Boot Camp: Monday!

Today is the first day of Boot Camp at Holy Redeemer. We have more adults than children, testimony to this parish's dedication.  This church is typical of many parishes in rural areas.  Several grandparents brought their grandchildren and stayed to help.  My son, Father Josh, came for VBS this morning and will return Wednesday to help again.  The kids were thrilled to see him.  Fr. Josh was just transferred and moved last week to a parish an hour away.  The new pastor, Fr. Pen, will help Friday and stay for a party to welcome him and celebrate VBS on Friday.

With such a small group, the adults joined in all morning, singing, marching, doing games, etc. to keep things fun.  We need to tweak the order of the rotation tomorrow and conclude with Games; the kids were pretty excited and had trouble settling down for Crafts.  Things were completely different with a small group.  It is easy to capture all of the children's photos.  With only one group, all of the rotation times can be adjusted, including opening and closing.  (With large groups, logistics become an issue.)  this group is also very young.  We learned the simple songs, chants, and cadence calls today, and of course, 'Big House', always a hit.  Even with just a few kids, I want them to have a camp experience: line leader, caboose, door holder, and marching songs.  Not a bad start to the week! See these Pix.

VBS Boot Camp!

Holy Redeemer Catholic Church is hosting Boot Camp, June 22-26th, where my son, Fr. Josh is currently pastor.  This past weekend, I did some prep.  My home church, St. Leo Catholic Church, held Boot Camp last summer.  I saved the DVDs, charts, and plans. This morning after Mass, Holy Redeemer had the first planning meeting.  Prior to the meeting, I set up examples of the crafts, lists of the songs, signs, games, etc.  The theme for Boot Camp is straight-forward the basic tenets of the Catholic faith: the four marks, the pillars of faith, the Crred, and Ten Commandments.  The initial planning meeting is key to review the them, sample the songs, check for materials, etc.

Boot Camp: Holy Redeemer

Last summer, our church, St. Leo's did Boot Camp for our VBS.  This coming week, a group from our church is doing the same VBS for Holy Redeemer, in Spencer, WV, my son's church.  I am working toward publishing a VBS manual and my mentor advised me to field test our programs at several other churches.  I met with parishioners from Holy Redeemer last Christmas and Memorial Day weekend.  I had emailed the program in advance.  My husband and I arrived today, Saturday, to see what supplies are on hand, unload stuff we brought, and stage all of the materials to set up tomorrow.  We did a little shopping at the local ?Walmart, but want to check with Pat, the local coordinator before buying anymore supplies.  This week, I will take loads of pictures and take time to map out the process.  Here's hoping and praying for a successful week!