Welcome to Maker Fun Factory-VBS 2017! Where curious kids become hand on inventors who discover they are lovingly crafted by God.
VBS is for children 3 years- 5th grade completed and will take place June 11th- 15th from 6:00-7:30 pm with the exception of the 4th and 5th grade missions team who will finish at 8:00pm. We will finish our week with a family picnic on Thursday night!
Child care will be available for the volunteers' children 2 years old and younger. Please register these children as nursery participants that we an staff accordingly.
Check-in/Pick up Procedures
Check in will take place on Sunday, June 11th from 5:30 until 6:00 pm in the lobby of the children and youth facility. You can access the lobby from either the White Street or Elizabeth Avenue parking lots. Volunteers will be standing by to assist you. Your child will stay with the same group of children and adult leaders each day. If you have any concerns reguarding your child (allergies, medical issues, etc.) please contact your child's leaders and make them aware of your concerns. Pick up is in the Core (the basement of the children and youth facility) at 7:30 each evening. After Sunday, all children should report directly to The Core at 6:00 pm each day.
Fees
There is a $25 per child supply fee. The fee is reduced to $20 per child for family members of volunteers.
**The deadline for registration and payment is May 28th. After this time, parents will be charged a $25 late fee (per family) to register in the church office. **
CDs of the VBS music are available for sale for $10 each. You may pay for them when you register online. If you'd like to pick up your CD before VBS begins, print or screen shot the receipt that is emailed to you from your online payment and bring it to the church office between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm (Mon-Thurs) and 8:30 am-noon (Fri).
What to wear
Please dress your child in play clothes that can get dirty. Tennis shoes are best, as the children participate in games each day that require running and ease of movement. Flip flops and sandals are trip hazards and we would appreciate eliminating that safety concern.
Allergies
Children will have goldfish each night during movies. If your child cannot have these please contact Sarah Crockford at scrockford@stjohnsrh.org or 803-327-3113. If your child has an Epipen for any allergy, please be sure it is labeled, bring it every day, and give it to your child’s teacher.
What to Bring Each Day
The 4th and 5th grade (just completed) children participate in local missions in lieu of regular VBS programming. Each day, they will be taking items donated by all of the children with them to the mission site. These items have been requested by each agency and a list will be provided to all VBS participants. Each child is invited to bring an item from the list each day. This is in lieu of a monetary offering. You may be used to having children bring money as a missions offering. However, most children don’t understand the value of money since it is not a tangible need for them. That makes it more difficult to make a concrete connection between their money and making a difference in the lives of others.
4th and 5th Graders
Parents of children who just completed 4th and 5th grades will receive an e-mail containing information specific to missions (what to wear, what to bring, permission forms, etc.). If you do not receive this e-mail prior to VBS, please contact Sarah Crockford. Please note they will finish at 8:00!!
Thursday Night Family Picnic
The closing ceremony will be Thursday night at 6:00 pm. Families will celebrate the wonderful week of VBS together with a picnic, music, and more! This year our picnic is being sponsored by our Boy scouts. Mark your calendars!
How You Can Help
If you are interested in volunteering, it is not too late to sign up! We have a number of opportunities available. In addition to group leaders and volunteers during VBS, we also need people to help set up, tear down, and volunteer for many other activities that all make VBS possible. Please contact Stephanie Ansley, sansley@stjohnsrh.org or sign up on the VBS webpage if you can help before, during, or after VBS.
We are looking forward to seeing you and your children soon for VBS!! If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Crockford scrockford@stjohnsrh.org.