I have received several requests from public school teachers to give an alternative to my J is for Jesus due to religious restrictions placed on them. I hesitated to do this as I view my blog as a ministry to help spread the love of Jesus to my readers, and J is for Jesus is my favorite letter set! However, after much prayer I’ve decided to go ahead move forward. I do understand your restrictions and pray that my curriculum bless your classrooms.

–> Download J is for Jelly Beans Alternative <–

(If you have trouble downloading, try to RIGHT click on the above link, then select “SAVE LINK AS”. You will then be prompted to save the file to your hard drive.)

Jelly Bean Graphing: Using real jelly beans, give your students a jar full and have them sort them on the chart based on color. Once finished they can fill in the most/least colors as well.

jellygraph

Jelly Bean Coloring: We color this, paint it, or use markers. I found some that fit my 3 year old well, they’re called Pip-Squeaks Washable Markers. They’re shorter and easier for her to use. These pictured are chubby markers, they also make a skinny version. I got mine at Wal-mart.

jellycoloring

Jelly Bean Scavenger Hunt: Fill the box with things that start with J! Some ideas: jar, junk mail, jelly beans.

jscavenger

Jelly Bean Color Puzzles: I cut these little guys out then cut them in half in as many interesting ways as I could think of to make tiny color matching puzzles.

jellycolorpuzzles

Jelly Bean Letter Match: These cards are to be used with the wooden letter disks please Click here to see the process of making the letters. If you’re looking for more challenge, use the uppercase card with the lowercase letter disks or visa versa! (The download includes both upper and lowercase activity cards)

bottlecappromo

Jelly Bean Capital/Lowercase Sort: Simple, just sort the uppercase and lowercase letters

jjsortpromo

Jelly Bean Large Floor Numbers: I made these large floor numbers so that we can play a hopscotch type game. I call out a number and she jumps to it! You could also have them put the cards in numerical order.

floornumbers

Jelly Bean Cut-n-Paste: Have students cut out and glue onto blue construction paper to practice scissor skills!

jellycutpaste

Jelly Bean Cutting: Simple print and let your child try cutting along the lines!

jellycutting

Jelly Bean magnet page: I use it with a cookie sheet and these pom-pom magnets I made from pom-poms and self-sticky magnets from the craft isle in Wal-mart. I also use these magnets from Amazon: Power Magnets, 0.75 inch Diameter, Assorted Colors

jellydoadot

Jelly Bean Counting:  Cut out each card, then cut along dotted lines. Have students count dots and match the bottom to the correct number.

jellydotcount1

Jelly Bean Lacing Card: I make sure to laminate this one for durability, then punch with a hole punch every inch or so for lacing practice. Teach them patterns to do with this as well, like up from the bottom each time, or in-out-in-out sewing. Whatever pattern you can think of.

jellylacing

Jelly Bean Number Cards: I use these with either mini-clothes pins, colored paper clips, or put a hole in them and have her attach chain links to them. This time I made little stars to put on the cards. Whatever you use, just have them put on the correct amount for the number on the card. These are also good for putting in numerical order.

jellynumbercards

Jelly Bean Puzzle: Cut along the guides for a fun 6 piece beginner’s puzzle!

jellypuzzle

Jelly Bean Shape Matchup: Cut out each bean, then cut along dotted lines. Have students match shapes. Discuss shape names as you go.

jellyshapematch

Click here for a complete list of Letter J ideas!

–>> Download J is for Jelly Beans Alternative<<–

Note: To get all of the games in my Letter of the Week curriculum, please check out the full curriculum in my store!

30 Comments

  1. I am so thankful for you! Thank you for this reminder to be gracious to others who believe differently than I do- without having to compromise what I believe. Jellybeans are awesome too! Not quite as sweet as Jesus is, but I do love them!

    Rachel NC
  2. Erica,
    Thanks so much for sharing your ideas they are great. I am starting the letter Jj and have been trying to download the file. Usually when I download a file it asks me where I want to save it to, but when I try to download this one, it just says “Thank you for downloading J is for Jelly Beans”. But I don’t know where it went or if it saved. Has anyone else had problems with this?? I’ve tried searching my computer but it says no matches to that download. Have any idea??

    Thanks again for sharing your creative ideas with us!! They are great!

    Michelle

    Michelle E.
  3. Thanks for giving all of us a choice to choose which would be right for our families. LOVE you blog! I just wish you would have included J- do a dot, poke page, and the writing practice pages that come with all the rest of your alphabet. I just went to J is for Jesus and printed them off there. AGAIN THANKS!

    Brooke
  4. Thank you for the alternative “J” option. I would love to use the “J is for Jesus” however cannot at the school that I teach at. I understand why you hesitated to create the alternative, but am very thankful that you did. I also can’t wait to do the “J is for Jesus” set with my own children. Thanks again for all of these great ideas and pages!

    Kate
  5. I also tell the story of Jesus, Jonah and the whale, and Joseph and his coat of many colors
    Just want to thank you for your blog and the many Christian things you do to spread the word!!

    Janet
  6. Hiiii! I just bought the Letter of the Week and the K4 curriculum through a co op. I received the J is for Jesus file for the letter J. I’d love to download the J is for Jellybean file but every time I try to I get an error code. Is there another way to download the file? TIA!!

    Jessica

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.