Ever helped at VBS with 1-3yo??

[Heather in OK]

My girls and I are helping in the 1-3yo class this year.  The lady heading it up told me that they basically just do color sheets, watch videos, play, and and have snacks.  The VBS theme they are doing this year is Weird Animals.  

They'll be in there for THREE hours.  I know the 1-2 yo won't focus much for a simple craft or a quick puppet show but surely we can find some things to go along with the VBS theme for the 3yo…???  If we're going to be in the room for 4 days from 9a-12p, I'd really like to have a little more to the morning than coloring, putting them in front of the tv, and feeding them.   :glare:

 

I'm thinking of just quick little activities to break up the time to keep them from getting restless.  So far I've thought of a few things that might work.  But it's been 5 years since I had a 3yo.  ;)  So I might be a little ambitious right now.  

- Singing: One of the VBS songs is Jesus Loves Me.  

- Puppet Show 

- Some kind of tactile play station…?

- Easy animal "crafts" (like this: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/e3/5a/0b/e35a0bbf529e367cf807229f094c7168.jpg)…just something that's a little different than coloring yet really, really simple.  

 

Ideas?  
 

[momto10blessings]

You'll probably spend most of the 3 hours comforting babies who want their moms. Depending on how many adults and toddlers are in the class, you may spend most of the time feeding them too.

[Kathryn]

You'll probably spend most of the 3 hours comforting babies who want their moms. Depending on how many adults and toddlers are in the class, you may spend most of the time feeding them too.

Don't forget diapering!

[Heather in OK]

Yes, I know that.  There will be four of us in the room.  No idea yet on how many littles.  So pretty easy to divide and conquer.  ;)

My thought is finding 2-3 things we can do each day that may take 5-10 minutes.  Things that will break up time in front of the screen or just crayons/paper.  Like the puppet show idea, that's something we could do while they are having a snack and could just be a couple minutes long.  Instead of crayons/paper, at some point of the morning we could do a different, very simple craft for the 3yo.  

[Chris in VA]

I would make centers for them--Set up like a preschool/toddler room

 

Definitely some sensory bin play--you could set zoo animals in sand one day, have water play (since you'll be talking in VBS about clean water), wash babies or dishes, etc.

 

Dramatic play--set out a little table/chairs, and let them do housekeeping play (doesn't have to match the theme)

 

I'd stay away from crafts and do some free art--even babies can paint. Olders can make a collage with animal print fabrics on sticky paper, or glue with a glue stick magazine pics of animals on construction paper.

 

Simple animal puzzles

 

Block area with plastic zoo animals

 

Read aloud some neat animal books like Very Hungry Caterpillar, or the Mixed Up Chameleon, or some bible stories

 

Go outside to the play ground! (Or on a walk)

 

In short, glean what you can from the program, make it super simple, and then incorporate into centers you'd find in any toddler program.

 

 

[Mrs Mungo]

Finger play songs and motion songs like Father Abraham, London Bridge (maybe you could make up different words to go with your theme?), etc help eat up time and keep kids distracted.

[Heather in OK]

 

In short, glean what you can from the program, make it super simple, and then incorporate into centers you'd find in any toddler program.

Your ideas were things I was trying to think of.  :)  

[Chris in VA]

I was thinking you should probably have a loose structure--

 

Maybe start with a few things out (is there a rug, a few tables, etc? is it held in a nursery or a preschool type room?), then gather all for a little "circle time" with a few songs (Jesus Loves Me, Fr. Abraham, etc) and maybe a super simple finger play (Here's the Church made more simple...). Then maybe read a short picture book or board book.  No more than 10 mins, tops, and don't expect the littlest to really pay attention--lots of lap sitting!

 

Then let them wander and choose. Station someone at an art table (maybe 2 of you), someone in a block/building corner, and someone who can help with dress up or pretend play or puzzles/dollhouse/duplos, etc. If someone could float, that'd be helpful--go where needed.

 

Check diapers as needed, but do an intentional check about an hour into the program, and then right before giving back to Mom (as a sweet thing for Mom!). Do two potty breaks for anyone potty trained, but of course allow anyone to go when needed!

 

After about 45 mins of choice time, so about an hour into everything, take a break. Potty, hand cleaning, then eat--maybe around 10ish. Clean up, go outside if you can. Try to spend a good amt of time outside. Swings, slides, walking, etc all good. Have any balls to play with? Bubbles one day? Take a sensory bin out? Can you get wet outside? One water day might be super fun. Watch them carefully, of course.

 

Come back in, water break, potty/diaper, put anyone down for a nap who needs it. Quiet book or a video. Then end on with another sing and some simple toys on rug. Nothing too exciting, because then you have tearful kids who won't leave.

 

Is that helpful?

[Heather in OK]

I don't know yet which room they'll put this group in.  If it's the room I'm thinking/hoping it will be, there is a rug and and at one end of the room there is a table.  And lots of toys in there.  I'd just like to incorporate a few animal-themed things into their choices.  And yes, I was thinking loose structure.  Having things they could just wander and do.  

There is a playground but it's not appropriate for this age.  That's really the only fenced in space we could take them outside.  It would be a nightmare trying to keep them off the big play structure.  Other than that it's all parking lot.  

How could I forget bubbles?!?  

Yes, very helpful!  The last few days my mind has been focused on high school transcripts, credits, etc. as we're wrapping up our school year.  We had requested to work with the snacks but she needs help in this class so my brain is having to do a major shift.  ;)  And I want to do more with them than just coloring, videos, and food.  

[Chris in VA]

Can you put itty bitties in strollers and then hold hands with twos/threes and go for a 15 minute walk?

[Okra]

My girls and I are helping in the 1-3yo class this year.  The lady heading it up told me that they basically just do color sheets, watch videos, play, and and have snacks.  The VBS theme they are doing this year is Weird Animals.  

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously?????  Color sheets and videos????

 

Honestly, one to three sounds like a huge age difference to me.  

 

Of course the older kids need to do something else!  Songs with finger actions......I know plenty, but can't quite share over a forum board. But, you can google it. Appropriate books.....the one year olds do not have to listen.  Yes, a puppet show sounds absolutely great!

 

Yes, please plan more than color sheets and videos.  If it was up to me, I would scratch the videos completely, it doesn't seem appropriate in my opinion.

[MercyA]

Ideas for animal-themed activity stations:

 

*Play Doh and animal cookie cutters

*Water tub, full of sea animals and boats (put on a shower curtain and provide waterproof smocks if available)

*Bean bag toss--line up several buckets in a row and provide bean bags to toss into them; this isn't really animal-themed, but you could put pictures of different animals on the buckets and encourage them to aim for the cow, the monkey, etc.

*Toy farm, zoo, or Noah's Ark

*Bin full of play sand and desert animals (again, put on a shower curtain for easy clean up)

*Simple animal crafts (glue feathers to a bird shape, decorate a butterfly with colored tissue paper, cut animal pictures from magazines, etc.)

*Bin of animal-themed board books

*Felt board with felt animals and/or animal-related Bible stories (Noah's Ark, manger scene, creation)

 

Have fun!  :)

[almondbutterandjelly]

Would they give you a copy of "Ozzy's Preschool Park Director Manual?"  That's from the Weird Animals VBS and has lots of suggestions of things to do.  cbd has samples.

[SebastianCat]

You should be able to find animal stickers at Walmart or Michaels pretty inexpensively.    Kids this age LOVE stickers.    Even if a 1-year-old is just taking a sticker that you hand him, and sticking it onto the paper, they will enjoy that.    (Keep an eye on the littles to make sure they aren't putting stickers or any other crafts into their mouths.)

 

3-year-olds will LOVE to pretend to be animals - you could have an "animal parade" where everyone marches while flying like a bird, roaring like a lion, hopping like a bunny, barking like a dog, meowing like a cat, etc.    If there are enough children, let them take turns being the leader and choosing which animal to be next.

 

You could go to the library beforehand and borrow some books to bring in to read during quiet time.    I do this all the time for co-op classes that I teach (albeit with older children), but it would supplement books that the church already has on hand.

 

Definitely do Play Doh with animal shaped cookie cutters - but again, watch for play doh in the mouth with the littlest ones.

 

Finger painting is something that kids would love to do.    Make a handprint with the littlest children's hands and have your teens draw on top of the handprint to make them into animals - this link has a lot of great ideas.    Then give the kids a different sheet of paper and let them finger paint to their heart's content.    You would probably need to have a 1-to-1 ratio for painting, so the kids would have to take turns.

 

Animal crackers would make a great snack for this age - but post a sign outside your door to let parents know what you'll be serving in case there are allergies.

 

Use the church's VBS music CD and sing the same songs each day.   

 

I would try to come up with enough activities that you could "change gears" at least every 15 minutes.    I would expect kids this age to have an attention span of 5 minutes for focused activities, or 15-30 minutes of free play time.    

[Heather in OK]

 

 

Honestly, one to three sounds like a huge age difference to me.

I absolutely agree.  Basically this is the childcare room for the volunteers with children in this age-range.  

 

Thanks for the ideas.  It's a good start to work on putting a basic "lesson plan" together to present to the children's ministry coordinator.  :) 

[Calm37]

One of the kids' favorites when I did this age were the band instruments. Bells, maracas, rhythm sticks, tambourines, etc. They loved making a lot of noise while they were singing and even enjoyed a follow the leader marching band.

[Evergreen State Sue]

When I did VBS, we had one room for birth through 2, one room for 2 yr. olds, and one room for 3 yr. olds.  We never used videos.  If you do use bubbles, save them for the very end before the parents pick their kids up.  It is something they look forward to, and after 3 hours, it can help with the fussyness.  You can build in a quiet time where they all lay down on a blanket for 10 minutes with the lights off too. 

 

I also remember we had a long rope, and the 2 yr. olds had to hang on to the rope and then we could go for a walk outside and just walk around the church building.  You need an adult at the front and back to keep control. 

 

My favorite craft for the 2 yr. olds was their hand print. 

 

 

[AmyontheFarm]

For the babies who can sit up.  We put just a little pudding into a large heavy duty ziploc bag which we tape down to the high chair tray.  They love smooshing the pudding around.  It was a clean activity and the kids were happy to do it again and again.  

 

If you are going to do water play, do it after a messy activity to help with clean up.

 

If you are on pinterest, google infant or toddlers and animal activities.

[Ali in OR]

One is pretty young. When our church used to do VBS, all of the classes rotated to different areas/activities. When my kids were really young, I taught the preschool group. Since I was the teacher, I had my youngest in class with me at age 2.5 (other kids had to be 4, though we allowed 3 year olds from our own church that we knew well). She could do everything the big kids could. Having a chance to go outside was a nice break, as was snack time. Definitely needed some downtime too--for us this was the coloring sheets. So I expect that the older half of your age range could get a lot out of a VBS program. The hard part is incorporating the really young ones. Some one year olds aren't even walking yet. Some may need naps.

 

If there are songs that the big kids are learning, play them for your littles too. They can learn the motions and have a lot of fun with them.

[Reefgazer]

I am the VBS coordinator for our church and Weird Animals is put out by Group Publishing.  Group has leader booklets for crafts, games, movies, Bible stories, snack, and sing and play.  They have separate booklets for each of those categories for the preschool set because the preschoolers are usually contained in a separate classroom with their own activities.  So, if you are a preschool level leader, you need to ask your coordinator for those booklets.  Everything is laid out for you step-by-step so that you needn't have to give it much thought.  The church should procure all the materials for you, but check in advance to make sure.  Perhaps you are the nursery leader instead of a VBS leader?  In our church, that is the infants to age 3 kids who are too young to participate, but their parents are assisting and need child care.  In that case, that's just babysitting and no leader booklets/guidance is necessary.   Most churches have a well-stocked nursery with all sorts of centers.  Is that the case with this church? 

[Heather in OK]

 

 

Some may need naps

If we will be in the room I'm thinking of, there is no where for the 1yo to nap.  The only room with a pack/play (at least I think there is one) is the baby room.  

 

 

 

So, if you are a preschool level leader, you need to ask your coordinator for those booklets. 

When I asked her about any crafts or activities, her reply was that in the past they tried with this age but they are too young.  So they just do color pages, videos, and snacks.  I would imagine if she has anything she would have offered it.  *shrug*  

 

 

 

Perhaps you are the nursery leader instead of a VBS leader?  In our church, that is the infants to age 3 kids who are too young to participate, but their parents are assisting and need child care.

I commented on this above.  

[FO4UR]

Definitely obtain some double/triple strollers for the week.  Maybe some moms in the church can let you borrow them during VBS.  Take a nice long walk in the middle hour.  If you have a bunch of kids, stroll in shifts.  2 helpers stroll the walkers while 2 helpers are feeding the crawlers.  Then switch.  It divides the chaos, making snack time easier.  Littles love to stroll, especially if you can wak around and see the big kids at play.  (Just avoid seeing Mom & Dad or the babes will be sad.)

 

 

Utilize an exersaucer for crawlers while walkers are in free play.  Let crawlers play on the floor while walkers are doing a craft at a small table.

 

 

Make sure your helpers are interacting with the babies.  Assign who does what and create a rhythm to the day.  While one person is entertaining with bubbles, another is preparing for the next thing.  During free play, they should be on the floor with the babies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Heather in OK]

I know how to organize the time and how to care for little ones.  Just needed help with some creative ideas.  

[vonfirmath]

I absolutely agree.  Basically this is the childcare room for the volunteers with children in this age-range.  

 

Thanks for the ideas.  It's a good start to work on putting a basic "lesson plan" together to present to the children's ministry coordinator.   :)

 

Thank you for being willing. My almost-3 year old will be in a room like this this summer so I can teach in the older kids' VBS

[QueenCat]

We're doing the Weird Animals curriculum this year too. They have material for your age group. The VBS leader should be able to give it to you. It has all kinds of ideas.

[DawnM]

No, I haven't nor would I.  The very thought makes me run screaming.

 

My husband would and does.  He "teaches" the 1-2 year olds for Sunday School.

 

Mostly it is kids crying, playing with toys, and playing music.  It is hard to get them all to pay attention to one thing at the same time.

[Melissa in Australia]

Singing songs that have actions, like going on a bear hunt, I'm a little teapot, and incy wincy spider. Doesn't matter if you only have a handful of songs and do the same ones each day. Most little kids love action songs.

[Hyacinth]

The last time I volunteered in the toddler room at church, I pulled out a random book: Ten Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. Surely, you know it? It was the weirdest thing! I went from reading to one casually interested little boy to the entire room of eight children surrounding me with these HUGE smiles, just longing for me to get to the part on each page where they could all yell: "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" It was like toddler crack. (Okay, that's a bad analogy, I know. My point is that maybe this book has some kind of universal group appeal to that age range and you can use it somehow.)

[KungFuPanda]

What about turning a handprint or footprint into an animal? You could do this with the babies too. Mom would certainly love it. Logistically it would be a pain, but it sounds like you have tons of time. Even the toddlers would like an animal hat to wear. Maybe hit up oriental trading?

[prairiewindmomma]

I ran across a great inexpensive craft on pinterest last night... They made jellyfish out of paper bags. You either watercolor of fingerprint on a paper lunch bag, and then cut up from the bottom of the bag to create tentacles. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/196610339955722168/

[vonfirmath]

Singing songs that have actions, like going on a bear hunt, I'm a little teapot, and incy wincy spider. Doesn't matter if you only have a handful of songs and do the same ones each day. Most little kids love action songs.

 

Doing the same ones every day would be a benefit at this age. by the end of the week the kids will KNOW the songs and the actions and be -so- proud of themselves. ITs gorgeous!