Craft Supplies I always keep on hand from the Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree Finds… Part 2! I am excited to show you the rest of my Dollar Tree finds! These are crafting and Bible Story props that I either keep on hand, or will run to grab when I am telling specific stories with my kids. Again, I will try to reference stories with each product, or at least give you a point of reference to help spark your creativity with other stories not mentioned.
Posterboard… Alllll the colors… Does this not make your crafty heart so happy?? Do you know what I see there right away? 5 Gospel Colors… Gold, Black, Red, White, Green. I think about a giant wordless book, or using them as foundations for creating scenes for each theme. I would also use these for song posters, or writing out Bible Verses for little readers to help with Bible memory. Dollar Tree also has foam board and presentation trifold boards for background scenes. How cool would it be to paint a trifold black and have you kids make countless stars with stickers and glow in the dark paint dots when you study God’s covenant and promise to Abraham? The possibilities are endless. š
Colored Paper Shreds, Plates and Table covers… These are both the perfect story medium and craft base. We’ve done lots of story crafts using cups and plates. Starting with colored pieces gives your project an extra boost and is a lot less messy than trying to deal with painting first. š I love using paper shred in a container, or laying down a table cover on the floor when we tell Bible stories on the water.
Also, I always keep a couple of table covers on hand for extra messy painting days. š
All of the craft things… We go through paintbrushes, craft sticks and pipe cleaners QUICKLY at our house, so I am constantly refilling our supplies from the dollar tree. Pipe Cleaners (Chenille Sticks) are perfect for threading pony beads with young children. And when I saw perfect, we do this once a week, Bible story or not. There are so many beaded bracelets around my house, I can’t even tell you haha! We use velcro dots often for little play scenes we create on file folders or laminated projects… The fact that Dollar Tree carries these is amazing! Feathers… God creates birds… God Cares for the Sparrows… Try feather painting, or sticking feathers and googly eyes into playdoh ($ tree has all these too!) to make little birds.
Beads and more beads…Glow in the dark beads… string them on pipe cleaners and twist to create constellations. Use the wood beads on pipe cleaners and twist into little fish. Gold, Silver and Crystal beads can be used to make beautiful jewelry for a king or queen or royal treasure.
Bedazzlers… What craft closet would be complete without Glitter, Sequins, and Jewels?! We for sure use all of these for Crowns (David, Solomon, Esther, Jesus…). We also will put sequins in slime or glitter into homemade playdough to make it extra fun. Especially silver in white playdough for an extra clean look, or gold in yellow for treasure. I haven’t seen any yet, but I am always on the lookout for star shaped jewels! They would be so fun on a background for the Christmas Story or Abraham! – Speaking of… how about white glue in star shapes and sprinkling with glitter?!
Balloons… Big White balloons with Sharpie can be transformed into great sheep. Your child can “bat” them into pens with a pool noodle for a fun shepherding game. Purple balloons strung together could help tell about the Promised Land when Moses sent 12 men in to spy it out. Imagine they are grain in Egypt. You are Joseph… have your children gather them for 7 years… 6 years… 5 years… 4 years… …
Flowers… for all the planting sensory bins and activities. Dollar Tree actually has some really pretty stems! Put in dirt with trowels and ceramic pots ( also at $ Tree in the spring usually), or just use in play doh!
Rocks & Moss…There are days we need smooth stones, clean stones, lots of stones… and going outside to collect is just not going to bring what we need. Enter dollar tree. These black stones are perfect for painting if you want to make “promise stones”, or story stones. The little ones work great in a sensory bin. I’ve painted stones gold for treasure when talking about the treasure buried in the field, the prodigal son taking his fortune, or the wise man’s gift of gold. Moss would be great in a creation craft or creating a scene for story telling.
Containers & Bins… I have to control myself with all the pretty containers and things at Dollar Tree, they’re just so fun! These I had to take photos of for you though. A big flower shaped tray or trio tray for loose ends in open ended play. If you are doing a craft that includes lots of pieces, either of these would be perfect! Also Dish pans! We use those little white dish pans for sensory play all of the time! And I love the idea of filling a couple with soapy water and play dishes and letting the children wash and dry dishes on the other little rack… Mary & Martha? Teaching servanthood?
Play Kitchen… Okay, these are my very favorite. All of the things for creating meals and “cooking” outside. Do you have a “mud kitchen”? – Essentially it’s out outside play kitchen where the kids use dirt and leaves to create their imaginary dishes. They come in filthy, but it’s worth it to see their little creativity at work. We loved doing this when we talked about Mary and Martha but you could use it for anything where cooking/baking is involved. Ours is a piece of plywood on top of cement blocks. My husband found an old sinktop that he cut a hole for and set in place and I painted a couple of red spiral burners on one edge. It’s not super fancy, but they love to play out there and create “delicious courses”. Today’s special was Cicada shell soup. yum.
Well, f you made it this far… what did you think? š Are any of these ideas helpful? What are your favorite things from the Dollar Tree for Bible crafting and Story Telling? I’d love to hear!
BABIES IN THE WORD 