Vacation Bible School is an opportunity for children to learn more about their faith through games, activities and crafts. Every year churches choose themes to follow when hosting Vacation Bible School. Once a theme is picked, the leaders should keep all the activities within the theme of the week. One fun and common Vacation Bible School theme is an island theme.
Sea Turtle Bible Verse Holder
Find a simple pattern for the outline of a sea turtle. Draw the outline onto pieces of construction paper prior to the start of VBS. You will need six sea turtle cut-outs for each child attending.
Have the children cut out each of their six sea turtles. Use a hole punch to punch a hole in the head of each sea turtle. The kids can then attach their six sea turtles together using either a paper fastening brad or yarn depending on what supplies are available.
The children can decorate the first sea turtle, which will be the cover of their Bible verse holder. Then each day of VBS, the child can write down the verse they learned on a sea turtle so by the end of the week, each sea turtle has a Bible verse for the child to remember. If you are working with young children, you can have the Bible verses printed out onto labels ahead of time, and the children can simply attach the label to their sea turtle each day.
VBS Memory Book
Let each child pick out seven sheets of construction paper. Put the seven sheets together and staple them like a book. The children can decorate the first page as the cover. Have them write Vacation Bible School across the top, and then they can color a tropical beach or island scene below the title.
At the end of each day the kids can have time to write or draw in their memory book. Direct them to write or draw what they learned that day. They can add their favorite part of the day or what activities they did.
The last page will be their autograph page. Early in the week, take a picture of each group and have the pictures printed so there is one copy for each child. Give each child a picture and a glue stick so they can attach the picture to the last page of their memory book. On the last day of Vacation Bible School the kids can sign each others' books and write little messages.
Parting of the Sea Sand Art
Purchase small clear jars with lids and colored sand. All the supplies for this project can be purchased at any craft store. Have the kids pour brown sand into the bottom of the jar. Then they can use funnels to add blue and brown sand into the jar so that the blue is parted by the brown. Each jar will look different as each child tries different ways to add the sand to the jar. When the jar is filled to the top with sand, apply craft glue to the inside of the lid. Put the lid on tightly, and let the jars sit until the end of the day to give the glue time to set. This craft would go along with the story of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea.
Tags: each child, Bible School, Vacation Bible, Vacation Bible School, Bible verse, brown sand