vacation bible school

had our first meeting for vbs this year. guess what i'm in charge of.

i'll wait...

you got it. snacks. like i am not in a kitchen enough already.

the theme this year is safari in nature, called Kingdom of the Son and it is really cute and the snacks go along with the theme, which it is all based on the Lord's prayer. i have four nights of creating wonderful treats for 125 kids and parents alike and they had suggested the kids eat on the floor (on tarps) like they are in the jungle. either that or outside in the oppressive, humid south jersey heat.

uh, that would be a negative. much as i like misquitoes and oppressive heat, working in a kitchen yesterday that registered 108 degrees F was in recent enough memory for me to shoot down the *al freso* idea out-of-hand.

the only night i am having trouble with is *giraffe* night. i am open for an easy snack idea if you have any suggestions - so far, it's been celery w/peanut butter (neck), with 1/2 pear (face) and raisins for eyes, almonds for ears...or pretzel stick (neck), cookie-cutter piece of cheese for face with baby carrot sticks for ears and then provide a ranch dip, trying to keep it healthy and away from possible nut allergies (my idea, but i am not thrilled with it). come on creative folks, have at it :) next meeting's in two weeks.

of course, there is always a discussion i am uncomfortable with, and sure enough, one came up that i want to talk about here -- incentives. the older children (7th & 8th graders) are the "guides" for the younger ones (K-5th). the guides tend to act out and when they haven't seen a lot of their friends for six weeks since school let out, they can be tough to control. however, they participate because it goes toward their confirmation hours and if their behavior is atrocious enough, some have been excused from participating and sent home for the week. for the most part, it is a wonderful, enriching experience for all involved.

idea came up for *incentives* last night - some way the good, well-behaved guide can be rewarded for their behavior and attitudes in general. someone said stickers on their safari hats so that way, they could be in competition with each other for the most stickers and they can be redeemed at night's end for snacks or penny candy or whatever.

on the face of it, it might seem like a good idea.

then someone said the teachers can't feel sorry for the kids with no stickers and award them stickers anyway - awarded undeservedly.

i listened for a few minutes and said "may i say something? i am really uncomfortable with this because after all, this is vacation bible school and we aren't here to shame anyone -- this shows favortism and it is not sitting well with me at all..."

the lady next to me said "that's because you're in the kitchen and all the kids are comfortable being with you and it's more relaxed than in the classroom. you don't really have a good idea about what we are talking about."

uh, was that a polite way of saying "SHUT UP?"

with that, i said "if you have a hard time with someone's behavior, then bring it to J's attention (leader) - have him deal with it on the spot so your group's experience isn't ruined. however, rewarding individual kids in front of everyone doesn't always have the affect on the others that you would want it to. it shames them and i don't think we are in the business of shaming people, especially children..."

as i am typing this, just now it came to me -- since there are four groups of children, maybe reward one group of guides each night, leaving no single group out of anything at all. that way they all get that good, warm fuzzy feeling and nobody walks away feeling badly about their participation in vacation bible school.

yes? no?

am i thinking backwards because i spend too much time in a hot kitchen? has the heat gotten to me? am i out of touch with kids? if these kids can't feel loved at a church function like vacation bible school, there's something really wrong with that.

really, really wrong.