Back to Jerusalem VBS Day 1

*2 hr. program

Check-in: Have kids get costumes on

Arrival activity--Eastern Tribes Flag craft- Judah, Issachar, Zebulun

Welcome-  Have kids come sit on rugs.  Explain VBS, go over Hebrew words they may hear like Yeshua(Jesus), Torah(first 5 books of Bible), Shalom(greeting).  Go over memory challenges and go thru the rules--I made a "tablet" out of posterboard with Jerusalem's City Laws on it.

Worship and Israeli Dance(Hora)

Temple Time:  Lesson--Yeshua visits the temple as a little baby(8 days for name ceremony and 40 days old for dedication)
How many of you were once a baby??  Really!! All of you! How amazing!  I was a baby once too!!(show baby picture of yourself)  I was pretty cute.  Did you know that Yeshua came to Earth as a little baby too! Just like you and me!  However, He was a very special baby.  He was fully human, but fully God at the same time!  He grew up here, just like you, so He understands everything you go thru.  He grew in God's word, obeyed His parents and went to Synagogue.(get growing capsules, and start it before the lesson, it takes time to grow)  Just like this little capsule, it started out super small, but over time, it grows and grows and grows.
How can YOU grow! Eat your veggies, get sleep, drink water, exercise...How can you grow spiritually??  Read Bible, pray, go to church, ect....
What kind of job's do you have?? (allow kids to answer)  Do you go to work and make dinner and mow the yard??  Yeshua was born and sent to this Earth for a reason.  God sent Him here a BIG job to do... to go about His Father's business...saving the world (use a globe for visial)

Memory Verse:  "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."  Matthew 1:21
Write phrases of verse on 8-10 balloons and pin to a board.  Go over the verse, start popping the balloons until whole verse is memorized.

***For craft time: we divided the kids up and had half at one craft tent and the other half doing the other craft and then switched.**
Craft: Pottery (purchased at local craft store.  1/2 lb of clay per child. let dry overnight, may need to use oven to dry faster.)
Craft: Basket weaving (kits purchased at S&S Worldwide http://www.ssww.com/  24/$37.99

Bubbe's Kitchen-Snack time--Challah Bread with butter or honey

Synagogue School- Practice writing Hebrew letters: Aleph, Bet, Vet, Gimel, Dalet, Hey

Ending Song: Shalom Havarim

(Have kids clip costumes back onto clothes line)

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.....