"I am the DRE for our parish and have used these programs for 4 years now. Totally Catholic, featured saints, authentic doctrine...I highly recommend them."- Sara (she also says they have now partnered with "Christ Kid's Music" and improved the quality of their music).
Ok, now I'm going to point you in the direction of some extra free resources to help you out with crafts, snacks, and more to match their themes! :-)
Available "Growing with the Saints" VBS Packages:
St. Patrick and the Holy Trinity- "The children will set sail with Saint Patrick, the first Bishop missionary, and travel with him on his quest to spread Christianity to the dangerous and ungodly country of Ireland. They will experience first hand the all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful Holy Trinity who guides and protects Patrick at every turn."
Check out all of my St. Patrick posts here!
You'll find trinity shamrock crafts, St. Patrick spoon dolls,
and St. Patrick games! You'll also find St. Patrick coloring
sheets, and other printables like a St. Patrick paper doll.
Also, find of shamrock snacks and treats! Lots to see :-)
Find this Sign of the Cross coloring page over
at the Catholic Toolbox. (Just scroll down)
Assorted Saints and the Virtues of Faith- "Discover the mystery and the timeless virtues of faith, hope, love with St. Nicholas, San Juan Diego, St. Brigid, St. Martin de Porres, and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha."
Parachute with the Angels - "God is your pilot- destination heaven! Check in with Saint Catherine Laboure, pick up your flightplan, and meet your Co-Pilot; Your very own Guardian Angel!"You'll find crafts, snacks, printables, and more.
Find a free printable Juan Diego paper doll
over at Paper Dali.
Or, craft Juan Diego's tilma with Domestic Church.
Make a St. Brigid's Cross with Family Fun.
For St. Martin de Porres, try any of these
Mice snacks or crafts from Family Fun!
For Blessed Kateri, try crafting these
beaded indian rings from That Artist Woman.
Parade Around the Our Father- "Meet St. Joseph of Cupertino, the one and only flying friar! Learn the meaning of the perfect prayer on earth given to us by Jesus, the perfect teacher! Meet our master of Ceremonies, Henry the Hippo who will direct you to fun skits, exciting Bible stories, and amazing music!"
Check out this some amazing "Lord's Prayer" resources
on the Catholic Toolbox! Find a printable puzzle, crossword,
and this Lord's Prayer game! Also, craft and snack ideas.
Also at the Catholic Toolbox, she has a post on the rosary
where you can find an "Our Father" coloring sheet, printable
mini-book, and lots of other great stuff!
For snack, you might try making an edible rosary!
of her with the miraculous medal.
Check out these Angel crafts to pair with the
Parachute with the Angels package.
Click Here for generic Catholic Vacation Bible School Crafts.
Parachute with the Angels package.
Click Here for generic Catholic Vacation Bible School Crafts.
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thanks for info on these vacation bible school programs. and the crafts you put together to go with them. awesome.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these ideas, Lacy! I just found your site a few months ago and you have given us lots of creative inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI use a lot of your crafts and your site is great.
ReplyDeleteI think the "Catholic" version of Protestant VBS are fine. Harcourt goes through Group's VBS and puts in catechism teachings, Saints, and additions for a Mass at the end of the week.
I find the "Catholic" made VBS are out of date... the music isn't attractive at all (and is sometimes even off key). I truly feel if Jesus was here today, he would be aware of our culture and bring people to Him where they are.
With Group, they have a music DVD that is like a music video, and they use Powerpoint technology. It's summer and the kids have a lot of fun with it.
These are great projects!
ReplyDeleteOur little one is only 10 months old yet, but sometimes I think of putting together a project binder from your blog and some of the links you provide. There are so many wonderful projects here, and I can't thank you enough for helping to give a heads up to the rest of us!
Our parish uses K4J's VBS program...it's the best of both worlds. Totally Catholic from beginning to end and has the high-energy music that kids love. This will be our third year with the program. The theme this summer is "Circus of Stars" and the spiritual focus is on God's fatherhood and also on the priesthood, so if you have any ideas for that, we'd love to see them. The guidebook comes with two craft ideas for each day but sometimes more ideas are helpful. :) See www.k4j.org for program info.
ReplyDelete~LeeAnn Balbirona, also a DRE (Holy Cross Catholic Church, Lake Stevens, WA)
I am glad you are promoting Catholic VBSs!!!
ReplyDeleteI have a list of all the CVBS that I found last year in this post, in case you want to give a look:
http://familiacatolica-org.blogspot.com/search/label/actividades%20cat%C3%B3licas%20para%20verano
Dana,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your email! I don't know anything about Native American culture, and had no idea that they were a "pagan" thing. I have taken that down. I'm always happy to have feedback from readers when there's something I wasn't paying enough attention to. *blush*
I loved the ideas you left as alternate crafts, too! Thank you for taking the time to comment :-)
Blessings!
Lacy
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI actually attended protestant VBS as a child (my Dad is Baptist) and taught VBS as a high schooler that was a Catholic version of a Protestant package. I hope I didn't come across sounding "unapproving" of these options. I have re-worded my post because I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression. I just want to help to support Catholic companies when I can, and I did hear good things about this program. And I heard that their music program had improved this year.
I know what you're saying about "Catholic stuff". Lets face it- it's easier to find cute protestant stuff, and my kids sure do watch a lot of Veggie Tales! Lol! But if there are acceptable Catholic options out there, supporting them will certainly help to increase the quality of their products as their business is more successful. I certainly commend their efforts. :-)
don't forget to mention "Holy Heroes" free at home VBS! Don't they also offer a VBS program for parishes?
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas!! I was planning some Saint research for my boys this summer and haven't accomplished any of it yet. The heat is SO bad right now I barely want to do anything. I will be keeping your ideas in mind as we get started on our studies!
Thank you! I'm a catholic nun and your blog is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteChallenged with all the non-Catholic VBS programs and Catholic publishers who buy into the Protestant based VBS programs adding some companion materials,Growing with the Saints continues to serve our Catholic community by providing high quality totally Catholic programs where they celebrate our Catholic Identiy in EVERY element of their materials. As was stated in the 2009 National Catholic Register when featuring Catholic Camps, Growing with the Saints was said to have RAISED THE BAR when it comes to Catholic camp programs. The Truths of our faith when taught in an engaging interactive hands-on way with ALL the fun elements make for a VERY exciting Catholic Catechesis Camp - CKC - Catholic Kids Camp! It is much more than a VBS. I hope the larger Catholic community will get on board - take that "leap of faith" and try a solid FUN Catholic Camp? Visit their website:www.growingwiththesaints and see what others are saying about their programs. “I am deeply grateful for the Growing With the Saints Company and the programs that they offer for educating our parish youth about the faith through Vacation Bible School. Our parish participated in the “Parade Around the Our Father” program which, with its lively circus theme and focus on such a unique saint as St. Joseph of Cupertino, it was a perfect fit for summertime learning. Our parents made it a point to remark about the overall different feel that this program had in comparison to other programs. It was very evident that this was created specifically by Catholics for Catholics as opposed to a general version that had been modified. The children loved the music and activities as they truly supported the spiritual teaching of our faith that permeated through this program. If parishes are looking for a program that keeps the focus on the faith and not the “fluff”, this is a great option.”
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I am creating our own summer program; instead of calling it VBS we are calling it Catholic Camp. We are focusing on Saints and why they are our heroes in heaven. I feel that so many of the programs are fluff-our program will give deep understanding of five of the saints. I will be happy to share with you our projects, games and plays.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are promoting Catholic VBSs!!!
ReplyDeleteI have a list of all the CVBS that I found last year in this post, in case you want to give a look:
http://familiacatolica-org.blogspot.com/search/label/actividades%20cat%C3%B3licas%20para%20verano
Our parish uses K4J's VBS program...it's the best of both worlds. Totally Catholic from beginning to end and has the high-energy music that kids love. This will be our third year with the program. The theme this summer is "Circus of Stars" and the spiritual focus is on God's fatherhood and also on the priesthood, so if you have any ideas for that, we'd love to see them. The guidebook comes with two craft ideas for each day but sometimes more ideas are helpful. :) See www.k4j.org for program info.
ReplyDelete~LeeAnn Balbirona, also a DRE (Holy Cross Catholic Church, Lake Stevens, WA)
thanks for info on these vacation bible school programs. and the crafts you put together to go with them. awesome.
ReplyDeleteChallenged with all the non-Catholic VBS programs and Catholic publishers who buy into the Protestant based VBS programs adding some companion materials,Growing with the Saints continues to serve our Catholic community by providing high quality totally Catholic programs where they celebrate our Catholic Identiy in EVERY element of their materials. As was stated in the 2009 National Catholic Register when featuring Catholic Camps, Growing with the Saints was said to have RAISED THE BAR when it comes to Catholic camp programs. The Truths of our faith when taught in an engaging interactive hands-on way with ALL the fun elements make for a VERY exciting Catholic Catechesis Camp - CKC - Catholic Kids Camp! It is much more than a VBS. I hope the larger Catholic community will get on board - take that "leap of faith" and try a solid FUN Catholic Camp? Visit their website:www.growingwiththesaints and see what others are saying about their programs. “I am deeply grateful for the Growing With the Saints Company and the programs that they offer for educating our parish youth about the faith through Vacation Bible School. Our parish participated in the “Parade Around the Our Father” program which, with its lively circus theme and focus on such a unique saint as St. Joseph of Cupertino, it was a perfect fit for summertime learning. Our parents made it a point to remark about the overall different feel that this program had in comparison to other programs. It was very evident that this was created specifically by Catholics for Catholics as opposed to a general version that had been modified. The children loved the music and activities as they truly supported the spiritual teaching of our faith that permeated through this program. If parishes are looking for a program that keeps the focus on the faith and not the “fluff”, this is a great option.”
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