The Ten Commandments Lap Book
And Moses returned from the mount, carrying the two tables of the testimony in his hand, written on both sides, and made by the work of God; the writing also of God was graven in the tables. ~ Exodus 32:15-16
Our seven year old is currently preparing to make his First Confession and First Holy Communion. At the beginning of the school year we spent some time studying the Seven Sacraments and creating a “Seven Sacrament Stained Glass Window.” He has also been working on studying and memorizing The Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments were written by God on stone tablets and given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The first three commandments show us what we must do for love of God and the remaining seven show us what we must do for love of neighbor. In addition to our daily prayers and kind deeds, we love and serve God by keeping His commandments and those of His Church.
Back in 2009 I posted pictures of our first Ten Commandments Lap Book which I made back then with one of the older boys. Last November I decided to make some modifications and printable documents for my current 2nd grader. At the time it also tied in nicely to our History studies (we had just finished reading the chapter on “The Law of Moses” from Augustus Caesar’s World) so the girls all asked if they could make Ten Commandment Lap Books too. I’m finally getting around to posting pictures along with the links to my documents to share!
This Ten Commandments Lap Book provides a perfect opportunity for reviewing the commandments with children, as well as a helpful resource for memorization!
Supplies (For Each Student)
- One File Folder (trim off the tab to create a straight edge)
- Two sheets of Grey Cardstock (cut into 10 – 5.5”x3” rectangles)
- Black Pen or Pencil
- Colored Pencils, Markers, or Crayons
- Scissors and Glue Stick
- List of the Ten Commandments (download and print my document)
- Bible Verse or Quote about Ten Commandments (download and print my document)
- Moses or Ten Commandments Coloring Page (I used a coloring page from St. John the Baptist Religious Education)
Directions for Ten Commandments Lap Book
Open the file folder and find the midpoint. Fold each side in to meet that point creating a “shutter fold.” Trim the top edge to resemble stone tablets.
Title the cover of the Lap Book with “The Ten Commandments” or you may choose to use a coloring page, glued to only one of the front flaps, to create an image for the cover.
Create 10 small “mini-books” with the 5.5”x3” rectangles of grey cardstock. Fold each rectangle in half and then fold each side in to the midpoint. Trim the top edge of each to resemble stone tablets.
Write, trace, or glue the Ten Commandments inside the ten grey tablets.
1. I am the Lord, thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.
2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
4. Honor thy father and thy mother.
5. Thou shalt not kill.
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.
Write, trace, or glue a bible verse, prayer, or quote to include inside the file folder. We chose Exodus 32: 15-16.
Glue the tablets to the inside of the file folder in order from 1-10, leaving extra space in the center bottom for a bible verse. Glue the bible verse to the inside of the folder.
Number the outside of the each tablet.
A few more pictures of the completed Lap Book…
Additional Reading, Coloring Books, and Songs on the Ten Commandments:
The Ten Commandments by Lawrence G. Lovasik
Ten Commandments: God’s Laws for Us by Daniel A. Lord
I Believe: The Creed, Confession, and the Ten Commandments for Little Catholics
My Confession for Little Catholics
A Little Book about Confession for Children
My Confession Book
Living the Ten Commandments for Children
Exodus
Old Testament Scenes Stained Glass Coloring Book
The Commandments Coloring Book
The Ten Commandments Coloring Book
24 Catholic Songs for Children Coloring Book
Catholic Songs for Children
The New Catholic Picture Bible
The Catechism In Pictures (pictured in top photo)
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.
Hi! I've been following your website for some time now and finally got the courage to go ahead
and give you a shout out from Atascocita Tx! Just wanted to say keep up the fantastic work!
Thank you so much for this beautiful craft! Will be putting to use in our Sunday school class this weekend in Circleville, Ohio!
Thank you, Jessica. My little girl will love this. I am printing it now. God bless you!
2015-03-04 20:53:49
What book is pictured in the first image?
2015-03-04 22:11:43
Nevermind. I see the note now. : )
2015-03-04 22:12:41
It's a beautiful book! I originally purchased it as a Father's Day gift for my husband. I blogged about it (including some additional pictures) last year here: The Catechism in Pictures
2015-03-04 22:31:31
I love your pen holder! I tried looking for similar on amazon. Where did you get yours from?
2015-03-05 10:31:56
I love this idea! My daughter will be making her 1st Holy Communion this spring also so I'm going to do this with her! I just wondered where you keep these "books" your kids make? It seems like your house is very well organized so I need some guidance as to how to store these books other than on the kitchen counter or the top of their bureaus? Thank you for sharing all your great ideas! (
2015-03-05 12:23:39
Beautiful! Thank you! I'm looking forward to doing this with my kiddos! Where did you get the holder the markers are in?
2015-03-05 14:04:37
I bought ours at Michaels, but you can also find it at a great price on Amazon right now. It's this set of 100 Markers in a Storage Tray.
2015-03-05 17:06:09
Thanks, Keri! I bought ours at Michaels, but you can also find it at a great price on Amazon right now. It's this set of 100 Markers in a Storage Tray.
2015-03-05 17:06:35
I, too, would love to know where/how you store all the lapbooks. Every flat surface is covered in fallen over lap books and other crafts. After a while do you just throw them away, knowing they will make more? Please help.
2015-03-05 17:18:10
Thank you, Kelly! How exciting for your daughter! I hope she enjoys making the lap book.
Well, there are areas of my house that are well organized… and other areas that currently need quite a bit of work! It was really hard losing our school room last year, I'm still trying to find homes for all our school supplies and books!
We store all the lap books in magazine file folders and that works well for us. Originally they were all in the school room, but now my children each have one or two magazine file folders with their lap books on the bookshelves in their bedrooms. You can see them in this post from a number of years ago with Lap Booking {and Timeline} Questions Answered. My girls have three magazine files each – 2 with completed lap books and 1 with lap books that are still in progress – and they are on the bottom shelf of the bookshelf in their bedroom pictured here.
I hope that helps!
2015-03-05 17:24:16
We do keep all the completed lap books. I actually just finished responding to Kelly up above with how we store our lap books, along with a couple links to photos that can be found in the archives. 🙂
As for other crafts, I usually keep them a little while, take pictures or them, and then toss, depending on the craft. Each of our children has their own "art portfolio" for their Meet the Masters artwork, a "baby box" that they can keep their favorite crafts etc (I have one box for each child under my bed that has special baby items, crafts, trophies, etc), and one "special artwork box" each (you can see them in my last School Room post) where they keep their favorite drawings and coloring pages (they can keep as much as they can fit in the box, it's up to them to decide what stays and what goes). Some crafts (like the girls' paint-by-numbers and the boys' Metal Earth models) are all displayed in their bedrooms.
2015-03-05 17:35:39
Jessica, you must have read my mind. I have been gathering materials for First Confession/First Communion preparation and was thinking that I had to find the link to your lapbook. Thank you for the printables. I need to figure out what I want to do for a notebook. The blog that had the outline to follow for my daughter isn't around any more. God bless!
2015-03-05 23:19:34
Thank you!
2015-03-08 22:42:19
Would be better if the printable part were available in pdf.
In current scribd format it is inaccessible.
2015-04-22 07:51:46
Actually the documents are pdfs, Scribd is just the website that hosts them for me, since I can't embed them directly in my blog post. If you are having trouble with Scribd please send me an email letting me know which document(s) you'd like and I will email them to you directly.
2015-04-22 15:52:45
[email protected]
Please send me the printouts for this craft. Thank u.
2015-06-13 21:46:27
Do you know where I could find finger/hand motions to help describe the ten commandments? There are some protestant ones on pinterest, but I cannot find the Catholic version!
2015-08-21 21:43:54
No, I don't… If you find some I'd love for you to share the link!
2015-08-22 00:12:06
Is it possible you would be willing to email me the documents for this lapbook? I have been looking everywhere for something like this and am absolutely in love with yours, but I'm having trouble downloading from Scribd. [email protected]. I would be so appreciative!
2015-08-25 01:15:49
Hi Leslie, I just emailed the documents to you. God bless! 🙂
2015-08-26 01:10:40
How did you write the commandments in dotted letters? I want to do that for my kindergartner! Also, would you mind emailing me your original copy (not pdf) so that I can edit it? I love the format you have made but would like to edit it just a bit. I would be extremely grateful! [email protected]
2015-08-29 20:32:18
What a neat project for my 4th graders. The clear instructions and photos really inspired me to get going on teaching these sweet children thirsty for learning more about God. I have plenty of instructions and lesson plans fromthe parish, but putting it into a lap book goes with what they are doing in public schools and is more tangible and colorful to make the message more "concrete" pun intended. Blessings to you!
2015-09-12 23:03:21
Hi Jessica I love this idea and am putting parts of it together for my 3rd grade RE class but scrib comes up blank for the commandments and the Exodus scripture. Is there anyway this can be e mailed to me. Thank you
2015-12-13 17:32:22
Hi Peggy, I'm sorry you are having trouble with Scribd. I just downloaded and forwarded the documents to you. God bless!
2016-01-13 03:31:41
Hi Tara, Sorry for the delay in responding! I don't have access to my original document right now. (I had computer trouble this last fall and am still missing many documents/photos, and still working on transferring everything to the new computer.) The dotted letters were created with a special font. A google search for dotted (or dashed) fonts should bring up some results and links to free downloads. God bless!
2016-01-13 03:34:46
Please email the documents for this project to [email protected]. Scribd is coming up blank. Thank you for sharing your work and making it easier for others! God bless you and your family.
2016-03-17 09:09:48
Hi Traci! Sorry for the delay in responding. We are traveling at the moment and I have had limited access to email and the internet. You can find the documents over at Dropbox here: https://www.dropbox.com/home/Catechism%20Craft%20…
2016-03-22 04:34:29
These are awesome! You really did a great job on this! Thanks for sharing!
2017-08-06 17:48:34
Hello Im wondering how you close it and paste the picture on the cover?
2018-02-26 03:03:30
It just folds shut. Half of the picture/cover image is glued to the front left flap on the outside of the completed folder. (In the bottom picture, with the kids holding their open folders, you can see how the other half of the cover image is unattached.) I hope that makes sense!
2018-02-26 03:09:43
Awesome Blog. Loved it everything! Gos Bless you and your family Jessica!
2018-06-17 17:06:45
Dear Jessica, could you please email the templates to me? I am a Catechist in Sydney, Australia and your Ten Commandments would be perfect for the children. I have been unable to download them successfully. God bless you in all you do. Michele
2019-02-09 03:00:28
Can you email me the pdf for the Moses picture? When I click on it, it says it’s no longer valid. Thanks!
Hi Heather! This post is nearly 10 years old (time sure flies!) and I’m not finding a copy of the coloring page on my current (2019) laptop. I will try and get on to my old computer later today and see if I have any luck finding it. I’ll let you know! 🙂