The first day started off well. The kids were excited. They had a breakfast at church for the workers and their kids, so the boys ate plates filled with every sugary thing they could get their hands on. Caroline went into her classroom without any problems for which I was very grateful. Josiah was all gung-ho to go into his. That left Henry and I to go to his room to meet 33 of his newest friends. The church had up to 7 activities for us to do in the classroom for the morning, but by the time we got everyone in our room, we only had ten minutes before we had to leave for our first singing/teaching room. Then by the time we got back to the room, gave the kids their snack, and started the craft for the day, we were being ushered to go to the Big Show. So we literally got nothing done in the classroom that first day. I was relaying all of this to Todd at dinner Monday evening (to his delight) and talking out how I was going to try to change it for the following day so we could actually get some of the things done. Josiah, who was quietly listening, decided he would be a man and give me a solution. "Mommy. I think what you need is a schedule. You need to plan what you're going to do." Then he proceeded to tell me what I should do with the kids for the day. Go over the Bible verse, play Duck, Duck, Goose, play Hide & Seek, do the craft, etc. It would have worked if I had more than 10 minutes at a time with the kids! That night at prayer time, Josiah prayed I would make a schedule for Tuesday's VBS.
His prayers worked, because the remaining days, we did much better in the classroom. There were even a few days when we had "extra" time - not much, but it put a smile on our face to not always be pressed for time.
Overall, VBS went well. The kids all enjoyed it. They loved the superhero theme and all the dramas they saw.
The last day, in the evening, they had another Big Show for the whole family to attend. It was the conclusion of the superhero story. The boys wanted to sit on the floor closer to the stage. Todd kindly went and sat with the kids. I had sat on the floor all week with the kids and knew that an hour sitting in a cramped area, with legs crossed, made for some very sleepy, crampy legs by the end. Right before it began, Caroline needed to use the bathroom, so Todd left the boys on the floor, I took her to the bathroom, and the three of us watched the show standing up in the back. It really turned out for the better because Caroline talked the whole time. "Pick me up. Where's Krash? There's Ultra! Put me down. Hold my hands. Watch how high I can jump! [jump, jump, jump] Where's Spark? Pick me up. Can we go back to the boys? Can I get on Daddy's shoulders? I want to come down. Where's Krash? There's Krash!"
The saddest part of the week, was that I was so nervous that I could not eat much in the mornings. We got to church early each day to set up the classroom. Before going to our room, we always stopped at the breakfast room so the boys could load up. It was filled with table upon table of doughnuts and pastries and giant muffins and scones and every delectable thing. My eyes were filled with delight to see so much sugar. But I physically could not eat any of it because my nerves made me unable to eat. It was so sad. Not something I experience all that often, either.
Todd got the short end of the stick for the VBS week, because we were all so exhausted by the evening time, that the idea of making dinner seemed a bit too much. So, our menu for the week consisted of: take-out pizza, leftover pizza, frozen pizza, tacos and "fend for yourself."
VBS was over on Thursday and we spent all of Friday at home. It was glorious. We spent the day catching up on laundry and cleaning up all the toys. I was able to take our class decorations home with us because the church has no storage there. The idea was to keep them for next year because the VBS story is a trilogy. Josiah asked to decorate his room with some and ended up using all of the decorations. I've already had to remind them they are merely borrowing them and they must take care of them! I'll need them again next year when I'm an assistant.
As if the week wasn't busy enough, we decided to see how much we could fit in to one Saturday. We made our way over to the Children's Museum.
All three kids spent a lot of time in the veterinary area. Caroline opened and closed every kennel many, many times.
Henry and Josiah were fascinated with the x-rays.
They had a science area where the boys "drew" a picture with markers taped to an upside-down blueberry basket with a motor on top. The motor vibrated the basket, causing the markers to draw all over the paper. Josiah liked it so much, he wanted to take the whole motor contraption thing home with him. He put the caps back on his markers and was all set to walk out with it.
We were on the exhausted side when we got home. Caroline got to do what Todd and I would have liked to have done.
As soon as she woke, we were off again out to eat dinner and then head to the bookstore so the boys could turn in their July reading program. They each got $5 to spend in the store again and had a tough time choosing what to get. Josiah ended up picking a rocket launcher that requires vinegar and baking soda, or baking sauce as Henry calls it. Henry picked up a big coloring book of rescue animals (veterinary theme going again). Caroline picked up about 15 books in total. Again, she thought it was a library.
We are ready to begin August. We are gearing up for the new school year, trying to fit in all of our activities for each week. We've discovered we are going to be very, very busy this year with swim, karate, CC, Awana, & Boys of Iron (a church program). And to think we want them to have music lessons as some point, too!
The last day, in the evening, they had another Big Show for the whole family to attend. It was the conclusion of the superhero story. The boys wanted to sit on the floor closer to the stage. Todd kindly went and sat with the kids. I had sat on the floor all week with the kids and knew that an hour sitting in a cramped area, with legs crossed, made for some very sleepy, crampy legs by the end. Right before it began, Caroline needed to use the bathroom, so Todd left the boys on the floor, I took her to the bathroom, and the three of us watched the show standing up in the back. It really turned out for the better because Caroline talked the whole time. "Pick me up. Where's Krash? There's Ultra! Put me down. Hold my hands. Watch how high I can jump! [jump, jump, jump] Where's Spark? Pick me up. Can we go back to the boys? Can I get on Daddy's shoulders? I want to come down. Where's Krash? There's Krash!"
The saddest part of the week, was that I was so nervous that I could not eat much in the mornings. We got to church early each day to set up the classroom. Before going to our room, we always stopped at the breakfast room so the boys could load up. It was filled with table upon table of doughnuts and pastries and giant muffins and scones and every delectable thing. My eyes were filled with delight to see so much sugar. But I physically could not eat any of it because my nerves made me unable to eat. It was so sad. Not something I experience all that often, either.
Todd got the short end of the stick for the VBS week, because we were all so exhausted by the evening time, that the idea of making dinner seemed a bit too much. So, our menu for the week consisted of: take-out pizza, leftover pizza, frozen pizza, tacos and "fend for yourself."
VBS was over on Thursday and we spent all of Friday at home. It was glorious. We spent the day catching up on laundry and cleaning up all the toys. I was able to take our class decorations home with us because the church has no storage there. The idea was to keep them for next year because the VBS story is a trilogy. Josiah asked to decorate his room with some and ended up using all of the decorations. I've already had to remind them they are merely borrowing them and they must take care of them! I'll need them again next year when I'm an assistant.
 |
| The boys wore their VBS shirts again. I've washed them 4 times this week! |
We are ready to begin August. We are gearing up for the new school year, trying to fit in all of our activities for each week. We've discovered we are going to be very, very busy this year with swim, karate, CC, Awana, & Boys of Iron (a church program). And to think we want them to have music lessons as some point, too!
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