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| The only prop potentially better than a felt board. |
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I'll admit it; I was not looking forward to this week. And then it happened. And now we've got one day left and I'm actually disappointed (even if Papa, especially, and I are exhausted). Maybe next year we can go for
four three-hour days!
- It's summer, Bible stories and hymn-singing, treat-eating and little-one quality time... what's not to love? (Despite all my misgivings?)
- Finding uses for colored Popsicle sticks.
- Teaching the Creation narrative and Jonah's hair-raising adventure to non-readers by reading from the Bible and using a giant felt board. Felt boards ROCK. And ours has about a zillion pieces. I should have taken a picture--truly, the lions were laying down with the lambs. And fish were in the sky. And trees were perilously close to mid-seas. And God evidently created lots of reptiles and not a lot of mammals. But these felt boards make for some gorgeous masterpieces!
- Seeing how kids (mostly) get along right away, make friends, and help each other out. And occasionally get so crazy wound-up they run in circles, literally, with each other.
- Making friends with a 7-year-old over mac and cheese while she tells me about her baby doll who talks--and says "Poo" which means she poops. And she tells me this twice! Because I might have missed that detail the first time around. I LOVE kids! (And you all know I really do--there's never any guessing what they'll be saying next!)
- Watching teen leaders adapt to the 110 degree heat index by moving "Games" inside (who plans on inside games in July? Only in... Minnesota?). The result? Our eldest, P, kind of playing bingo the first day and saying, "Are these little pieces candy?"--after he'd already put three of the plastic things in his mouth. Today, onlookers--and participants--laughed non-stop as the little ones tried to play Twister one minute (hilarious anytime, but especially with kids who don't quite get the directions) and "Duck, Duck, Grey Duck" the next (which involved a lot of running down the halls and group chasing). P had another one-liner: "I didn't know I could do somersaults in church!" Yeah, Buddy--try that in the nave one Sunday! :)
- Visiting with church members for hours every night, because we have as much help as we do participants.
- Listening the kids belt out, "But now has Christ ariiiiiiiiiiiii-sen, ariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-sen, ariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-sen!" from "This Joyful Eastertide." Thinking, "God must find no greater joy in praise than from the mouths of children." What a gift to hear it!
- Having everything come together at the last minute--and even if adults can tell the difference between super-organized, super-prepared, and super-by-the-program, kids can't.
- Hearing a kid say, in the brief silence following the final "Amen" after we'd all just completed the "Close of Service" devotion out of LSB, "That was fun." Whether she meant following a short quasi-liturgical service or the whole VBS she-bang, I don't know--but that was a definite highlight.
8 comments:
You're going to have to print this and send it to your Grandma E. She would love to hear about this. Now go rest, Preggo. :)
LOL about your 'challenge, to Paul and somersaults in the nave on Sunday!!
Somersaults in the nave makes me think that Paul's Uncle Charles and Aunt Rachel could teach him a thing or two about other athletic events that they may have participated in at church. The over-and-under-the-kneeler race comes to mind. There's also the "shoe toss" into the balcony. :-)
HA! I can't wait to find out about what Uncle C and Aunt R used to do in church... :) love those role models! :)
Sounds like it has been fun! Glad to see that so many things about VBS that I remember as a kid and as teenage volunteer are still be used--popsicle crafts and felt boards especially!
Another +1 for the somersault challenge--one year when I volunteered the preschool kids were grouped by animals. I was assigned the frog group so we frog-hopped everywhere while saying "ribbit ribbit". Parents LOVED me for that--I think there were some kiddos wanting to frog-hop on Sundays, whoops!
Hope all is well!
KJB
I think I heard about the over-and-under-the-kneeler race...can't say as I've heard about the "shoe toss" into the balcony...and then there was frisbee during a synodical convention...I love it! :)
The shoe toss event involved choosing one of your friend's shoes (and possibly by friend it actually meant future spouse or future in-law) and hurling the shoe into a remote location that can only be accessed by getting the really tall ladder out. Extra bonus points were awarded if the shoe was required for daily use and not just a "church shoe". Wonderful, smile-bringing memories.
I REMEMBER the shoe toss! Vaguely. I'm pretty sure I wasn't a participant (but then, it's been long enough that if I was, I wouldn't get in trouble. Right?). But YES--wonderful, smile-bringing memories!
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