Looking for some fun Bible Story Activities? Here’s a free printable Jonah and the Big Fish Coloring Page!
If you are looking for some fun Sunday school activity ideas, the story of Jonah is a classic.
It’s a story of learning obedience to God. A man named Jonah is asked to bring God’s word to an evil city. Jonah doesn’t want to go, so he runs away from God. Jonah learns about God’s power and His great mercy.
If you aren’t familiar with the story of Jonah, I’m written a short synopsis below. Of course, you’ll want to go ahead and read the book of Jonah as it’s a fairly short book and an easy read.
This free Bible Coloring Page is perfect for Sunday School lessons, kids church, or homeschooling. I also have linked at the end of this article a fun Jonah and the Big Fish themed activity pack that works well for multiple ages and lessons.
In case you were wondering, I’m a former preschool and elementary teacher, but I have been a Sunday School teacher for many years.
I’ve included a short kid-friendly synopsis (I personally wrote) from the biblical account of the book of Jonah in the Old Testament. I hope you find it useful!
If you don’t need the story synopsis, you can scroll on down to the printable Jonah coloring page near the bottom if you like.
Alright, let’s get started!
Story of Jonah and the Big Fish
God told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and preach God’s Word to them so that they would stop their evil ways.
Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh. He didn’t like the people of Nineveh because they were enemies of Israel.
So, Jonah didn’t obey God. Instead, he decided to run away from God and go to Tarshish instead. So, he went to Joppa and got on a boat headed for Tarshish.
He went below the deck of the ship and went to sleep.
Meanwhile, God sent a great storm. The storm was so strong that all of the sailors on the boat were afraid that the boat would fall apart. The Captain of the boat woke up Jonah and asked him to pray to his God that they could survive the storm.
The Captain and the sailors believed that Jonah might be the reason for the violent storm. They asked him who he was and why he was traveling.
When they learned that he was running away from God, they were terrified.
Then they asked Jonah, what they could do to make the sea calm again. Jonah told the sailors that the storm was his fault and that the sea would become calm again if they threw him overboard into the water.
The sailors didn’t want to do that. They were afraid Jonah would die. So they tried to row back toward the land. But the storm grew even worse.
They had no choice, so they threw Jonah into the water. Immediately the storm stopped and the waters became calm. The sailors were amazed at God’s power and worshipped Him.
The Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah prayed to the Lord inside the belly of the fish. He thanked God for saving him and promised that he would obey God.
Jonah was in the belly of the big fish for 3 days and 3 nights.
Then God caused the huge fish to spit up Jonah onto dry land.
Once again, God told Jonah to go to speak to the people of Nineveh.
This time, Jonah obeyed God.
He went to Nineveh and spoke God’s message of repentance to the people. The people of Nineveh listened to Jonah, turned from their wickedness and asked for the Lord’s forgiveness.
Free Jonah and the Big Fish Coloring Page
Ready to print this free Jonah and the Big Fish Coloring Page to use with your classroom, Sunday School class, or at home?
This free printable Jonah and the Big Fish coloring sheet digital download features Jonah in the water right before he is swallowed by the big fish.
It says “God provided a big fish to swallow Jonah to save him from the sea.” What a great way to remind children of God’s mercy.
Download the Free Coloring page here:
More Jonah and the Big Fish Activities and Games for Kids
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Looking for more ideas for a Jonah and the Big Fish Sunday school lesson? Here’s few creative ways!
Reenact the Story – Give each child a role and have them act out the Bible story.
Make a Puppet – using a paper lunch bag, have kids draw Jonah’s face on the bottom of the bag. Add yarn for hair and let the kids use their puppets to retell the story.
And if you’d like a few more additional resources, I have a fun Jonah and the Big Fish Printable Pack in my Etsy shop! It’s full of fun activities like:
Jonah and the Big Fish Sequencing Cards – Kids can use these picture cards to retell the story of Jonah and the Big Fish.
They can work together to put them in order. If you like, you can make a game of it by hiding the cards around the room and have the kids find them and put them in order afterwards.
Such a great way to help kids remember the biblical story of Jonah and the importance of obedience.
Jonah and the Big Fish Mazes – Kids will enjoy finding their way through the mazes. There’s 2 different ones – one easy and one more difficult.
A great resource for helping kids build fine motor skills while reinforcing obedience to God’s plan.
Jonah and the Big Fish Tracing – Kids can color the picture of Jonah praying inside the belly of the big fish, then trace the Bible Verse.
Jonah and the Big Whale Craft – Love Bible Crafts? There’s a fun big fish printable craft that kids can color and cut out. The mouth on this interactive craft can move with the help of a paper fastener or brad.
Jonah and the Big Whale Coloring Pages – There’s several Jonah and the whale Coloring sheet pages as well that are perfect for your Bible study.
Plus, you also get a printable version of the story synopsis above, a Jonah and the Big Fish Word Scramble for older kids and a Jonah and the Big fish headband craft!
Get your Jonah and the Big Fish Bible Activity Pack here in my Etsy shop. It’s perfect for kids preschool to 3rd grade! (You’ll find that aside from the Word Scramble, most activities in this pack are for children of all ages!)
You’ll get all of the Jonah and the Big Fish Bible Printables you see above including coloring sheets, crafts, sequencing cards, mazes, and more! So many fun interactive activities for young children.
This Bible lesson set is great for homeschooling lesson plans, Sunday School classroom teachers, parents who are incorporating bible stories into their at-home learning and more!
More Bible Activities for Kids
Looking for more fun Bible Activities?
There’s free printable Daniel and the Lions Den Coloring Sheet here. Great for teaching kids about this man of great faith.
You can find a free David and Goliath Coloring Page here. There’s also lots of fun activity ideas as well for this story.
Print a free Esther Coloring Sheet here. Such a great way to teach your kids about this incredibly brave woman of the Bible.
Find all kids of ideas for Quiet Church Activities for kids here. So many great ways to keep little ones busy in church.
Learn how to teach your kids the Books of the Bible here. There’s lots of fun games and printables, you are sure to find a fun way to teach your young learners!
Want to save these Jonah and the Big Fish coloring pages for later? Pin the image below to your Bible Activities for Kids board on Pinterest.
