Genesis 37
The binder project for this story can be as simple or as complicated as you choose. Print out two copies of the page found here for each child. One page should have holes punched in the margin for the binder. The other page is for the coat pieces which are cut apart and glued onto the first page much like a puzzle. Our children do not enjoy cutting so we cut the pieces ahead of time and put them into envelopes, but we also shaded the back of each coat a different color so the children's pieces could be separated if they accidentally mixed them together. Printing the picture in black and white increases the complication, while cutting more than one shape in the same piece decreases the complication. As a guide, our children were ages 8-13 and it took them 20-25 minutes to complete the puzzle in black and white with all shapes separated into individual pieces. We found the best way to complete the puzzle was to find the location of one shape at a time and glue that single shape into place. Children who attempted to place all of their pieces and then glue them were frustrated when a slight gust of wind from someone passing by or from their sleeve brushing the page moved their pieces. The original website for the picture is found here.
Our project was very simple, and the kids loved it! We gave them sheets of computer paper, acrylic craft paints, a disposable plate for mixing paints, Q-tips, and a number of wet wipes and let them paint their own 'coat of many colors.' For the more active children, we cut holes in a plastic garbage to slip over them to protect their clothing. We bought the cheaper acrylic paints from Walmart for 57cents a piece, so the craft was not very expensive, required very little preparation and was a huge hit!
