It’s the morning of your first day of VBS, and you have checked and double-checked your list. You have your game items, your craft supplies, your decorations, and your snacks. Your team of helpers has loaded everything in the van, and you are all set. But, wait! If you are like me, you are so focused on the details of your specific VBS day, that you can forget to include some things that are important and useful to have at any VBS. So, this list is my reminder of ten helpful items that I routinely forget to pack for my VBS site.
10 Things to Take to Your VBS
1. A Bible.
This one is obvious, right? You are leading a Vacation BIBLE school! But, I have found that in these modern times, where everyone reads their Bible on their phone, kindle, tablet, laptop, etc. that it is possible to be at the VBS site and to not have an actual old-fashioned book-with-pages Bible. And, it is very important that the children you are teaching know that the lessons you are giving them are not from a blog or website or novel… they are from God’s word, the Bible.
2. First Aid Kit.
The kit should at least contain gloves, anti-biotic cream, burn cream, something for stings, pain relievers, Imodium, upset stomach medicine, bandages, and band-aids. And, cute band-aids are always better!
3. Flannel Backed Vinyl Tablecloths.
These tablecloths can have many uses. They make nice mats if you need seating on the ground. They can be hung on a wall with the flannel side out to make a flannel board to hang your teaching pictures. If you need an improvised game, you can use them like a parachute and have the children hold on to the sides all around and bounce balls or small stuffed animals into the air. They can be rigged up into a make-shift awning to provide shade or shelter from the rain. Oh, and you can also use them to cover tables!
4. Colored Duct Tape.
Of course duct tape is always handy! (..For making those awnings out of your tablecloths…) But, colored duct tape can also come in handy for crafts, or putting groups into teams, or marking out a game area on a concrete floor.
5. Extra Batteries for everything!
Whether we are in Mexico, Haiti, or even Ohio in a park, I have found that electricity is not always a given. If you are counting on using electronics, you should choose things that have a battery option, then bring extra batteries!
6. Trash Bags.
You should always clean up your site, and usually, outside of the US you should take the trash with you and dispose of it. In many countries, trash disposal service is very expensive, and to leave your trash at your host site provides a financial burden to your host church or community park where you had your VBS.
7. Baby Wipes and Hand Sanitizer.
These also serve many purposes, such as cleaning hands before snack, cleaning glue and marker from craft tables, cleaning… well, just about anything that needs cleaned.
8. Sunscreen
There should always be a large sunscreen for the group to share, because there will always be some in the group who forget there own. (In our group, that is often me!)
9. Camera
If I don’t write camera on a list somewhere and pre-pack it, I will forget it! Then, I will get to the site, see all the wonderful things happening, want to document the moment, and have no camera. After many years of being at the mercy of having others send me their pictures from our VBS trips, I am trying to be pro-active in getting my camera there by putting it on this list.
10. A Smile
Let’s face it, it can be stressful just getting to the VBS site with all of your necessities (including the 10 things on this list)! Then, if God has blessed you with a large group of children, maybe even speaking a language that you don’t understand, it can feel like chaos! But, your main purpose for being there is not the crafts or the snacks. You are bringing the gospel, and showing the love of God. Many years down the road, the children won’t remember the games they played or the songs they sang. But, hopefully they will remember the words of salvation and the love of a stranger. After all, that is what I remember from my days as a child at VBS!