Jonah and The Whale Childrens Bible Lesson

Week 22 - Jonah and the Great Fish -

Bible Time FUN Through the Bible

Kids Bible Lesson 22 - Jonah and the Great Fish

Welcome to week 22!

This week your will children learn the story of Jonah and the Great Fish.

Jonah was an ordinary person until God chose him to deliver a message to the city of Nineveh. Jonah decided to run from God to a city far from Nineveh. After Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, he realized his mistakes and repented to God.

In this Bible lesson, the children learn that you can’t run from God. If you disobey, ask for forgiveness because God will give you a second chance.

Happy learning!

If you haven’t read the introduction to Bible Time yet, I recommend you read the outline about the Bible lessons for children first.

Children's bible lesson about Jonah and the Great Fish

- Key Concepts
The key concepts that we focused on this week are:

We cannot run from God.
God hears us when we pray.
God gives us second chances.

You can also come up with your own key concepts.

Bible Verse for kids
The Bible verse for this lesson is Jonah 2:1

“From the inside of the fish Jonah prayed”.
This Bible verse should be simple enough for your toddler to memorize after a week of practice.

Bible Story Tips

We read “Jonah and the Great Fish” beginning on page 43 of the children's Bible Storybook called Bible-Time Stories and Rhymes.
During story, draw attention to the key concepts for this lesson.
Don't forget to ask questions related to the story, for example, “What did God ask Jonah to do?”
Throughout the Bible lesson we reiterated how important it is to be obedient to God.
After the Bible story and discussion session, we stand up and do the interactive rhyme found in the Bible storybook.

Prayer
After the story and rhyme, we say a prayer that is related to the Bible story. You can either have your children repeat after you or allow them to come up with their own prayer.

Bible Song about Jonah and the Great Fish

The Bible song for this week is "O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E".
We cast the song from YouTube to the television, so our children can see the motions on the big screen.

bible Activities about Jonah and the Great Fish

We did different Bible activities each day - related to Jonah and the Great Fish. We also have a selection of free Bible activities about Jonah and the Great Fish here.

The Bible Time Family Fun Pack includes all of the Jonah and the Great Fish Bible activities (plus more), printed and arranged for your convenience. Some fun and kid-friendly Jonah Bible activities include:

Jonah and the Great Fish bible coloring Page

While our daughters colored the Jonah and the Great Fish Bible Coloring Page, we talked about how God sent a big fish to save Jonah from drowning.

Open and Shut bible craft

Jonah thought he could run from God, but instead found himself in the belly of a great big fish.

Jonah spent three days in the belly of the big fish. Jonah prayed and told God he would not run and he would do what God asked. God listened to Jonah's prayer, and the fish spit Jonah out so he could do what God asked.

We used the "Open and Shut Bible Craft" to remind the girls that we cannot run from God.

Great Fish Bible Activity

While Jonah was in the belly of the big fish, he prayed and repented, so God gave Jonah a second chance to do what he asked.

This Bible activity for toddlers can be made by cutting a big fish shape out of construction paper. Then, cut a hole in the belly of the fish.

Next, make a cutout of Jonah praying. Glue the big fish to a piece of colored paper and then glue Jonah to the inside hole of the belly (We used the “Great Fish Activity" found in the Bible Time Family Fun Pack.)

After the activity, I reminded the girls that when we pray and repent, we will be given a second chance.

jonah's prayer craft activity

Jonah thought that if he took a boat going in the opposite direction of Nineveh, he could get out of doing what God asked. Boy was he wrong!

While Jonah was in the belly of the great fish, he prayed to God and God heard his prayer and answered.

- While the girls had fun working on the "Jonah’s Prayer Bible Craft Activity", I reminded the girls that God hears us when we pray.

Second Chances Bible activity

Even though Jonah disobeyed God, he asked for forgiveness and God gave him a second chance.

This was an ongoing activity we did throughout the week, where i found multiple teachable moments that demonstrated God’s willingness to give second chances.

With each opportunity that arose, I reminded the girls that if we pray and repent, God is willing to give us a second chance.

Hug and Seek Bible game

Jonah thought he could hide from God by sailing far from Nineveh. Eventually, Jonah learned he could not hide from God’s love.

We played a fun game of "Hug and Seek".

It’s played just like hide and seek except when the seeker finds a hidden player, the seeker gives the player a hug and says, “God sees you, and so do I.”

After the game, we reminded the girls that God wants us to seek him not to hide from him.

Go Fish bible Game

God sent a special fish to swallow Jonah.

Jonah was not harmed at all, God just needed to get Jonah’s attention. Jonah repented for not listening and God gave him a second chance to do what he asked.

We played a fun game called "Go Fish Bible Game", that helped the girls remember the events of the Jonah and the Great Fish Bible story.

I hope you enjoyed week 22 of Bible Time FUN Through the Bible. Please comment or share using #bibletimefun.

Don't forget, the Bible Time Family Fun Pack includes all these activities, printed for your convenience. Learn more about the Bible Time Family Fun Pack Subscription Box.

Children's Bible Lessons
There are 52 children's Bible lessons, one for each week of the year.

Every lesson, craft and activity is simple, fun and interactive - tailored for toddlers & preschoolers!!

To begin, select a lesson:

Old Testament

1. God Created the World
2. Adam and Eve's Sin
3. Noah and the Ark
4. The Tower of Babel