"The Great Physician"

At the beginning of our VBS, each of the 1st and 2nd graders' bodies were traced onto white paper. Because we tied our classroom in with a medical theme to go along with "The Great Physician", we called these "x-rays". My teen helpers had the idea to put the paper up on a table and have the child lay down on it. We had them wait in a "waiting room" made up in the hallway.
Each day, whatever "problem" the person in the Bible story had, we made the student's body tracing have the same problem. All of the ailments stayed on the same side every day (meaning left side of the body, or right side), so at the end of VBS, the one side was lame, blind, had leprosy, they were dead (black heart represents), were deaf, and had a withered hand. The other side was just fine, just like in the Bible stories each day - healed because of Jesus' power as God's Son. The kids were so proud of their tracings! Even though the tracings were a little odd looking, I think it will help them remember the stories even more.


One of today's VBS lessons was Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. After the Bible story was read, my class had a "wrap up Lazarus" contest. They wrapped the two teen helpers with two rolls of toilet paper, then we used a huge box for the tomb/stone and called, "Lazarus, come out!" just as Jesus did.
The other lesson was about the paralyzed man being lowered down from the roof by his four friends so that he could be healed by Jesus. Some of the teenagers helped act out this skit. One of our members made this Bible house for the story. You can see the boy on the mat being lowered through the hole they made in the roof. It was great! The children really enjoyed this skit! My 1st and 2nd graders tried to carry each other on a "mat". They had a hard time just doing it for a short distance. At the end, they all worked together to carry each of the teen helpers.

VBS is over. Hours and hours of work and it's over in three short days. It's a fun time of learning for the students and an exhausting time for the teachers! Exhausting, yes, but very much worth it.

Thank you to all who teach at school or Bible school/VBS. You are appreciated!