Browns Valley VBS

Every evening this week, Camden has been attending VBS at a church in Browns Valley.  It is the church that does the little drive thru Living Nativity each year.  She was so excited to actually go inside!  I have heard such good things about their program and several of my friends attend church there.  There theme is flying/soaring and trusting in God.  The main room for opening and closing is decorated so well!  They sing lots of fun songs with tons of hand motions.

After the opening they head out to the outdoor shelter for dinner.  They had hotdogs the first night, along with various salads and fruit, chips, and desserts.

Her teacher is Mrs. Gregg who is a first grade teacher at New Market.  There are about 6 other kids in her group, but they rotate through all the stations with 2 other groups.
 

They have "imagination station" which is a hands-on science based lesson that is tied back to the Bible lesson or theme that day.  Lots of dads, moms, and grandparents from the church/community help with this program.

There is also a focus on missions.  This year it is Sole Hope which makes shoes for kids in Africa.  The main part of the shoe is made from blue jeans.  The kids traced the pattern which was cut out by some adults.  The material only is shipped to Sole Hope who then uses things like old tires (sole) and elastic (strap) to put the shoe together.  It's pretty cool!
 

The kids are also collecting money and medical supplies to send.  Other small things throughout the program are geared toward this organization as well.  For example, in arts and crafts this first night, the kids made bead bracelets.  If they had time (which most did) they could make a second one to send with the shoe material to be given to the child who receives one of the pair of shoes.

Camden made a multi-color one to send and a blue/green one for herself.  Each knot was dotted with some glue to keep it from coming untied and Camden is blowing on it to help it dry.