TCB Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Are your churches holding VBS this summer and if so what, if any, precautions are they taking with regards to Covid-19? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 No. It was cancelled, then offered as a digital event, which parents rejected. Officially on a wait and see plan for late July, but with cases rising again, it will not happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 We're going to have it digitally. Our church's coordinator is doing amazing work to get everything ready. They're going to deliver kits to each family with all the supplies, even the snacks! And a number of families have been asked to create video skits of the stories, so we'll get to watch our friends act things out. So far, so cute. 🙂 Because it will be online, we can do it any time of day we choose. I'm pretty happy with the plan. I mean, I wish we could meet, but we'll enjoy what we have. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintosrock Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Ours will be virtual on Zoom. I just finished recording the science segments, should be cool. Or, as cool as you can be on Zoom. I think it'll be chaotic on Zoom, but it's probably the best option right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 A virtual one - pre recorded, with printouts for coloring pages, games, etc. I printed it all out yesterday, think we will start it today. Trying to decide if I want to invite the neighbor kids to do it too, and just distance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCB Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 I don’t know how to tag people so I hope you all see this. Thanks for your replies. My dds are supposed to help with VBS at our church. Our church plans to hold VBS in person in about 3 weeks time. I know they are still thinking things through a little but at the moment the plan is to do things the same way as every other year but to emphasize and provide hand sanitizer. My dds do not want to go back on their commitment to help but I just have no peace about any of my family being part of something that could put others at risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCB Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 If anyone is doing an in person VBS I would be really interested to hear about any modifications you are doing to adapt to this year’s circumstances in case they decide to try some different things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintosrock Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 I would not feel bad about backing out of an in person volunteer commitment right now. We're in the middle of a PANDEMIC. We have our "old ladies" who have done the Bible stories forever backing out of VBS this year, with no interest in figuring out technology. That's cool, no one is holding a grudge against them. We're in unusual times and just trying to get along as best we can. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, TCB said: Are your churches holding VBS this summer and if so what, if any, precautions are they taking with regards to Covid-19? Our church is holding a VBS from home event. They are sending home a box of stuff and doing a livestream that kids can participate along with. The church I usually volunteer for VBS with is sounding like they are trying to do a in person VBS run somewhat like our day camp -- drop off with temperatures taken. Kids not moved around like they used to, etc. However, I'm not available the week they are doing it so it was an easy "No" when they asked if I could volunteer. Edited June 23, 2020 by vonfirmath 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCB Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 I just talked to our co-ordinator and it sounds like they are rethinking things a bit as we’ve had a small uptick in cases in our area this week. I’ve been wondering if it would be possible to do large parts of it outside with shades and large fans etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 I'd really hope that churches are protecting those older people who usually put in so much volunteer labor. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 3 hours ago, elroisees said: We're going to have it digitally. Our church's coordinator is doing amazing work to get everything ready. They're going to deliver kits to each family with all the supplies, even the snacks! And a number of families have been asked to create video skits of the stories, so we'll get to watch our friends act things out. So far, so cute. 🙂 Because it will be online, we can do it any time of day we choose. I'm pretty happy with the plan. I mean, I wish we could meet, but we'll enjoy what we have. this is what our neighborhood church did, my kids didn't really get into the online portion, but enjoyed the "homework" and snacks 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCB Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 52 minutes ago, elroisees said: I'd really hope that churches are protecting those older people who usually put in so much volunteer labor. I don’t know for sure what they are doing in terms of keeping them safe. I know everything is open and running as usual at church, from what I’ve heard from them and seen on the video of the service. There are certainly vulnerable people attending services etc. To be fair I don’t know though if they have tried to encourage safety for those people and the people have decided not to follow the guidelines etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerfectFifth Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 (edited) All of our school/church on property events are cancelled, except for Mass which is EXTREMELY modified. My church holds 1800 people and we are only allowing 100 people into each Mass. They must call for a reservation during the week, are screened and walked to a seat. Pews are marked off for extra social distancing and then they are dismissed slowly so people aren't herding out of the church. We just opened last Sunday and it was well done, but bizarre to watch. But I was happy with how they handled it, generally speaking. I am also one of the teachers at the school. We offered online summer school but parents declined. They and their kids are sick of online learning and they were really looking for social interaction which is just not as good online...at least for young kids. I'm scheduled to go back to school in mid-August but we are a state that is spiking right now, so who knows. I'm learning flexibility 😉 Edited June 23, 2020 by PerfectFifth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Our church is having a VBS for preschoolers (at the church) and an outdoor sports and arts camp (at a local park) for elementary students in August. Normally these are two separate events, and normally VBS goes through 5th grade, and they have made significant changes to how they are doing things. But I don't agree with the church's decision to hold these events, and I can't consider having my family volunteer, even though they are putting out calls for lots of helpers. They are also moving the youth group, which has been meeting outside for a few weeks, into the church building this week. Ugh ugh ugh. I can't let my kids go, and it makes me so sad. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCB Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 6 minutes ago, Storygirl said: Our church is having a VBS for preschoolers (at the church) and an outdoor sports and arts camp (at a local park) for elementary students in August. Normally these are two separate events, and normally VBS goes through 5th grade, and they have made significant changes to how they are doing things. But I don't agree with the church's decision to hold these events, and I can't consider having my family volunteer, even though they are putting out calls for lots of helpers. They are also moving the youth group, which has been meeting outside for a few weeks, into the church building this week. Ugh ugh ugh. I can't let my kids go, and it makes me so sad. Sorry it is hard! I really wish our church could do things in a more safe manner so we could participate. I hate to say it but they’re even having a pot luck after the service this week, inside 😩. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Ours is cancelled. I ordered a small packet of materials and am going to have a mini-VBS with ds here at home, probably at the beginning of August when dd has already started her schoolwork. My parents' church is having theirs. It's HUGE and as far as I can tell there are zero precautions being taken. I'm not sure how they will get away with it legally -- I guess it qualifies under the church exemption maybe, but it's not a service so IMO it shouldn't. I wouldn't send my kids there ever for non-Covid-related reasons, but if I were you, I wouldn't feel bad at all about telling your church your daughters won't be able to assist at your VBS this year. The only way I would suggest they change things is if specifically asked. I wouldn't want it to come across like an ultimatum, you know? 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCB Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 9 minutes ago, PeachyDoodle said: Ours is cancelled. I ordered a small packet of materials and am going to have a mini-VBS with ds here at home, probably at the beginning of August when dd has already started her schoolwork. My parents' church is having theirs. It's HUGE and as far as I can tell there are zero precautions being taken. I'm not sure how they will get away with it legally -- I guess it qualifies under the church exemption maybe, but it's not a service so IMO it shouldn't. I wouldn't send my kids there ever for non-Covid-related reasons, but if I were you, I wouldn't feel bad at all about telling your church your daughters won't be able to assist at your VBS this year. The only way I would suggest they change things is if specifically asked. I wouldn't want it to come across like an ultimatum, you know? Oh yeah I don’t want it to be anything like an ultimatum. Besides my dds are only 2 of the many volunteers. They do the nursery for workers kids, though, and it’s sometimes hard to get people for that position. That’s why my dds feel so bad about not fulfilling the commitment, and also why I want to give as much notice as possible. When I talked to the director she asked me if I had any suggestions and I said the only thing I knew that seemed helpful was doing things outside rather than inside. It is difficult because we don’t have a lot of outside space and it’s mostly car park. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 (edited) 14 minutes ago, PeachyDoodle said: have a mini-VBS with ds here at home What a fun idea!!! Any great tips on this? Edited June 23, 2020 by PeterPan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 2 minutes ago, PeterPan said: What a fun idea!!! Any great tips on this? Well, we haven't done it yet, but... I ordered two kits from Pax Domini Press. Each includes a workbook on a specific theme and a craft kit. The biggest problem I ran into was being able to find a kit that wasn't intended for 50 or 100 kids and didn't cost a fortune. These were perfect. But I think you could do something similar by piggybacking off a theme you liked and copying the assigned Bible stories for the week and searching Pinterest for crafts or songs or snack ideas. That's what I thought I would do initially -- I figured we could use our children's Bible to read the stories and discuss, sing a hymn, and do some type of activity. I was glad to find Pax Domini though because a) the mainstream publishers don't always fit with our theology anyway and b) it will be so much easier for me to have everything planned out since I'm already spending a lot of time this summer planning for next year. The biggest drawback was that they are a small company and it took longer than I expected to get my order. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Illustrated Ministry has a vbs meant to do virtually or at home as a family. I think there is a family version with a lower price. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayneJ Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 Our church decided to do a Virtual VBS and it went very well. Families paid a small price ($30) and received all the activities including a T-shirt for each child, song CD, and 99% of the supplies for all the science, art, stem, and bible projects. The Children's Director lead an hour Zoom each morning (Monday-Friday). She also recorded it too for those that couldn't make it. We had about 15-20 families participate so she just had one class. I believe she did something else for the Youth. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 (edited) Our church is doing a virtual VBS. People drive through to pick up all the materials and then do the activites on Zoom. VBS is free to everyone, so I imagine lots of families will still do it Edited June 24, 2020 by mom2scouts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCB Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 I’m amazed and impressed that so many have been able to do virtual or zoom VBS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 Our church hasn't announced VBS plans, but if it's in person I don't think that I would be comfortable with my kids going. And just like that I lost my planning week. My usual participation is Drop And Run. I take all of the kids (the older kids are helpers) and I go home and furiously plan the next school year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2samlibby Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 3 hours ago, TCB said: I’m amazed and impressed that so many have been able to do virtual or zoom VBS! There is an ad running on Facebook for Bolt Virtual Bible school. I see it all the time. Our church did it and I've seen several other churches in our town advertising that they are doing it also. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahm Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 We were supposed to be doing it this week. The children's director had planned for social distancing. The kids were divided into small groups that they would stay with all week. Teachers would rotate rooms while kids stayed put. Siblings were going to be kept together in mixed age groups. No assembly. Craft packs preassembled then left at children's places at the table so no sharing of supplies. Masks on everyone, all the time. (Except my toddler as he's too young, but he was going to be with me, well back from others.) Our church leadership decided it wasn't worth the risk, so it was cancelled shortly beforehand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTVKath Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 Our church canceled in person VBS and switched it to Home VBS. They are using the same VBS they did in 2018 instead of the new one they planned for 2020. They recorded 3 videos for each VBS day: (1) songs with motions & Scripture memory, (2) skit, and (3) dramatized teaching. At the beginning of June, they had a big drive-thru pick up your Home VBS bag which contained the teacher manual for small group time, kids' journals they work on all week with all the necessary stickers and printouts, t-shirts, and introductory information for the parents with suggestions for scheduling, recreation time, etc. I always teach so I'm already familiar with the format. During the drive-thru we picked up our bag, stopped at a prayer station, then a lollipop station, and then got blasted by water canons as we drove off. It was a very festive drive-thru and the kids loved it. They asked us to invite people to join us for Home VBS if we were comfortable with it and we were able to buy extra t-shirts as applicable. We have 2 families joining us. We've been doing 2 days a week and will have our last VBS day this week. We do it in the garage with the garage door open and fans blowing. My husband rigged a screen for us to watch the 3 daily videos. (The videos are streamed from the church's website.) For rec time, we just let the kids eat a snack and run around the front yard. It's worked out great and I will miss this time when we're finished. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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