Vacation Bible School

WOW! What an amazing week! We just finished a week of learning about Jesus and having fun with friends. Ashlyn, Avery and Abbie had a great week and they woke up each morning excited for the day ahead at VBS. Our church's theme was Camp E.D.G.E. (experience and discover God everywhere). I was a leader for Ashlyn's 5 year old group- 15 of them actually! Ryann was in our group also. We had a blast learning about God through music, crafts, science, drama and recreation. My favorite was the music. Ashlyn said her favorite part was, "all of it". She especially enjoyed Friday's water games with water squirters and water balloon fights. The songs are so catchy and send such an uplifting message. The girls and I found ourselves singing the songs throughout the day all week long... "L-E-T-S, G-O". I was amazed to see what an impression this week had on Abbie. She learned and believed right away that "Jesus is my friend" and talked about it with us a lot with much enthusiasm. Moments like these are what bring me and the 200+ volunteers back each year.

We also participated in VBS at Payton and Hudson's school, FBC of McKinney, in June. They had a "Boomerang Express" Australian theme. I again volunteered in Ashlyn's group, although I requested (but was not assigned) to be in Avery's group so I could have a chance to volunteer in each girl's group. This was another amazing week and I left there each day feeling positive, happy, renewed and energetic, despite the time and energy required to make each day a success for the kids that attended each day. The girls had so much fun, despite not knowing a single person on the first day. Praise the Lord!

Super-Sized Sunday: VBS

The girls and I just finished a week of vacation bible school. The theme was 'Beach Party- Surfin' through the Scriptures.' We had a lot of fun, but what a whirlwind! Although Ashlyn has participated in the "mini-program" during VBS (which is a scaled down version of the week's activities for the smaller kids) this was her first experience of VBS in full force now that she is a big 4 year old. She loved every minute of it which is typical for any activity in which she participates.

I volunteered to help out all week and was placed as a 'guide' for the 4 year olds, although I was not placed in Ashlyn's group. Avery was not yet old enough to participate in the mini-program activities so she was in the church nursery everyday. Since Avery has a limited vocabulary right now she was unable to let us know if she was enjoying her time in the nursery. However, she dropped a huge hint when we drove up in the church parking lot after the second day; she took a quick look out the window and realized where we were, and then let out a loud, ear piercing, "NOOOO!" She always does very well when we drop her off on Sunday mornings while we go to church service and Sunday school. I guess spending 3 1/2 hours in the nursery day after day this week just pushed her over the edge.

Ashlyn and I, on the other hand, looked forward to everyday. Ashlyn asked several times, "How many days do we have left of VBS?" As the count down of days dwindled, she would say, "I don't want it to be over!" in her sad little voice. Ashlyn said her favorite part of the week was drama- watching plays about stories in the bible. I was surprised she didn't say the crafts. My favorite was the music class. We learned some fun songs which even had dance moves to go along with the words. At the end of the week, the 4 and 5 year olds (Ashlyn included) performed these songs in the final assembly for all the parents and older VBS kids.

I will admit that being responsible for 13 four year olds (with the help of 1 other adult) was quite challenging! I was ready to fall on my face after I got home on that first day and I'm still recovering from the week. I was not prepared for the amount of energy and constant attention required to keep up with these fast-paced, talkative, all over the place kiddos! We did have the aide of a rope (no, not to tie them up) for the kids to hold on to as we changed classrooms and buildings to get to the next activity. What a difference a simple rope can make when trying to keep up with these small kids in a crowd. I definitely have a new appreciation for the preschool teachers that do this for an entire school year. I barely made it through one week!