On the last day of a great VBS at Hilton Terrace Baptist Church, I sweep up the remains of the sand table area, brush the glitter out of my hair, and dig play-dough out of the toy dishes, and I say to myself,”There is nothing like preschool VBS.” Preschool VBS is a unique blessing.Here are a few reasons why:
1)We get to play!
We play hard in the preschool department. All age groups play at VBS but in the preschool area play is the main instructional strategy. You have to love teaching an age group where many of the teaching activities involve toys. We use blocks to build a wall as we tell the story about Paul and the angry crowd. Our sand table teaches us about the sandy, dusty road where Paul walked on his way to Damascus. We float boats and simulate storms. We use our doctor kits to bandage baby dolls as we talk about being helpers. Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood fame says:”Play gives childen a chance to practice what they are learning,” and at preschool VBS, we are practicing all the time!
2)They know the answers (even if you haven’t asked any questions!)
We include our preschoolers in the first part of our Worship Rally. On the second day of VBS, our Family Minister announces that he’s going to ask some questions and correct answer givers win buttons. That’s all my preschoolers need to hear. Even before Curtiss asks the first question, they are raising their hands and calling out answers like “Bolivia!” “Paul saw a bright light!” Now we need to work on the wait til you’re called on before you answer (but hey, at least they raised their hands!) This eagerness to answer questions reminds me that preschoolers are learning machines. This age group takes in and retains A LOT! Which goes right along with my next point.
3) Little people have long memories.
I could cite lots of early childhood research that would tell you how remarkable the young child’s brain is, but instead, I will tell you from my many years of personal VBS experience that even very young children can learn and apply the lessons we are teaching.