Shout for Joy!

 Is there anything more joyful than the sound of children laughing? It twinkles like starlight, peals like bells, bubbles, and lifts everyone in the room. A child’s laughter comes from the core of their being, wild and free. It calls to us as adults, reminding us of when we were filled with that wild joy too. 

Vacation Bible School is the perfect way to fill your campus with that laughter and joy! And yet, planning Vacation Bible School can feel daunting. Organizing volunteers, shopping for crafts, learning the music, finding fun and engaging games, and creating registration forms is a heavy lift, and that is in addition to the important work of vetting the curriculum. Building off the success and lessons from last year’s EDSD Vacation Bible School, this year’s program, Shout for Joy! – an adventure through the psalms – creates space for children to explore the psalms and write their own psalms, too. Playful art projects and inspiring music deepen the experience for participants. 

Last year, six congregations in our diocese used the EDSD Love Is… curriculum. Below are a few of their reflections. 

Amy Reams & Shanta Muñoz offered Love Is as a collaboration between St. Luke’s, North Park, and Christ Church, Coronado. They said, “We had a great week! While the kids played on the waterslides during our final celebration, some parents graciously told me how blessed their families were by the camp. A new-to-town family connected with friends, a shy teen found her confidence in being a junior counselor, kids who sang their songs in the shower all week… but perhaps the most meaningful was a mom who just walked by our sign-in on the first day and spontaneously asked if we could accommodate her daughter with special needs. Of course! On the last day, she told me with tears in her eyes what a blessing this week had been for her daughter and how grateful she was for our loving community. The very thorough curriculum that Charlette created really gave us what we needed to pull off this week!” 

Kari Robinson from St. Andrew’s-by-the-Sea in Pacific Beach reflected, “The children were super into the “Love, Love” song we taught them to sing in rounds. We were able to have FOUR groups singing at the same time, with kids as young as five years old! Many parents stayed and participated, and there were connections and new friendships made in varied and rich ways!” 

Leighton Jones from St. James’ by-the-Sea shared, “Love was truly an action word at both St James by-the-Sea VBS camps this year! At our preschool Godly Play VBS our campers explored Gods love with daily stories, activities with staff, songs, and crafts. This group of campers really connected to God through music and even got the opportunity to play our new organ! Our older campers connected deeply with the drama rotation. Groups created skits depicting love from 1 Corinthians and presented them to both families and campers at our closing celebration. With the heat and humility, each day of camp concluded with popsicles, thanksgiving and daily love sightings. We are already buzzing with excitement for next Summer’s VBS!”  Register today for this amazing offering!