Preschool crafts serve as illustrations of the moment Jonah encounters the whale. Kids draw Jonah, a whale and ocean waves on a paper plate, as the instructor cuts out the inside of another plate. After putting blue cellophane paper between the plates and stretching it, the instructor staples the plates together. Kids color the rim of that plate surrounding Jonah and the whale.
For another Jonah meets the whale craft, preschoolers draw a Jonah figure on one side of a clothespin and cover a plastic cup with the cuff of an adult size black sock. The opening of the sock functions as the mouth in the center of the rim, while excess sock at the bottom of the cup serves as the tail. The instructor ties one end of an 18 inch piece of yarn around one clothespin clamp and another end through a punched hole in the rim of the cup. Kids try to land Jonah inside the whale's mouth.
Kids act out the story of Jonah and the Whale and learn the consequences of disobedient acts. With props such as a chair and a large blanket representing the ship and whale, respectively, the instructor plays God as kids take turns as Jonah. Kids refuse to follow "God's" orders to go to Nineveh and preach repentance. As "Jonah" goes to the ship, other kids start the "storm" and throw items such as blankets, pillows and stuffed animals around the ship. When Jonah jumps off the ship, kids grab the "whale" and toss it over him. While "inside" the whale, Jonah prays to God for forgiveness. Once kids remove the blanket, Jonah speaks to God and preaches repentance to other kids, now playing residents of Nineveh.
Preschoolers distinguish between running away and obeying God in a take three steps game. With kids standing in a line facing the instructor and the instructor facing the opposite direction, the instructor reads various hypothetical scenarios. Kids move three steps forward if the child obeys God or three steps back if the child runs away and disobeys. After reading the last scenario, the instructor explains that while kids move toward or away from God, God never moves away.
Kids help Jonah survive in "Jonah and the Whale," found at Our Lady of Zeitun Online. Preschoolers use the arrow keys to move Jonah. Inner tubes and fish give players temporary protection from whales, while apples temporarily boost speed. The game ends when a whale swallows Jonah. For a noncompetitive game, A Kid's Heart hosts "Catch a Jonah," in which kids move their mouse to catch Jonah with the whale.
Preschoolers try to find their way in printable Jonah and the Whale mazes found at BibleWise. "Jonah and the Great Fish Maze" challenges kids to reach Jonah in the whale's stomach, while the "Oh No, Jonah" maze challenges kids to find their way to Joppa and then Nineveh. At A Kid's Heart, kids piece together jigsaw puzzles depicting the whale's capture of Jonah. Options include animated puzzles and a sliding puzzle.