Preschool Object Lesson: A Miraculous Catch of Fish

Preschoolers explore the miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5:1-11 and miraculously discover these sea creatures on their papers! Together you’ll find out that Jesus is amazing.

Scripture: Luke 5:1-11

You’ll need:

• white paper
• white crayons
• thick blue washable markers (1 per child)

Easy prep:

Use a white crayon to draw at least 1 simple fish profile on a white sheet of paper. You’ll need 1 of these per child. Vary how big, how many, and the location of the fish so each child’s paper is unique. Draw them with force so the line of wax is thick—this will help the fish show up better.

Miraculous Fish Appearance

Say: The Bible tells us about some fishermen who worked hard all night but didn’t catch any fish. Then Jesus got into their boat. He told them to try again, and they caught so many fish! Jesus did something amazing. Jesus is amazing!

Give each child a white sheet of paper that you prepared ahead of time, setting the pages in front of kids so the white crayon is facing up.

Say: Let’s see if we can catch anything. I have a feeling that if we color some water on these pages, we’ll see some fish, too.

Have the children use blue markers to color over their pages until they see the fish profiles you drew ahead of time. Encourage them to color over the entire page because fish could be hidden anywhere on the page.

Invite each child to show off the fish he or she “caught.”

Talk About It

Ask:

• What did you think or feel when you found a fish on your page?

Say: It seems like the fishermen were surprised and excited, too! It was amazing that they caught so many fish! Jesus is amazing. He can do a lot of surprising and exciting things for us, too.

If time allows, give the children white crayons and paper, and let them make secret designs on the papers. Have them trade papers and use markers to reveal the pictures.

Share one or two surprising, exciting, or amazing things Jesus has done in your life that helped you.

Ask:

• What amazing things do you think Jesus can do to help you?

Say: Jesus can do anything. Jesus is amazing!

This object lesson comes from Sciency-Fun WOWS!: 54 Surprising Bible Object Lessons (ages 3-7). This book is also available for ages 8-12. You can find even more free ideas here!