Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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ctrivette
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Posted: Jan 31 2013 at 11:06am | IP Logged Quote ctrivette
Maybe this should be under prayers, because I will surely need some;-). I volunteered to head up VBS this summer, then learned that the parish is pretty cash strapped and we need to do this on a shoestring. And that means not buying a program. Since we are Sacred Heart parish, the 'committee' I gathered decided to focus on dedication to the Sacred Heart. The DRE wants us to use the year of faith as well. So we are using the seven habits of the year of faith in light of the Sacred Heart of Jesus...if that makes sense.
I am finding tons of ideas on Pinterest, Catholic Icing and other blogs, and various children's books. Where else would you look for information/ideas? We will have the habit as the daily theme (ie: prayer before meals) then a saint, lesson, craft and game related to each. It seemed pretty straight forward and simple until I got into it and now it seems like so much info but not enough at the same time;). Thanks for any ideas!
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Wendi DeGrandpr
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Posted: Jan 31 2013 at 1:44pm | IP Logged Quote Wendi DeGrandpr
Having done some of this sort of planning before I would recommend a couple of things. First - start with prayer and just ask for guidance in creating the lessons He wants your children to learn.
Second - keep it as simple as possible. We sometimes think we need to make things elaborate for the kids to have fun but really the simpler the better. If you all are having fun, they will have fun.
Using your daily habit as your jumping off point is a good place to start. If prayer before meals is your habit for the day - decide on a Saint who exhibited that habit or worked hard to form it. Then your lesson could relate to that Saint and habit and you could even tie your craft to that. (ie placemats with prayers for before meals, the morning offering, the Angelus for noon and another to add at dinner We would tie a bible verse to the day as well or a quote from a saint (there are great books full of these). Catholic Stories for Girls / Boys are a good place to find stories for lessons and the saint a day books are a good place to find your short bios for the saints you choose.
When is your camp planned? Look at the dates - any feast days you want to incorporate? Sometimes the church year can give you ideas for the habits and saints you want to use.
If you find games related to the saint or habit that is great but active / blowing off steam games are really good especially if your kids have been sitting for lessons and crafts. Relay races where they need to work together ... that sort of stuff.
Are you doing this indoors / outdoors or a combination? Also, don't schedule your day too tight - things always take longer than you think, but do create a schedule and stick to it as much as possible so you are able to fit everything in.
Sorry this is so long winded hope it helps.


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"We can do no great things - only small things with great love." Blessed Mother Teresa
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stacykay
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Posted: June 04 2013 at 11:24am | IP Logged Quote stacykay
Bumping this to ask, did you come up with a plan or go with a program? I am asking, because I am going to do a "home" vbs for my boys (who are former vbs-dropouts .) We will have two of their friends joining us, as well.

I am looking for any ideas anyone has to share. I have Catholic Icing, but didn't even think of pinterest. I will check that out, for sure!

Oh, the ages for my little gang are (in the fall) 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. One of the 4th graders is a girl, the others are boys.

Thanks!

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Stacy in MI
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pumpkinmom
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Posted: June 04 2013 at 1:18pm | IP Logged Quote pumpkinmom
You know CHC has VBS programs as an ebook that is inexpensive (I think under $20). I bought one to do a week in July with my boys and maybe two more from another family. I haven't looked into it much yet, but liked the little I saw.

ETA: found a link

I got the household of God because I thought my boys would enjoy the subject matter more and the ages went a little older than the others.

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ctrivette
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Posted: June 06 2013 at 5:55pm | IP Logged Quote ctrivette
We ended up writing one...Loving Heart- the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We are learning about 8 saints, collecting pennies for our St Vincent dePaul, learning a morning offering and evening gratitude, making a set of Sacred Heart beads and learning the prayers, making a family altar (as families on the last night) and ending with adoration. Among many other activities. It has been work, but I think it will turn out great! We used the Happy Saints for posters and prayer cards and have pre-K, K-6, and adult programming. Pray for us the week of June 24...its coming up quick!
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