Friday, June 25, 2010

Galactic Blast

This past week, I spent every morning from 9-noon teaching Vacation Bible School at my church.  This is the first summer in many years that I have been able to make it work with my schedule, and I was reminded of how much I have missed Bible School.  Our theme this year was Galactic Blast.  It provided students the opportunity to learn about outer space as well as about God's love.



I was "Arts and Crafts lady" for the week, which was definitely an exercise of patience.  I am neither artsy nor craftsy, but thankfully, I had enough skills and resources to be able to fake it.

We did sand art,

we painted,

we made picture frames (of which I do not have a picture),

and we made color-changing cross necklaces, which were a big hit.

Although working with elementary school students always reminds me of why I teach middle school, I did engage in some precious conversations like these:

Kindergarten Boy:  (looking at the 10 Commandments poster) "What does K-I-L-L spell?"
Me: "It spells kill."
Kindergarten Boy:  "What does that mean?  Does it mean to make somebody die?"
Me:  "Yes.  Why do you think God commanded us not to kill other people?"
Kindergarten Boy:  "Because God loves us and doesn't want His children to die too soon.  Want to see how my shoes light up?"

I love how easily satisfied young kids are with regard to answers to questions and how quickly they can move on to another subject.  My students?  Not so much.

Different Kindergarten Boy:  "I can't wait for the Science center.  Science is my favorite subject."
Me:  "What kind of science do you like to learn about?"
Different Kindergarten Boy:  "I like to compare properties of solids, liquids, and gases."
Me: (jaw drops as I wonder whether or not my 6th graders could compare properties of solids, liquids, and gases).

This week took me back to my Rousseau days when I worked with grades K-5.  To be honest, I kind of miss those days.  These kids are innocent.  They do what they are told.  Their hearts and minds are wide open to whatever it is that you would like to share with them.  They voice their love and appreciation for you.  They can get excited about anything.  Although I know I am better suited to work with older students, this was a fun vacation for me.

In addition to working with the younger kids, I got to know some other people from my church whom I didn't know before.  I had some insightful conversations with the adults, and I enjoyed getting to know the teenage shepherds (helpers) who were volunteering their time.  There are some really amazing people at my church, and I hope to get to work with them again someday.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must go try to get all of those catchy VBS songs out of my head.

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