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Catholic News Herald

Serving Christ and Connecting Catholics in Western North Carolina
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How to DIY a home VBS experience for your children

The opportunity for your child to experience Vacation Bible School this summer isn’t totally lost!

While most parishes will not have their typical VBS and Summer Catechesis programs, and the Diocese of Charlotte’s Totus Tuus traveling summer program is canceled, maybe you too are looking for a way to pull off VBS for your children.

The VBS programs listed here are specifically Catholic programs (not generally Christian) with content that is written for at-home use and to be purchased by individual families. According to your own comfort level, some of these programs could also be used for small groups of two or three families.

Cat Chat

070320 vbs4Canada-based Cat Chat adapted this summer’s 5-day “Marvelous Mystery: The Mass Comes Alive” VBS specifically for at-home use.

Cat Chat – known for their appearances on EWTN and FORMED – has incorporated their music into the experience: the program includes two songs per day via video plus dancing.

There are also printables for crafts and coloring, discussion starters, and a daily memory verse. “Kids will receive a new appreciation for the Mass and a deeper love for Jesus present in the Eucharist,” said Gerald Montpetit, Cat Chat founder. Cat Chat invites children to submit their coloring for prizes!

www.catchat.ca/at-home-vbs: $29 for family access; available through Aug. 28

Catholic Brain

070320 vbs1“Jesus The Incredible Savior” is the theme of Catholic Brain’s at-home VBS this summer produced in conjunction with Brother Francis and Adventure Catechism Media.

This five-day program “is designed to do at home as a family, complete with lesson plans for each day, suggested prayers, songs, virtues to study, and a saint video each day to learn about how those who deeply love Jesus were able to live that out in their lives,” said Mary Wilson, program director for Catholic Brain.

The program consists of videos and printables.

www.vbs.catholicbrain.com: Access to the program is $49.99 per family and includes 30-day access to the entire site

Catholic Icing

070320 vbs3The theme for Catholic Icing’s VBS is “Summer with the Sacred Heart.” For over a decade, Catholic Icing creator Lacy Lynch, a mother of four, has produced Catholic craft projects that are creative, teach a holy lesson, and are not overwhelming for mom.

This three-day program includes crafts, lessons, games, songs and outdoors activities. “Easy-button” alternatives that are especially doable, plus more advanced options for teens, are included. Printable decorations and “swag-bag items” recreate an authentic VBS experience! While the lesson and songs of the program involve video, the majority of this program’s components are not computer-based.

www.catholicicing.com/vbs: Access for family use is $10

In addition, the Catholic Icing blog is a storehouse of Catholic craft ideas should you be interested in developing your own VBS on a different theme using the various crafts on the website or incorporating Catholic craft time outside of a home VBS program: www.catholicicing.com/catholic-vacation-bible-school-ideas/

Holy Heroes

070320 vbs2Known for engaging audio dramas of Catholic saints, Diocese of Charlotte-based Holy Heroes has relaunched its “Summer Faith Adventure: The New Kingdom of David” as a free, five-day program from July 20-24.

With several videos each day, the program also includes online quizzes, and suggestions for snacks and games. “Our Summer Faith Adventure has been unavailable for the last 4-5 years, but given the current state of the world, we thought an at-home VBS experience was an important need in summer 2020.

We relaunched our original program with a few differences,” explains Clara Davison, one of the Holy Heroes Adventure Guides.

www.holyheroes.com/sfa: Optional PDF pre-purchase cost is $9.95; otherwise it is free. The content doesn’t expire, so links can be used to do the program at home anytime.

If you’re not up to a whole VBS program, but still want to incorporate faith-based fun into your summer, Holy Heroes also has excellent games for a Catholic Game Night: www.holyheroes.com/Catholic-Games-s/119.htm

Look to Him and Be Radiant

071420 American Saints CoverCatholic blogger Katie Bogner has two free at-home VBS options at her blog Look to Him and Be Radiant. 071420 Sacred Heart VBS

The first option focuses on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Her second option, "America the Beautiful At Home VBS," focuses on devotion to saints from America and the history of the Catholic Church in America.

"They all contain original resources from me, but also utilize the work of other Catholic makers and organizations that offer resources on their websites, YouTube, etc," said Bogner. "I'm both a teacher and a DRE, so the original motivation for the collections was to create something that was easy to share and easy to access by our families. I have offered an editable version of the schedules so that school/parish leadership can tailor the collection to meet the needs of their audience."

https://www.looktohimandberadiant.com/search?q=vbs Both options are completely free, and include prayers, Bible verses, crafts & activities, and videos.

For a more contemplative, retreat-type experience, Look to Him and Be Radiant also has helps for teaching children to grow in the practice of Lectio Divina, or sacred reading of Scriptures.

https://www.looktohimandberadiant.com/2020/02/lectio-divina-with-kids-printable.html

— Mary Beth Richardson, correspondent