VBS Chaos!

This week, my church is hosting Vacation Bible School (VBS) for 230+ kiddos! Yikes! That's a lot of emotional meltdowns, puking & blood going on. On top of it all, I get to host the jr. high group, 38 students ranging from your "I'm totally freaked out about Middle School" 6th Grader to the "I'm way too cool for this" 8th Grader.

Yes!

So, here's my top-10 list of all VBS happenings!


My Favorite Things About VBS. . .And some things I've learned along the way. . .

10. Dividing groups by age-appropriatness is a MUST!
When we "co-mingle" 1st-5th graders, terrible things happen! The truth about Santa is revealed, Bible lessons are irrelevant to half of the group, & games are no longer appropriate, like Dodgeball. 5th graders hurling rubber balls at 1st graders equals disaster!

9. "Jaques the Croc" is a very difficult name for children to read & say. Whoever decided that the Crocodile theme was a good idea was very wrong! Crocodiles eat children. My kids were terrified & we had to change the name from Jaques to Lock, like in LOST. It was easier for them to pronounce & didn't frighten them as much. Next year, we're going with pink bunnies & unicorns!

8. VBS = Free Daycare!
Whatever happened to parents getting involved instead of dropping their screaming, terrorist children off in the hands of strangers & running away to the Casino? You know it happens!

7. Hand motions for songs are a bad idea for Jr. High groups.
My jr. highers re-created the hand motions of every song by replacing them with something "colorful". After sitting down with them to discuss the reason why we need to keep the old motions & how important it is to set an example, they decided to re-name all the characters. Instead of Belle, we had. . . nevermind.

6. Decorating with live animals should NEVER happen.
We put up an aquarium at the front of the stage to give our sanctuary a more "Bayou" feel. It's now Thursday & half of our fish have magically walked away by themselves. Don't know how the kiddos did it, but if we checked their pockets, we might find half a dozen or so fishies that have been suffocating. . . Oh, Lenny. . .

5. The person who decides to be the VBS Coordinator for the year is clinically insane.
Debbie, our wonderful "VBS Lady" has been doing this for the past 7 years now & I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with her. She has everything organized down to the color of plates we'll be using every day for dinner, but last night I think I saw her curled up in a bathroom stahl, singing to herself. Either that or one of the kindergarteners ran away. She might do a great job with it all, but at the end of the week, who's the one checking herself into Mental Rehab? Enough said.

4. Rewriting Bible Lessons is a pain in the Badonkadonk!
I don't really want to teach my students that God sent the Plagues to destroy the Egyptians & that we too, might be destroyed if we don't believe. So, I get to put a little "Jesus Spin" in it all! Talk about time consuming!!! Yes, it's my job to write Bible Studies & that's why I have a degree in youth ministry, but seriously?! This is what good curricculum is supposed to be for!

3. Children really say the darnest things.
Here are a few. . .
"My mommy's having babies, but they're not hers! She has 2 boys inside her tummy & she's giving them away for Christmas to 2 boys. That family is going to be ALL boys!"
"What does 'circumcision' mean?" (asked by a little girl).
"Jaques the Croc is going to eat me!"

2. The more volunteers your have, the better your program will be.
Debbie, the "VBS Monger", does a great job at recruiting people to volunteer! Every year, we are never lacking in supplies or manpower & this is what makes our program run so smoothly! You know you have enough volunteers when there's enough leftover adults to make a VBS group on their own. My adult volunteers joined my students in making tie-dyed t-shirts last night. I think they got more into it than the kiddos!

1. Seeing Faith in children is awesome.
I'm always astounded at how much the kids learn in just a week of VBS. The Holy Spirit works in miraculous & amazing ways. When Johnny, a non-believer comes on Monday & is proclaiming the Gospel on Friday, my faith is encouraged & I am reminded of why we do all this. Yes, VBS is pure madness & anyone who says otherwise is nuts, but for me, it's all worth the faith of one more soul written into the Book of Life.