I think the first day we had maybe 24 kids but the rest of the days it was more like 32 or so-- a REALLY good number for our small rural church. Maybe only half of them are regular attenders of our church.
This was the first day's Opening Assembly. As you can see, the leader, Bartley, always wore a crazy hat, and he really knew how to engage the kids and get them excited about the night.
I didn't want Abigail to have to stay in the nursery the whole time but wasn't sure how she'd do in a group without me there, so decided to just put her in my group. Besides one other two year old the first two nights, she ended up being the only one in my group. This gave us the flexibility to skip out on activities if she got restless or cranky; however, it also made her a little "entitled"-- she felt like she could get away with more. She LOVED any parts with songs and would always go out in the aisle and dance.
Andrew was in a completely separate group from me and I rarely saw him each night. The groups were not split by age-- there was a variety in each group. So Andrew had 2 other boys in his group and thrived that way. For once he was not in his sister's shadow and didn't have only girls to hang out with. He had so much fun with the other little boys and did so well on his own.
Another fun part of the Opening Ceremony was the Penny War, between boys and girls to see who could collect the most money for missions. The girls won in the end, but each night it was always a mystery and it was a huge deal that the kids really got into!
The theme was "Weird Animals" so each night featured a unique and different type of animal from around the world. The basic idea was that even though we are different (or afraid, or whatever), Jesus still loves us. Instead of crafts, there was a science-type experiment each night and the kids took home a small "toy" that reminded them of the night's animal.
Another unique feature of this VBS was the Kid Vid-- a short movie clip about a real-life kid in a difficult or unique situation and how God is still being glorified in their lives. This was the little group I walked around with-- a wide variety of kids. They loved the part where they wrote on little Post-Its what "God sightings" they'd had during the day.
There was of course Bible story time, as well, and Saul visited us one night.
Of course the kids' favorite part was games, and the bounce house that went with that! My two little two-year-olds had a blast in it by themselves the first night it was up. I put them in before the big kids got there, and I have never heard so much giggling in my life. Abi cried when they had to deflate the bounce house.
Abi enjoyed the ice cream for dessert!
The "Tail End" or closing time each night was also pretty funny and got the kids excited about coming back the next day. One night Bartley didn't want to make a cake the usual way-- instead he decided to use this giant bucket and make it with chips, salsa, candy, and a variety of other items. The last night, he held a bag of water over Brett's head and poked pencils through it. Miraculously, he didn't get wet (until someone threw the opened bag onto him later).
The team from NC already plans to come back next year and I think everyone is excited. The adults were all exhausted but so thankful that 3 kids came to know Christ during the week. That alone made all the time and energy worth it!
No comments:
Post a Comment