Rooted in Christ
Vacation Church SchoolThis coming school year, our church school will be studying the Gospel of John. This influenced our theme for Vacation Church School this year as we will be studying about the icon of Christ the True Vine. (John 15:1-8)
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (John 15:4)
Monday
Lesson: The Green Patriarch
Patriarch Bartholomew advocates for us to take care of God’s Creation.
Video: The Green Patriarch – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (4 min)
Photo: Orthodox Council
Activity: (Older Kids) Garden Recycling Center – Our children collected gardening supplies (pots, dirt, watering cans, etc) that were no longer needed from gardeners in our parish. They organized the donations and then made a sign for the shelf where they placed the gardening supplies. Parishioners were instructed that they could donate to the garden recycling center and they could also take anything they would use.
(Younger Kids) Recycling Sorting Activity
Tuesday
Lesson: St. Phocas the Gardener
Saint Phocas shared all that he grew in his garden with others.
He also took great care to tend the garden of his soul, that the various flowers of the holy virtues might flourish there and he would weed out the passions.
Icon: Uncut Mountain Supply
Activity: We planted okra seeds. We started them the day before by placing the seeds on a plate with paper towels, then pouring some water onto the seeds, and finally we covered them with some more paper towels. We left our planted seeds outside until Friday. Then we took them home to plant in our gardens.
Resource: St. Phocas Garden Guild
Wednesday
Lesson: St. Fiacre
Travelers brought seeds and plants to Saint Fiacre and he used them in his garden.
People came from all over to St. Fiacre for advice, prayers, food, and to be healed by him.
Icon: Uncut Mountain Supply
Activity: Seed Saving – We had plants that had gone to seed from the gardens of three of our parishioners. Our kids took the seeds off the plants, placed them into envelopes and labeled the envelopes. Then we offered a seed library to everyone on our parish the following Sunday. Everyone could bring seeds from their garden to give away or takes any seeds they would like to plant in their gardens.
Thursday
Lesson: St. Herman of Alaska
St. Herman taught the native people of Alaska how to fertilize their gardens with seaweed.
He also helped to grow food for the people in Alaska so they would have plenty to eat.
Icon: Orthodox Christianity Then and Now
Activity: Composting & Fertilizing –
We talked about composting and fertilizing gardens. (What are ways we can fertilize our gardens?) Then we made earthworm observation jars and placed a piece of fruit from our compost bucket in our jars. We talked about where we could place our worms after we were done observing them (in our garden or under a tree/bush) and how much water we such put in the jar (a little bit).
News Report
At the end of each day, we recorded our children giving a news report for their parents and grandparents. They would summarize their day, as well as, narrate a summary of the person we learned about, where they lived, and the guidance this person gave us for our own lives. (Its optional if you want to record it. You could do this at the end when parents / grandparents are picking up kids instead.)
*We did this activity because it helps to reinforce what they’ve learned if they have to organize their thoughts and then communicate it to others. Our children are more likely to remember the lessons long term when they are asked to recall the information.
On-Camera Roles:
- Anchors 1 & 2 – Told about the farmer’s market, music, activities, and going to church
- Meteorologist – Commented on that day’s weather and our outdoor activities
- Reporter – Told us about the Green Patriarch or each day’s saint, where they lived, and their example for our own lives (and also about our Instagram poster)
Off-Camera Roles:
- Producer – Would count down from five to let our live studio audience know we were about to begin
- Audience Manager(s) – Holds a “Quiet” sign to let everyone know it’s time to be quiet as the producer is doing the count down
- Social Media Manager(s) – (Optional) We used this role for anyone left who didn’t have a role. They would draw a large picture of one special moment from the day and one sentence explaining the picture for the pretend Instagram post that we put on a poster.
- Camera Person – A child gets to call, “Action!” An adult will do any actual filming, if its being done.
Highlights
Our focus was on a gardening theme this week as we discussed how we can be rooted in Christ. We looked to the Green Patriarch, St. Phocas, St. Fiacre, and St. Herman as examples for our own lives. We set up a farmer’s market for the kids with some picnic tables for each day’s snack. We also placed a small canvas bag at each child’s spot for them to go “shopping” each day in the farmer’s market for their snack. We had several different types of fruits, vegetables, and breads available for them each day – and it was definitely a HUGE hit amongst and the kids and adults alike.
Supplies
Here are links to supplies we used this week for the farmer’s market, news room, activities, Observing God’s Creation, and field day (on Friday):
Farmer's Market
We used these plastic tablecloths and command strips for our tables. Then we attached 6 fence pickets to our tables to make the individual stalls using clamps. We used all sorts of baskets gathered from our homes and classrooms. We used two sets of bunting – triangles and vegetables – to decorate our stalls and then used a staple gun to attach the bunting to the boards. I put together 4 signs – The Patriarch’s Green Grocery, Fiacre’s Apothecary & Culinary Finds, Phocas’ Fare for the Hungry, and Herman’s Alaskan Harvest. I printed them on cardstock at FedEx Printing and then used the staple gun to attach it to the fence picket. I also cut flowers and herbs from my backyard and placed them in vases to decorate the table. Finally, we placed a small canvas bag at each person’s spot. They are not very big but we found that it was just the right size so that the kids did not take too much and not finish their food.
News Room
I hung up this news room backdrop using command strips. We also got two sets of pretend microphones – gold & black, but you could definitely just have two microphones and share them. We attached a small square gift box (individual boxes at Hobby Lobby) using gorilla glue to the black microphones. Next, we attached some pvc pipe with gorilla glue to extend the hand grip on the microphone and then spray painted it all black. After the paint dried, we glued on a news channel label. (We used materials we had in our garage. You can definitely improvise and use what you have around your house as well.)
We used what we had around the house to make the pretend camera. We didn’t buy anything for it. We used an Amazon box, tape, an empty toilet paper roll, caps from our kids’ yogurt pouches, a large Dixie cup, and black spray paint. We attached our news room label to the camera as well with glue.
We hung up our actual weather forecast for the week using large construction paper we had around, our weather forecast printout, and packing tape.
We used a world map from one of our classrooms and hung it with command strips for the reporter. (Optional) Then we printed out a large instagram poster for our social media managers and laminated it from FedEx Printing.
Daily Activities
Monday: Reduce, Reuse, Recyle
- We set up a trash, recycling bucket, and compost bucket next to each other to use for the week. Our kids were instructed on how to use them. We taught them about composting using their own fruit and vegetable leftovers from snack time.
- Garden Recycling Center – We brought in a shelf from our garage, some no longer used gardening supplies (others brought in no longer used gardening supplies as well). The older kids organized the supplies on the shelves and then make a large sign for it.
- Recycling Sorting Game – We printed and cut out the sorting items ahead of time for the littles. (Placed each set in a ziploc bag) The little ones sorted and glued the items onto their worksheet.
Tuesday: Plant Okra Seeds – One of the ladies in our parish brought okra seeds and taught our kids how to start and plant them. The kids’ pots sat outside our hall until Friday – and they sprouted. Then the kids got to take them home.
Wednesday: Seed Saving / Swap –
Several of us brought plants that had gone to seed in our gardens. We taught our kids how to to harvest the seeds, package them in an envelope, and then share they with everyone at our parish on Sunday.
Thursday: Composting / Fertilizing
We taught the kids about composting, decomposition, and fertilizing our gardens. We also made worm observation jars for the kids to take home using jars, dirt, sand, worms, and our compost scraps.
Friday: Field Day!
Observing God's Creation
We had a daily 5 minute activity after we said prayers in the church.
The older kids would find a spot to sit by themselves within sight of an adult. They would quietly observe God’s Creation. This is hard for some kids – especially these days if they are used to continuously being on an electronic. An important part of this activity is that it encourages our children to develop a comfort with silence and being still, a precursosr in the development of hesychia, which is “the spiritual stillness necessary for prayer.”
The little kids sat in a circle with their teachers and told each other what they saw around them that God created – trees, birds, ants, grass, etc.
If some of the kids cannot yet handle 5 minutes of quiet and stillness, you can provide them this handout in a folder with a pencil or crayons.
Friday Field Day
Water balloons are a big favorite with our group – and we do let the kids know that everyone who participates in throwing water balloons also will be picking them up afterwards. It usually takes us less than 10 minutes to clean up the water balloons when everyone pitches in to help. We get the water balloons from Costco, but you need to get them around May before they disappear. You can look up water balloon games on Pinterest.
Relay Races are another favorite and again you can look up ideas on Pinterest to find games that work for your age and resources.
As much as possible, look for field day games that use materials you already have at your home and/or church.
