Vacation Bible School Planning Guide for Chiapas Mission Trips
The opportunity to
provide a vacation bible school for children in Chiapas can be one of
the true blessings of the mission trip experience. Kids here are very
eager to learn about the Gospel, are usually well-behaved and love
the chance to visit with Americans. There are a few key reminders
that need to be considered as you plan for your VBS here in Chiapas.
Remember that children here do not speak or understand English at all. You will need to have materials that are either language-neutral or that are already in Spanish. This includes songs!
Crosses, candles, sun & moon images here are symbolic of the traditional catholic church and/or traditional Mayan religions and are not used by protestant denominations at all. That means that craft activities should not include these. Fish symbols and other symbols representative of our faith are welcome, just not crosses, candles, suns or moons.
Children here have plenty of access to candy and sweets, and in fact, often their nutrition is not very good. We would encourage you to avoid bringing candy & sweets to pass out to the kids.
It's important that the children not come to see VBS as an opportunity to get gifts from Americans. If you bring something to share with the kids, make sure it is small and that you have enough for every child. In fact, it's perfectly fine to not bring gifts of any kind, especially if there's a project from the craft activity that they'll get to take home.
Children here love craft activities and can do them for hours. Plan only one activity per day and try to choose something that can be done in about 10 minutes. Have crayons and coloring books available for those who finish early. Mexican children are usually very happy to color as long as you'll allow them to sit at the table.
Plan to have some communication with your team in the US and with the team in Chiapas before coming to Mexico. By discussing things ahead of time, you can head off some major problems and misunderstandings.
We have found that the following model works well in many settings here in Chiapas. The availability of bilingual speakers is a major concern and one that should be discussed with the team here in Chiapas immediately upon arrival. If the team knows that they need translators, please let them know at least 2 days in advance.
Basic Model:
Receiving Time – freeplay activities together with the kids as they arrive to keep them occupied until all kids being transported have arrived (usually lasts about 30 minutes)
Opening Time – all kids together, songs & icebreaker-kind of activities; divide large group into 4 smaller groups (each one to be led by a Shepherd) (usually lasts 10-15 minutes). If the large group size is bigger than 60 kids, you may need to add stations and groups to keep group size to no more than 15 per group.
Center Activities – small groups rotate systematically between Bible Story, Music, Craft and Game stations. Each station should have a leader and preferably someone to assist who is bilingual. If no bilingual assistant is available, arrange ahead of time for a bilingual person to explain to a Spanish-speaker what the activities are for the center so that they understand and can communicate with the kids. Someone who has been assigned as Timekeeper should use a car horn, loud bell or whistle to signal to all groups that it is time to change groups. Each Shepard should lead their group to the next station until each group has been to all 4 stations. (Time at each center usually lasts 10-20 minutes)
Closing Time – all kids together, sing songs, review of today's lesson, line up for orderly distribution of any trinket gifts, then closing prayer. (usually lasts 5-15 minutes)
Assigned Roles:
VBS Coordinator & Leadership Team (5) – One person who is the point-person to communicate with and coordinate with the volunteer/mission staff in Mexico and then one person to be responsible for planning the activities for each of the 4 centers. (Bible story, music, crafts, games/sports.
Opening & Closing Leader (1-2) – Ideally this should be a bilingual person because opening and closing activities need to be in Spanish. If a bilingual person is not available, then a Spanish-speaker can be asked to lead opening and closing activities OR as a last resort, an English-speaker leader can use the services of a bilingual translator to lead opening and closing activities.
Center Leaders (4) – These are typically the same 4 center leaders from the Leadership Team. One person per center to assume responsibility for organizing the materials, explaining to other helpers, and leading kids in that center's activities.
Shepherds (4) – One person per group of children to lead them from one center to another, assist with the activities in each center, and address needs of individual children (ie. water or bathroom breaks). Look to the Timekeeper for assistance with individual kids so that you don't have to leave the rest of your group.
Timekeeper (1) – To monitor activities in Craft and Story stations to be sure they have had time to finish the main activity. Ring bell, blow horn, or blow whistle loudly to signal all Shepherds that it's time to switch centers. May also include traffic control if two or more groups need to use the same set of stairs, etc. May also include helping Shepherds if 1-2 of their kids need to go to the bathroom, need water, need help getting back to the right group, etc.
Other group members should be divided between the different centers to help assist, participate and get to know the kids. Once you are assigned to a center, please stay in that center.
Special Reminders about Centers:
Before the VBS begins, walk all Shepherds through the sequence of centers and discuss the flow of traffic (ie. where each center is located, making sure only one group at a time tries to use stairs, some logical flow from station-to-station like clockwise). This will help everyone feel more confident, help keep children together when moving between stations and reduce the risk of injury.
Bible Stories
Please check with staff in Mexico before planning your bible story to be sure that it is not one that has been used by previous groups. The later in the summer your group travels to Mexico, the more difficult this may become. But keep in mind, if every group does the stories of Creation and Noah's Ark, then there is no value in inviting the same kids to VBS all summer long. The goal of that strategy is to give these kids a broader, deeper and richer understanding of God's love, grace and mercy as demonstrated through lots of different Bible stories.
Please bring materials for Bible stories that are already in Spanish. Please do not expect staff in Mexico to translate for you after you arrive in Mexico. Lots of companies now offer materials in Spanish, but if have something that you really love that is available only in English, please arrange with someone in your church, school or community to translate for you before you come to Mexico.
Plan to have a story activity that lasts at least 8 minutes but no more than 15.
Music
Try to have 2-3 songs that match the subject matter of your Bible story. Make sure that at least one person in your group REALLY knows the words, the tune and any associated hand motions (hand motions are great, by the way!).
Again, make sure that the songs you choose are already in Spanish. If at all possible, bring a written copy (again, in Spanish) of the words to all songs you plan to teach.
Crafts
Try to have 1 craft activity that matches the subject matter of your Bible story. Have coloring sheets and crayons to fill in additional time, if needed.
Remember that Mexican Protestants do not use the Cross as a symbol of their faith. In fact, it is culturally inappropriate for crosses, candles or references to the Sun & Moon to be a part of any church-related activity. Please remember this when selecting materials to use in craft activities.
Make sure that your primary craft activity can be completed in 10 minutes. Mexican children are very meticulous when doing crafts, so they are likely to need/want more time than that.
If the craft activity requires assembly, plan to do some of the pre-assembly part before the VBS begins. That way the children can concentrate on the artwork part and their final project will be complete without having to be put together (one at a time) at the end before they can leave the station. There are some obvious exceptions to this, like beaded necklaces and bracelets (when the kids have to string beads before knots can be tied to secure the necklace or bracelet).
Avoid activities that involve glitter and paint other than watercolors.
Games
These activities can be “free play” with balls, jump ropes, frisbees, etc. OR a structured activity. These kids don't get much opportunity for free play, so don't see that as a cop-out. See it as a nice opportunity to let kids be kids and to just play with them!
If you choose to include bubbles, have group members hold the bottles of bubbles and the wands. You may want to allow kids to try to blow bubbles, but they usually blow too hard. If you blow bubbles for them and just let them chase them, they'll have a BLAST!
Designate one group member in this center to specifically reach out to little girls and boys. Toss balls gently back and forth with them, show them how, etc. Make sure that they have access to balls and toys too, since the bigger kids can be inclined to leave them out.
Have a back-up plan in case it rains. Have some activities that can be done under a shelter (ie. sidewalk chalk, bubbles, jump rope, hopscotch).
Encourage the Shepherds to make sure that only their kids are in this center. Some kids try to sneak off from other centers because they'd rather play ball than do other activities. Send them back to their groups and/or call for assistance from the Timekeeper.
Reminders about Gifts & Treats
If you intend to share any small gifts, trinkets, toys, etc. be absolutely sure that you have enough of the same item to share with all the children present. Get a good head count 15 minutes before time to distribute, and if you don't have at least 3 more, don't pass them out!!! It is very important that, if you give anything to any child, every child gets one and gets the same thing. For example, if you give out bracelets, make them all the same style, even if they are different colors. If you give out yo-yos, it's not okay to pass out 55 yo-yos and 2 sets of paddle balls but it is okay to pass out 57 different colored yo-yos.
We'd discourage the distribution of sweet treats. These kids have way too many opportunities to get candies, cookies, etc.
If you elect to give out anything at all, let it be one or two things MAX for the entire VBS!! Our goal is to share God's love, not teach them that Americans are sure to come bearing presents. Better to err on the side of sharing lots of love, fun and Good News about Jesus and give no gifts (other than the craft that they take home) than it is to give a lot and have them telling their friends they should come to VBS to get gifts from the Americans.
Offering a Vacation Bible School can be one of the most exciting, enriching aspects of your mission trip if you've planned well, communicated well with volunteer/mission staff in Mexico, and prepared members of your group for their different roles.