This art activity helped my children to picture the breastplate of the high priest of Israel, as described in the book of Leviticus. Each of the 12 precious stones represented one of the 12 tribes of Israel, and they were to be worn by the high priest over his heart. This was so that he would keep each of the tribes of Israel in his prayers before the Lord, so as not to forget them.
These are the 12 precious stones and their colors, if you are wanting to do this fun activity with your kids:
- ruby – red
- topaz – yellow
- emerald – green
- turquoise – turquoise
- sapphire – blue
- diamond – clear
- jacinth – red
- agate – light blue
- amethist – purple
- beryl – green
- onyx – yellow or red
- jasper – yellow
Find plastic jewels that are the colors of the precious stones listed above. Find some metallic paper at a scrapbooking store. Glue the metallic paper down first, using white school glue. Then glue some gold ribbon around the edges. Glue each of the 12 stones onto the breastplate, making 4 rows of 3 jewels each. That’s it! Your “Breastplate of High Priest” craft is complete!
Here are some alternate versions of the craft “Breastplate of High Priest.” If you use thicker ribbon, you can use smaller jewels:
