John15:5  “I am the Vine, You are the Branches,” is an outstanding passage for children. I am teaching 5th grade CCD this year and have been blessed with a wonderful room that has a bulletin board. So I decided I’d use this opportunity to enhance the program with scripture passages on it through out the year. I chose this verse first because it’s perfect for kids in their relationship with Jesus. It’s perfect for adults too.

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How to Create Visual Scripture Verse for Your Homeschool or Religious Education Class

First, you need a slate. In my case, I am using a bulletin board in my classroom. But there are several other options for both catechists and homeschoolers. A few possibilities are presentation boards which can be folded up, a wall, or you can make a banner. Another lovely idea is to use wall applique which you can now buy in many stores and they are often favorite verses. So don’t limit yourself in thinking you can’t do something like this if you don’t have a bulletin board. Use whatever you have in your resource to make the verse visual.

You will need:

• Light weight brown paper on a roll. Not for packing but for crafts.
• Letters for the verse – adhesive if desired.
• Fake leaves and grapes- I used an old garland our church had available.
• Sturdy name tags for hanging.

First, create a back drop. It can be the wall or the backing of your board or banner. Begin by twisting the brown paper to make branches. Start tightly on the ends and gradually get looser to get bigger toward the trunk. Staple or fasten each piece. Create the trunk or vine base first and work your way up to create a grape vine plant. Next, attach the leaves and grapes through out.

I Am the Vine Scripture Verse Activity

The teacher in me got to thinking, why not involve the kids in learning their scripture verses. Instead of rote memorization, wouldn’t it be better to involve them in owning the verse? As I contemplated how to do this I realized that I need them to have a part in creating the board, and it turned into a lesson in and of itself. I decided that having them make name tags would be necessary as well. It fit in perfectly with my lesson as we discussed names, why they are important and the many names of Jesus. It will be a recurring theme for the class. Names tell us something about someone. As we get to know one another we will need to learn each others names. As we get to know Jesus we will learn his names too!

Each child made a name tag for themselves. You can use any kind that your children/students could hang on the branches themselves. I used cardboard and had them use adhesive foam letters for their names.

Once they made them we discussed the meaning of the verse. We talked about how we must remain connected to Jesus. Just as the branches need to remain attached to the base so we too must be connected to Christ. Next I asked them how to remain in Him. The children gave examples like prayer, bible reading going to mass, and receiving Holy Communion. We also discussed the consequence for branches that get cut off and compared it to our spiritual life.

Finally, we placed Jesus on the base of the vine. Each child hung their name on a branch. And so in doing this activity, we brought together a parable explained and visualized it in our classroom.

Stephanie is a military spouse and writes on her personal blog, Harrington Harmonies, where she shares her experiences with homeschooling, faith and military family life. She enjoys cooking, gardening, art and singing with her husband Brian of 21 years. She and Brian also sing together and share their Catholic music on the blog. Follow on Facebook, Pinterest , Twitter, and Google+.