Clean Water for All God’s Children
For the Teachers:
Here are some things that you, as a VBS teacher, will want to know:
Living Waters for the World
is pleased to offer you this Vacation Bible School Curriculum. It
is designed to help children experience God’s love while exploring scriptures that refer
particularly to God’s use of water as an agent of creation, salvation, healing, blessing, and
health. It will also give them an idea of the world water situation (which is in crisis!), and
some suggestions about ways they may help. If your congregation is currently engaged with
Living Waters for the World
, this curriculum will help all of you become more familiar with
what that means. If you are not currently active with
Living Waters for the World
, we hope
that this week will inspire you to become one of our partner congregations! Either way, we
thank you for participating with us by using this material.
Scheduling:
Clean Water for All God’s Children
uses a format in which one teacher
accompanies children to various activity areas, and each activity area is directed by a teacher
who stays with that activity all of the time. You have been asked either to be a teacher who
stays with one age group of children, or a teacher to direct one of the activity areas (there are 5
areas) for the entire day, or possibly to lead the opening or closing time. In any case, your
director will give you the printed materials you will need. Your task is to become very
familiar with those materials.
If you are a group teacher, you will participate with the children in all activity areas, then
lead them in their reflection time at the end of the day.
If you are an activity director, you will need to gather all the necessary materials and
prepare them so that things go smoothly (there are just 5 minutes between groups of
children!)
Note:
because very young children may do better in a more contained, constant environment
than in this rotation model, there is a special section for pre-schoolers (3- and 4-year olds)
which uses the same materials in a simplified format.
Each day
centers around God’s use of water:
Day 1: The Creation
– the goodness of water
Day 2: The Crossing of the Red Sea – water for salvation
Day 3: The Healing of Naaman
– water for healing
Day 4: The Baptism of Jesus
– water as a sign of grace
Day 5: The Woman at the Well
– water for physical needs
Each day
, all of the activities will focus on that day’s aspect of God’s use of water.
The five activity areas are:
o
Bible Story – the day’s Bible story is presented and the ‘key verse’ highlighted
o
Mission – the Bible story is reinforced with an activity
o
Crafts – children make some take-home item connected with the story
o
Recreation/snacks – games related to the day’s story or to water conservation
o
Music/drama – songs (some water-related) in English & Spanish; skits
o
In addition, opening and closing times will include ways in which we can become
more conscious of our
own
use of water!