How to Make a Schedule for VBS
Vacation Bible School (VBS) is intended to be an entertaining learning experience for children of the Christian faith. Whenever you are working with children for an extended period of time, however, a solid schedule must be in place. Without the level of organization that a schedule provides, an eagerly anticipated day of VBS can quickly devolve into chaos. Not only does a schedule benefit the adults at VBS, but the children will be happier knowing what to expect each day. Plan your VBS schedule well ahead of time to avoid confusion at the last minute.
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Instructions
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Consider the children's ages. Older children can focus on a subject longer than younger children, who require frequent breaks. Take age into consideration and adjust the activities schedule for different groups of children accordingly.
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Schedule the snack or meal early on. Hungry children have trouble focusing and are more likely to be disruptive or whiny. This makes teaching the material more difficult and can easily cause a VBS instructor to fall behind the schedule.
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Evaluate the available time frame for your church's VBS program before setting a schedule. You must consider how many lessons and activities can comfortably fit into the given time frame without overwhelming your charges or allowing them the opportunity to get bored.
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Provide time for a short recess for younger children. You may decide to do this either midway through VBS to give the children a break and a chance to be physically active or at the end of VBS as parents are arriving to pick up their children. When the short recess occurs is not as important as making sure there is one. Small children will have fun playing with their friends and burning their energy.
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Set aside room in your schedule for children to arrive in the morning and get settled in and for children to pack up their daily projects and leave in the afternoon. Also, consider other small time killers such as bathroom breaks and time spent standing in line. Because VBS is typically very short, even small periods of time doing anything other than the scheduled activities can add up and cut into class time.
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Put it in writing. Making a tentative copy of your VBS schedule well ahead of time will help uncover any problems you have not considered.
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Ask other adults participating in the VBS program to review the schedule. Others may be able to see problems with the schedule that you were not aware of and can help you improve it.
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