I am also working VBS but with the younger 3-5 year olds. On our peak night we had 31 of them! (so far.. We have two more nights and usually the number grows as the week continues.) Also, I’m not a crew leader, but a station leader, telling the bible story, doing a “scientific” experiment, and the craft.

The craft is the hardest of the three…never let a 3 year old try to put glitter in the tiny opening of a test tube by themself. Though it was a tiny packet of glitter, we had it everywhere. I’m still finding it on my body three days, and showers, later.

While it requires an enormous amount of energy, its also extremely gratifying and even re-energizes the working grown-ups spiritually. I’ve come home every night totally satisfied, and crawled into bed two hours earlier than usual in complete exhaustion. But I can’t wait to go back tonight and experiment with what gives a flashlight power….and talk about what power gives us eternal life.

And so, to Hey You, I say: :X

I completely FORGOT to complement Hey You in my previous comment, so caught up in defending myself it would seem.

She does an EXCELLENT job, we have completely different styles but she has a way that while seeming more strict still lets the kids enjoy themselves while, I suppose, being less stressful on the less patient adults.

This is probably why she gets asked to do more for sunday school than I do.

1. We ALWAYS finish our group questions (we’re just
quieter than other groups)

2. IF I catch my kids sitting during songs, I
encourage them to stand up…if they don’t want to
I DON’T force it because I used to be shy and quit
going to a VBS once because some adult FORCED me to stand and
sing.

3. Their lines ARE non-existant, but they ARE kids,
and I ALWAYS get them where they need to be.

There, I’ve defended what I felt needed defending.

Everything else she says about me is true, I DO let them do whatever…within reason. I DO take the time to listen to each of them, regardless of how “silly” others might think the question/comment is.

An example:
We were looking at a poster with girls on it from a remote village in South Africa. One of the boys in my group said, “They look like boys”

This statement was misconstrued by one of our most caring activity leaders as being disrespectful of these girls because they looked “funny” and felt the need to lecture on how that isn’t appropriate.

I quietly explained to him that they had short hair (the reason he thought they looked like boys) because where they live it’s really hot. He understood immediately and said, “Oh, ok.” He wasn’t intending to sound mean spirited, and by having listened patiently to him throughout the week I knew this was simply a case of not knowing about the culture/traditions in South Africa – Not a statement of mean spiritedness.

I truly wish that more adults would stop and remember what it was like to be a kid, and think before they reprimand. I try not to become the “cool friend guy” and maintain some semblance of authority and respect. I think I do pretty well.

Oh, and I LOVE working VBS, that’s right: L-O-V-E it, I come home feeling rejuvenated and younger for having spent 3 hours of my day looking at the world through a child’s eyes and experiencing the wonder of Jesus Christ.