Foot-Washing Apron

• Take a 12-by-18-inch piece of sturdy cotton cloth and attach 20-inch ties on either side of the widest length, or purchase solid-colored, inexpensive aprons at a craft store. Print the scripture reference along the top of the apron and “Jesus, wash me” on the bottom edge. Prepare pans of tempera paint and place the aprons on the floor on top of plastic dropcloths or layers of newspaper. Have the children step barefoot into the pans and then step on the apron to leave footprints on the apron. Wash the paint off the children's feet and explain why Jesus believed the disciples should serve one another. Let the aprons dry. Alternatively, draw around the child’s feet with a permanent marker and let him color the footprint with a marker or paint.
  
  

Bath Salts

• In Jesus' day, a servant washed the feet of guests to clean off road dust. Wealthy people might use sweet-smelling soaps, similar to our modern day bath salts. Mix bath salts using course salt, baking soda, epsom salts, food coloring and perfume in a large bowl. Pour the bath salts into a baby food jar. Decorate the jar with footprint stickers. Tie a ribbon around the jar and add the scripture reference on a small card with a hole you can slip the ribbon through. Alternatively, make bubble bath with shampoo and water and place the bubble bath in a clean mustard squirt bottle and decorate it.
  
  

Making Soap

• Use pure soap flakes (not powered soap or detergent flakes) with warm water to create a bar of soap. Have the child mix four parts soap flakes to one part water by hand and shape the soup into cakes or stamp out the soap with footprint cookie cutters. Alternatively, use the cookie cutters to make clay feet. Punch a small hole into the wet clay and insert a piece of braided cord through the hole. Allow the clay to dry and attach a card to the cord that reads, “Jesus, wash all of me.”
  
  

Foot-Washing Collage

• Allow the students to make a foot-washing collage to honor the story. Use a sample soap bar, such as the size hotels give out, and glue it to a piece of card stock. Glue two art foam footprints on the card stock and a small segment of terry cloth or sturdy cotton fabric. Add the scripture reference to the paper to remind students to foster a servant's heart. Alternatively, glue art foam footprints onto a piece of construction paper and draw little circles all over the feet to represent soap bubbles. Glue pieces of paper towel to the paper and write the scripture reference across the page bottom.