VBS :: Weird Animals

 

Gus enjoying breakfast

Last year, we had just joined Christ the King when the school year ended and it was time for VBS (Vacation Bible School). As a former Catholic, VBS wasn't something that I grew up doing, and wasn't something I knew much about. Maybe it's not even that it's a Catholic thing, but a Southern thing. I don't remember ever seeing so many advertisements for VBS up North.

I had considered signing Gus up last year, but your child had to be potty trained (he was not) and the only way to get your younger children in the nursery was to be a volunteer. I had no desire to volunteer.

So this year, I still had not planned on sending Gus because it was the week after school was out and I didn't want to volunteer. Well, somehow or another, I was asked to take pictures for the week, and that counted as volunteering. So I was able to get Gus signed up, and Hugh was able to hang out in the nursery all week.

I wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing, but I went to the mandatory training and showed up at 8am on Monday morning ready for the volunteer breakfast.

Gus was very interested in sitting next to me in the church for the morning gathering, but he had to go sit with his "Zoo Crew" and he was very unhappy about that. It took a few days before he settled down in the morning. However, once he was with his group he had fun.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the week:

Everyone gathering in the morning

Milton the Star-Nosed Mole

Pastor Brian as "Dr. Paws"

Look at that hand-made set!

Every day had a different animal and theme. Day one was "Even when you're left out... Jesus loves you!" The animal for the day was Axl

GORGEOUS

Snack time!

Gus at the games station

I stopped by the nursery each day to see Hugh :-)

The first day was amazing. I was honestly really impressed and found the whole experience to be a lot like Rainbow (a Catholic youth conference held annually in Detroit) but for little kids. Gus had a great time and enjoyed learning about Jesus and he loved the songs.

Here are pictures from Day 2:

 

Animal of the day was Fern (a dragon seahorse) and this was the theme

 

Gus's preschool crew leaders

 

Each day, the snack was different. On Tuesday, it was decorate your own cookie :-)

 

Pastor Brian sharing a video with the kids

 

Each day they made a different craft... these were grass heads :-)

 

This is Sandy, she's the director of youth and families for CTK

 

Hewy having fun in the nursery

 

They took the babies outside and traced their bodies with chalk. Here's his body outline :-)

 

Here are the pictures from Wednesday:

 

Dr. Paws spraying his laughing spray 

 

Gus laughed and laughed at this :-)

 

Animal of the day was Milton, the star-nosed mole

 

Each day, the older kids went to a station called "Bible Adventures" and there was a different biblical story that was told to the kids. On Wednesday, it was all about servant leadership

 

The snack for the day :-)

 

The preschoolers had recess twice a day-- I went out and took some pictures of the kids at their second recess for the day

 

Hugh in the nursery

By day four, I was exhausted and so was Gus. We had to get up each morning at 7am and leave the house by 7:20 so that we could get to CTK by 8am. It made for a long week, but it was definitely worth it!! Here are the pictures from Thursday:

 

Weird Animal of the day was Shredder

 

The craft for the day (the older kids made these)

 

Each child got a tag to wear on a necklace

 

The snack for the day

 

Bible Adventures theme was all about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins

 

Each child put their name on a heart and put it on the cross

 

At the end of the day gathering, the kids whispered their sins into a black garbage bag and then each crew leader tied the bags to the cross

 

Then an older child, dressed as Jesus, came and removed each bag of sins

 

And then the cross lit up. It was pretty awesome

 

The last day was great. The volunteers were treated to a pancake and bacon breakfast and it was the best surprise (all week we had bagels/fruit/donuts)! Gus was happy to indulge in pancakes.

 

The last Weird Animal was Iggy

Here's Gus's individual picture and his group picture:

Overall, it was a fantastic week and I'm really glad I volunteered and that Gus and Hugh were able to go. Next year, Gus will get a lot more out of it, because he'll be able to go with the kindergartners and Hugh will be with the preschoolers. It's crazy to think that next year, there won't be a baby in the nursery. :-(