G-Force VBS 2015

Happy Monday! (Is that a thing?) I feel like last week was a huge blur for me, but mostly in a good way. I volunteered with VBS from 8-12 and then went straight to work afterwards until 5. Needless to say, I was a bit exhausted by the end of the week.

But there's a reason that I do it every year: I LOVE IT!! If you've been around here long enough, you'll remember that I used to be the Youth Minister at my church. I've also been a catechist for the preschoolers for the past 8 years. I enjoy teaching and working with children, but that's not the whole reason that I do what I do.

This year I was the craft coordinator for VBS. Using the outlines from the handbook as well as Pinterest and my imagination, I came up with a different craft for each day. I like for the crafts to have some sort of meaning and not be clutter that will go home and get forgotten about. I also try to tie in the projects with the theme for each day of VBS.

Our theme was G-Force from Cokesbury. It's all about God moving in our lives. It was full of action words and movement. Each day had a different word associated with it that helped me plan the projects.

Monday: Move

It was great getting to meet all the kids and volunteers for the first day of VBS. We made prayer wheels with paper plates and popsicle sticks. Each child was encouraged to think of people they would like to pray for to add to the spokes of their wheels. This can also be thought of as a steering wheel and asking God to keep us pointed in the right direction!

Tuesday: Act

Every year we make t-shirts as part of VBS, and since the word was "act" this seemed like the perfect day for it. I cut out stencils for many of the group names as well as some G-Force specific stencils. We used fabric spray paint to paint our shirts, as well as my feet and hands, and the grass in the courtyard! Wearing these t-shirts should remind us to always act as followers of Christ.

Wednesday:Give

On Wednesday we planted flower seeds. We created a biodegradable pot out of a coffee filter and a paper towel tube. The kids decorated the tubes and then added dirt and seeds. I asked them to give the flowers to someone they loved.

Thursday: Follow

Today was one of my favorite crafts! Since we were talking about following Christ, we made traffic lights. I pre-cut the circles and the kids glued them on a white sheet of paper. Each color in the traffic light had special meaning for VBS: Red means stop and help, yellow means pause and pray, and green means GO tell the Good News. The kids also got to glue a picture of their VBS group to the bottom of the page, so it serves as a remembrance of their experience.

Friday: Share

Friday was messy, but not as messy as I had anticipated. We used shaving cream and food coloring to make marbled bookmarks. Each child got to make two bookmarks: one to keep and one to share with a friend of family member. I also instructed them to share something fun about VBS when they shared their bookmarks.

Each day before explaining the project, I told the kids how it tied into the lesson of the day. I love hearing their take on how things tie in and seeing the ways that they personalize their creations. One day I was asking the kids to tell a friend about VBS and they asked if they could tell someone who was at VBS with them. Some of the kids thought it would be silly to share it with someone who already knew about VBS, but I told them that would be great.

And it touches on the main reason I love being a catechist. The more often I say something or explain something, the better I understand it myself. I love VBS and Children's Church because it gives me an opportunity to really internalize my faith and get a deeper understanding of it. It wears me out, but it renews me as well. I love to see my own kids and kids I've taught enjoying themselves year after year. This year I even got to see some of my "babies" (I've been teaching them since they were 3!) as leaders of the younger kids. Frances and a friend were in charge of the Kindergarten group and she has a wonderful time helping the little ones move around the each station. I was so proud of her, and she was proud of herself!