Purpose

To practice weaving a fishing net, giving children a visual reminder of the heavy, breaking nets from the story, and Jesus’ call to become “fishers of men.”

Setup

1. Cut the center circle out of the paper plates, leaving only the outer ring (like a donut).
2. Use the hole puncher to punch holes all the way around the inner edge of the paper plate ring (about 1 inch apart).
3. Cut yarn into long pieces (one piece per child). Put a small piece of tape on one end of the yarn to act as a “needle” so it’s easier to thread.

Instructions

1. The Net: Give each child a punched paper plate ring and a piece of yarn. Tie the untaped end of the yarn to one of the holes so it stays in place.
2. Have the children weave the yarn back and forth across the center of the plate, going in and out of the holes to create a web or a “fishing net.”
3. When they reach the end of the yarn, tie or tape it to the back of the plate.
4. The Catch: Have the children cut small fish shapes out of the colorful construction paper.
5. Let them weave or glue their paper fish into the yarn net so it looks like they caught a huge amount of fish!

Discussion While Crafting

• “How many fish did Peter and his friends catch all night long?” (Zero!).
• “What happened when they obeyed Jesus and threw their nets down one more time?” (They caught so many fish their nets began to break!).
• “Did Jesus want them to just be fishermen forever?” (No, He called them to be fishers of men).
• “What does it mean to be a ‘fisher of men’?” (It means we share the good news about Jesus with people so they can follow Him too!).