brother, Abel was a shepherd. King David started as a shepherd, Moses and Abraham also kept sheep and sheep were a big part of their God-story. Sheep were one of the most common sacrificial animals in the Bible. Shepherds attended the birth of Jesus. God is our Good Shepherd. Jesus told parables of lost sheep and shepherds with their sheep. Always buy the sheep lol. Here are a few that I have found over the last year or so. The animal tubes are some of my favorite. When I went to take photos, all they had were dinosaurs and wild animals, but they also will carry farm animals (cows, pigs and SHEEP ;), horses, cats and dogs, frogs (think 10 plagues ;), and bugs.
Play Food… I didn’t take any pictures so I just pulled these off the web. But if you don’t have play food, Dollar tree also almost always has play food available. Get a good assortment. You will often find a good use for play food in Bible stories for small children. Again with Cain and Abel, Daniel, Mary & Martha, fruit of the Spirit…
Blocks… As far as I have been able to tell, Dollar Tree always carries some assortment of lego-type block. These were the ones they are carrying currently. We do block play a lot. You can use wooden blocks, Mega Blox, Duplos, etc… but if you don’t have any of those, and your littles are old enough to not worry about choking hazards, these little legos would be a great sensory option for building with blocks. We used blocks the other day to build the temple, or heaven (those yellow ones would be perfect!). But any building story would use these perfectly. Nehemiah, Wise Man/Foolish Man, building the Temple, Tower of Babel…
Boats… I don’t believe they have any in stock right now because seasons have changed, but in the spring and summer, Dollar Tree carries an assortment of little boats. I love to grab a few packs to use for home and church SS classes. These are all some that I have picked up over the past couple of years. We use these all the time with New Testament stories in the life of Jesus. – Miraculous Catch, Calming the Storm, Walking on water… Jesus and his disciples were on the water a lot and these come in handy for telling those stories.
Okay, I am going to leave these with you for now as it’s time to get kids up from naps, but… I have more! I will be back soon with a list of CRAFT and SENSORY BIN fillers from the Dollar Tree!
Let me know if these things are helpful to you! – What other toy items do you pick up to use for Bible Stories?! I’d love to hear!!
BABIES IN THE WORD 