I’ve always enjoyed teaching preschoolers and elementary school-aged kids at Sunday School and Missionettes, at church. It’s always fun to hear things from their perspective and also very humbling to see the faith they have in believing God’s Word as is.
There are of course times when things can get quite imaginative. I remember the time I was teaching the 3-5 year olds the story of the 5 loaves and 2 fish. While doing a recap I asked the class to fill in the blanks.
The little boy gave Jesus 5 loaves and 2 _________
and a high pitched, little voice screamed back
Strawberries!!!
Oh well!
I’ve learnt that it’s always easy to get kids to remember verses and important lessons when you put things to song, enact the same or give them something visual. That’s why I love doing Faith Bracelets.
Easy DIY Faith Bracelets with Melted Perler Beads
These are such an easy craft to do with young kids and the colors on the bracelet are great reminders of their faith in Christ.
And best of all you only need a box of Perler Beads and a spool of 1 mm Stretch Magic Bead and Jewelry Cord.
While you can have the kids make their Faith Bracelets with the beads as they are, we personally like the way the bracelets look when you use melted beads.
1. Now before you go into melting the beads or stringing them as is, have the kids separate the colors into bowls. (If time is a constraint, do this at home and separate the beads into zipped bags) This is a great way to get them to identify colors, work as a team and practice precision and care. (Impatient hands will result in beads flying all over the place so make sure you send out that warning beforehand.)
2. Now if you’re melting the beads while doing this craft at home, this is the time you will place the beads upright, on parchment paper, on a baking tray, with a 0.5-0.75 cm distance between each.
3. Heat your convection oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. Once it reaches that temperature, place your tray in the same for about 7 minutes and remove the tray once you see your beads looking like the beads in the photograph below.
*Note: When Perler beads melt the room will smell. I cross-ventilated the kitchen and adjacent room before, during and after I melted the beads to ensure the smell didn’t linger in the kitchen too long.
4. To begin making the bracelets, measure around the wearer’s wrist approximately and cut the thread with about 1 inch extra on either side. Before you begin threading the beads, Tie a knot or even a double knot on one side to ensure the beads don’t roll out.
5. Now have the kids string the beads in this order: Black-Red-White-Blue-Green-Yellow
Each color is representative of something important in our faith journey. (Click the image to access the printable or this link.)
This bracelet is an easy way to remember what each color stands for in the journey of faith.
Kids as young as 3 and 4 will be able to share this with you.
For more great faith inspired craft ideas, check out these beautiful inspirational crafts.
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
That is a lovely idea for an easy DIY kids project. I love how it came out.
Sara P. (@SensiblySara) says
SUCH an awesome idea!! The faith bracelet is pretty but I love that kids can remember what each color stands for.
Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle says
I think this is a lovely way to reinforce faith, AND it’s an adorable project, to boot!
Crystal says
How did I not know about the bead trick? That is such a fabulous idea. I would love to make these bracelets with my kiddos.
Cassie says
What a fun craft! I love this unique way to express one’s faith 🙂
Catherine S says
This is such a great idea. My son loved to make bracelets with beads when he was little.
Chrystal @ YUM eating says
I love this. So cute. I am going to send it to my church family. They should do this as a kids craft.
Christie says
A great learning tool for kids. I remember doing something similar when I was young
Jeanine says
Great fun! My girls love doing bead work. I should do this with them.
Jenn Short says
What a neat idea with Perler beads! 🙂
Bethany says
How fun these look!
Debra Walters says
This is fantastic! I’m definitely doing this with my kids for Easter. Thank you for sharing!
Debra says
What a great and fun idea. I should do this with my Sunday school class, they love doing crafts as part of a lesson.
LauraOinAK says
What a great bracelet to make with the kids as it can look great AND remind them of basic catechism. I’d never heard about melting those beads, but love the way it looks.
LaVonne says
I just ordered some Perler beads for my seven year old daughter. Thank you for posting this. She will LOVE to make this for her and her friends.
Tracey says
What a beautiful and fun craft. I love the meaning behind it.
Mary O'Malley says
This is a really great craft! I think a faith bracelet is a wonderful craft to make at any time of the year. I’m going to share this one.