Jonah and the Whale

Catherine's great Feast of the Annunciation craft last week really struck a chord with the kids.  The story was reenacted many times around my house with the cutouts, and they are currently on display on our prayer table.



Since the kids really seemed to take to the formula of story + coloring/cutting characters + retelling the story, I decided to stick with it again this week for a rendition of Jonah and the Whale.



We read The Story of Jonah by Nadine Wickenden which proved to be a good counterpoint to the Annunciation story from last week.  When Jonah says no to God, we paused to discuss whether that was a good choice and contrasted that choice with Mary's choice to say yes.  Then the kids colored and cut out pictures of Jonah, the whale and the boat that I had free handed based on the illustrations in the book and copied onto card stock and construction paper. 



I had hoped to emphasize the three days in the fish and mention the three days that Jesus spent with the dead which he foretold as the "sign of Jonah," but time ran short.  I'm sure that idea will come another day. 


The kids seemed to enjoy it again, and I know that around my house at least Jonah is regularly being swallowed by the whale.















In case you want to use them, you can save and print them letter sized.