Ages 4+ · Bible Stories · Rescuers and leaders
Baby Moses
🌾reeds🧺a basket🌊the river👧Miriam👸the king's daughter
The basket on the river.The big ideaThe Bible tells us baby Moses was kept safe in a basket on the river.
How it works
The Bible tells us about baby Moses. His mother loved him and wanted him safe, so she wove a basket from reeds.
She painted it with sticky tar so no water could get in, and she set it on the river.
His big sister Miriam watched from the reeds. The king's daughter found the baby and held him close.
Miriam brought his own mother to nurse him. His name, Moses, means pulled out of the water.
Example 1: Weave like the mother
- Take some strips of paper or wool.
- Go over and under, over and under.
- In those days people wove reeds into mats, baskets and little boats.
Example 2: Float a boat
- Make a little boat from paper or foil.
- Float it in a bowl of water.
- Tell the story: the basket floated among the reeds.
Example 3: Who helped?
- The mother made the basket.
- Miriam watched and spoke up at just the right time.
- The king's daughter found the baby and held him close.
Words to know
- reeds
- Tall green plants by the river.
- basket
- A little boat the mother wove from reeds.
- Nile
- The wide river in Egypt.
- Moses
- The baby's name. It means pulled out of the water.
Watch out
- The basket was a tiny boat, made of reeds and sticky tar.
- Miriam is the baby's big sister. She watched from the reeds.
- The king's daughter found the baby, and Miriam brought his own mother.
Try it
- What did the mother weave the basket from?
- Who watched over the baby?
- Who found the baby?
- What does Moses mean?
Answers: 1. Reeds · 2. Miriam, his sister · 3. The king's daughter · 4. Pulled out of the water
Try at homeWith a grown-up, make a little boat from paper or foil, float it in a bowl of water and tell the story of baby Moses.
For grown-upsA paper boat in a bowl of water is the best retelling. Let your child be the mother, then Miriam, then the king's daughter.