Jesus Loves Us: Piggy Heart Banks Craft

In this craft, kids make piggy banks filled with reminders for their friends and families that Jesus loves them.

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

You’ll need:

• paper bowls (2 per child)
• “Jesus Loves You! Hearts” handout (1 copy for every 2 children)
• pink chenille wires (1 per child)
• pink pompom balls (1 per child)
• small pink pompom balls, sections of pink chenille wire cut into pieces, pink foam shapes, or pink construction paper cut into triangles (2 per child)
• googly eyes (2 per child)
• Glue Dots
• markers or crayons

Easy Prep

• Cut out the hearts on the “Jesus Loves You! Hearts” handout along the dotted lines.
• Punch a hole in the rim of each paper bowl in about the same spot on each of the bowls so that the holes line up with one another.
• Make a sample craft to show kids.

Tip

For older kids (ages 6-7), cut the handouts in half and give each child half a page so kids can cut apart the hearts themselves.

Jesus Loves Us: Piggy Heart Banks

Make the Pig

Say: Jesus told a story about a dad and his son, who ran away from home. The son spent all the money that his dad had given him, so he ended up living and working with dirty, smelly pigs! Even though his son spent all the money and had a yucky job, the dad still loved his son and was so happy when he came home. And we can know that Jesus loves us no matter what, too! Let’s make a piggy craft to remind us of Jesus’ story! Show kids the sample craft.

Give each child two paper bowls, and have kids decorate the body of the pig by coloring the outside of the bowls. You can suggest they color the body pink, and they can even add brown mud spots on their pigs.

Once children have finished coloring the bowls, help them line up the two holes, making a dome shape with one bowl on top of the other. Help children put a pink chenille wire through the two holes, bend the wire in half, and twist the two sides of the wire several times to secure it to the bowls and keep the bowls tied together. Then help kids twist the doubled-up wire around a finger to give their pigs curly tails.

Next, help children use Glue Dots to secure two googly eyes onto the pig and a pink pompom ball as a snout. Then help them add two ears, using small pompom balls, pieces of chenille wire, pink paper, or whatever supply you have on hand.

Jesus Loves You

Say: Your pigs are looking so good! Now I have something for you to add to the inside of your pig—like a piggy bank. Show children the heart cutouts, and tell them that the words say “Jesus loves you!” Jesus loves us no matter what! And that can make us feels so happy! But other people might not know that Jesus loves them no matter what, too. So when one of your friends or family members seems sad or has had a hard day, you can give the person one of these hearts as a reminder of how much Jesus loves them!

Have kids color the hearts and then put them inside their pigs. While children are coloring, have them tell who they could give one of the hearts to.

Want more crafts like this one? Check out Group’s Makerific WOWS!: 54 Surprising Bible Crafts (ages 3-7). You can also look through these ideas!