From Prison to Palace

Well, the summer is almost here and what does that mean for anxious parents? Kids are under foot 24/7! Many churches in the summer offer a Vacation Bible School and this year, I'm so proud that our little "church-that-could" is presenting THE best program ever! We offered a Blue-Ribbon VBS for 10 years in a row. Than, our church fell apart, and four years later, after licking our wounds, the 30+ members who stayed behind decided it was time to offer something to the community and the ticket is VBS! Since I'm a teacher, it was unanimously decided that I would chair it (and no, I didn't get a vote!) I decided that preparing for this endeavor would be a teaching tool for me as well! Now that I'm a READING COACH, I am in the business of putting myself out of a job and empowering teachers! That was my philosophy with VBS and I wanted 100% participation from every family! Amazingly, that has not been too difficult, because when people are asked, encouraged, affirmed, and not given too much direction (essentially killing their uniqueness and special gifts), a lot can happen! Here's just a sample of what "ordinary Joes" are doing for this endeavor. Billy - he's 60 and his parents' ashes are in our cemetery. He's been her a long time! He's a printer and offered to blow up our advertisement into two huge banners. Yesterday, he met me at church and we hung them. He was SO EXCITED! Beverley - She walks with a cane and is a retired history teacher. She has a huge intellect and as she puts it, not a crafty bone in her body. What she does have is a sister who is a retired art teacher and together, they work with EMH kids with pottery and open air clay. Guess what! They are going to be working on a project together for the kids! Joan - she has been plagued with very poor health but really wanted to do something. In the VBS kits, they send a pack of "suggested" mega-price crafts. I gave them to her and she sat at home and figured out what to replicate, what to purchase, and what we could do cheaper. She even made a field trip to Joanne's Craft store to share what raw materials we needed to purchase! A true gem! Doug - one of my former middle school kids who won't let me go! He's home for the summer and volunteered himself and his brother to handle the games. he has some crazy ideas and the kids are going to be worn out! They are even going to make bricks from mud and straw, just like when they were enslaved in Egypt! There's at least 20 more stories of everyone's integral part, and I'm just so proud that my entire "classroom" has come together as a unit for a common goal! (Don't think I've been slacking, because I have been enlisting the help of some of my teachers just for a day here or a day there and I've been recruiting kids and spending money on the activities!) We're planning for no more than 30 and it will be the week after our UNE/blog time together is over....Anyhoo...I guess as teachers, even in the summer, somehow we are drawn to "children of all ages" just like at the circus, because we all walk a tightrope, wear a mask sometimes, clown around, while always soaring to great heights!