After years of exhaustive and expensive preparation for VBS, I was ready for a solution; therefore, the birth of Biome Bins. Biome (habitat) Bins are plastic bins containing all the supplies needed for teaching a unit involving a particular biome. My bins contain games, books, role play, art supplies, work sheets, block supplies, decorations, and everything that applies to a subject. Larger items are stored nearby. My computer is also organized to include biome ideas, printables, and games.
RAINFOREST
DESERT
ARCTIC
GRASSLANDS
*AQUATIC
*FOREST
Savannah-tropical
Temperate
Tropical
Temperate
Tropical
*No photo example
DESERT
Everywhere I go, I hear, "We don't have enough workers." True, so I just decided to "clone" some workers from a cardboard box.
Breakfast With Jesus was a successful attempt to get more children to Sunday School. Easter was the week before and our attendance rose that Sunday. We were ready with notes about Breakfast With Jesus coming the next Sunday. We also mailed invitations to absentees during the week. It was a simple John 21 enactment of Jesus' encounter with some of his disciples. The children were served ham biscuits and juice. Afterward they went to their classes. Actors were 3 men and 3 cardboard "clones".
GRASSLANDS
Some photos are composite photos.
Finding a free supply of boxes is like finding a gold mine today. The Lord has supplied the boxes I have needed and a place to store them. Even so, there is only so much storage room for large boxes, so He gave me the idea for Transformer Boxes. The photo on the left shows a street of skyscrapers in New York City. The white windows covered my training posters for the VBS clinic that year. I also used them for games with the kids in VBS. The middle photo shows the back side of the shorter red and grey street side building. The scene here is Coney Island with a Pizza stand, a face painting station, balloon man, games, and free water. My emphasis for the NYC trip was to tell the people of NYC about Jesus through many venues. The photo on the right is the back side of the tall black street side skyscraper. It became our Central Park Zoo. A separate box became the Graffiti Church which was our base station for Bible study and missions.
The size and number of bins depends on the amount of supplies and the amount of storage space you have. I have one bin that holds all my minimal supply Bible stories. Then I may have a whole bin for one Bible category. Examples are: Jesus as a baby along all my Christmas supplies, Jesus as a man and all of His ministries as a man, Prayer, Missions. etc. Sometimes it is difficult to decide where to put something that may apply to several stories. That is where individual choice is necessary. I like the clear bins for quick recognition purposes. All of the material in the bin is placed in clear zip lock bags, divided first by Bible story, then by the purpose the material has in relation to the story. One large zip lock bag contains a lot of smaller zip lock bags containing puzzles, block materials, games, books & pictures, art supplies, etc.
WALKABOUT BAGS
THIS IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS. I haven't been able to come up with a better name than WALKABOUT BAG. Once you get a completed bag with everything in it, you can just pick it up and walkabout anywhere you want with a ready-to-go lesson.
My WALKABOUT BAGS are not Bible story bags only. I also have role play bags for each and every Bible role, community helper role, for children of the world roles, family roles, etc.
THIS IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS. I haven't been able to come up with a better name than WALKABOUT BAG. Once you get a completed bag with everything in it, you can just pick it up and walkabout anywhere you want with a ready-to-go lesson.
My WALKABOUT BAGS are not Bible story bags only. I also have role play bags for each and every Bible role, community helper role, for children of the world roles, family roles, etc.
COMING:STATIONS & SATELLITES
BOOK BAGS
A common term for this in education circles is book sack. I am just calling it book bag since I am on the "bag" binge. You can call whatever you wish. A BOOK BAG (sack) contains a book and materials to reinforce the enjoyment and learning of the book. Again it may contain puppets, crafts, puzzles, games, etc. that apply to the book.
A common term for this in education circles is book sack. I am just calling it book bag since I am on the "bag" binge. You can call whatever you wish. A BOOK BAG (sack) contains a book and materials to reinforce the enjoyment and learning of the book. Again it may contain puppets, crafts, puzzles, games, etc. that apply to the book.
Satellite Resurrection Sunday (Easter) PLUS
Grand Canyon props made from cardboard covered with cloth that I already had .We did an archaelogical dig at the canyon.
*MOUNTAIN