Crossing the Jordan River Dramatization

I saw this Jordan River prop in a little drawing on the Calvary Kids Pages. It was actually designed for the story of crossing the Red Sea. I adapted it for the Jordan River crossing.

It was so simple to make.

I used
strapping tape to attach a large sheet of cardboard to a smaller one.

Then I covered the large sheet with dark blue plastic tablecloths.

I poked two holes in the large sheet, about 2 feet apart. I strung heavy fish line through the holes and made a giant loop with it. The loop was used to raise and lower the cardboard like a draw bridge.

For the other half of the river I laid 12 faux stones we had on hand on the floor. I taped them down because I didn’t want them to move when we pulled the tablecloth back that was covering them. Then I covered it with the remaining blue tablecloths.

I had two helpers. One pulled back the blue plastic tablecloth “river” that was covering the rocks, while the other pulled up the cardboard “river” prop until it stood perpendicular to the floor, like a wall of water.

You can watch the video below to see how it went.

We used angel costumes for the priests. I made the Ark of the Covenant out of a cardboard box and some cardboard tubes.