Back To Jerusalem VBS 2012 Overview

 Praise the Lord!! We just finished our best VBS yet, "Back to Jerusalem".  This post will describe the overall scene and things we did. Stay tuned for daily details.
We wanted to bring the kids back to Jerusalem.  The market place, synagogue school and the temple!
We planned our lessons around the times Yeshua visited the temple at important times in His life. 
Set the scene:
We made backdrops of Jerusalem type building on large sheets bought from Goodwill.

We made signs for each station as seen above(Jaffa Gate Check In)  Written in a Hebrew Font.  The signs were purchased at Oriental Trading.

Station Signs:  Carpentry Shop

Jewelry Bazaar

Pottery Shop

Music Shop

Cloak Room

Bubbe's Kitchen

Synagogue School

We had a "Cloak Room" where the kids were able to dress up for their evening in Jerusalem.

Everyone got a tunic(pillow cases from Goodwill with holes cut for head and arms) and a sash made from scraps from Goodwill.

Girls got scarves (.80 each)

Boys got kippas ($1 each)

We strung up twine and hung up their outfits with clothes pins!

They also had their name tag with their outfit so they knew which was theirs.  These were made of a Torah scroll clip art that I added their names to in the Hebrew font. Hole punched and strung twine thru.  I recommend laminating them so they last the week.

I also made a Jerusalem sign to hang over the doorway as they entered.  This was made of burlap fabric and felt letters hand cut of the Hebrew font.

We wanted the kids to learn the 12 tribes of Israel, so we bought these beautiful tribal posters from www.grouppublishing.com left over from another VBS.

I also had the kids do an arrival activity.  They worked on 3 tribes a day. The Eastern Tribes(Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun) The Western Tribes(Levi, Benjamin and Joseph) The Southern Tribes(Reuben, Simeon and Gad) The Northern Tribes(Dan, Asher and Naphtali)

They colored 3 flags a day of a certainl group and glued them on a posterboard. You can add small stir sticks as a flag pole if desired.

We made tents for the kids to do their crafts in by sewing several sheets(from Goodwill) together and making a large covering and hang by rope fixed to hooks or Command Hooks on the walls.

We had several quilted blankets, rugs, pillows, cushions for seating(no chairs)

For synagogue school, we wanted the kids to have "tablets".  Make home-made play-doh, press a lump into a medium sized plate, place into a gallon size zip-lock bag with their name on it.  Add a large feather for a "quill" for a writing tool.(I picked up a bag at a craft store)

Every day for Synagogue school they got their tablet and we practiced our Hebrew.

We had an Israeli Dance time.  We taught the kids the Hora, which a super easy dance to learn.

This is the beginning and I will share the lessons next :)

Thanks for stopping by.....