Every summer, Vacation Bible School is something that my kids cannot wait for! They look forward to the t-shirts, the songs, the snacks, the friends, and all of the fun!
We usually attend two or three each summer. Mary Alice had been so excited, because this would be the first year she was allowed to attend with Riley.
But as you can probably guess, the ones we attend have all been cancelled or moved online due to physical distancing requirements. So, here I am, doing my absolute best to remember all my CRUMY (Custer Road United Methodist Youth) summer training!
As I thought over how I wanted to set up the week, I started to get overwhelmed with the idea of a theme. I wanted something that would work for our age span (3 years old – 9 years old).
After becoming Catholic, I’ve learned more and more about the saints. These men and women who are examples for us in life and constant intercessors for us continue to fascinate me and capture my heart.
I couldn’t shake the idea that I wanted to introduce the kids to more saints for our DIY Vacation Bible School.
Julia volunteered to by my shirt designer and artist and things began to come together.
And then it struck me. (This is where I can claim that being overwhelmed led to a pure genius moment.) I called in the troops. I emailed my family and a few close Catholic friends to share their favorite saint with us! I told them it could be a quote, video, book, email, or anything they wanted to share!
I had no idea when I sent that email that we would be absolutely blessed with original videos, comic books, and stories!
I ordered a few crafts from Oriental Trading Company, because you are supposed to have crafts for Vacation Bible School, right? (This is not a sponsored post – I just wanted it to be easy for you to find!) They have a wonderful religious section that has plenty of affordable choices.
I started the day off by giving them their shirts and playing the song of the week:
Today, we started the week of with St. Joan of Arc. (Thank you, Aunt Laura!) It was perfect for our crew! Mary Alice was amazed that she was so young and prayed for hours each day. Riley and Sebastian loved that she fought in battles.
The cartoon below does tell the story of her life, including being burned at the stake, but I think they did a wonderful job of introducing the story without being too scary for little ones. Be sure and preview it for your little ones, just to be sure.
After the cartoon, they worked on their crafts while I made snacks.
We made croissants (by made, I mean opened up the box from Trader Joe’s so that they could rise overnight) in celebration of St. Joan of Arc’s home country.
It was simple and sweet. The kids recapped what they learned about St. Joan of Arc over dinner and we will have a new saint tomorrow!
If you are looking for DIY Vacation Bible School ideas, please feel free to use this one! I have loved learning more about my friends and family and who they ask to pray for them! What a deep, deep well of examples we have of people who loved God with their life and wanted nothing more than to bring other people to heaven with them!
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