Bethlehem Village VBS

We recently finished a wonderful week of Vacation Bible School. It was the best VBS I've ever seen. It was called Bethlehem Village. A living history type Bethlehem village was set up outside on the church lawn. Every one who wished could choose a costume to wear from Bethlehem boutique, thanks to many ladies who gave their time to sew. The children were not divided by age, but rather divided into the 12 tribes of Judah. Each tribe had two adult leaders, a banner, and a blanket to sit on during tribe time. Every day there was a skit of a portion of the story of Baby Jesus reinacted in the village square. Children learned about Jewish culture at as Jesus might have seen it when he was a boy. They learned about Roman history and culture from the Roman Census Taker every day. They went to the Village Playground every day. And each day they were assigned to other two different booths. These booths included Synagogue School, a music shop where they made a simple 5 note pan flute, a dye shop where they tie died little drawstring bags, a market where they sampled fruits that grow in Israel and learned about other Jewish foods, a bakery, a coin making shop, perfume shop, toy shop, mosaic shop and grain mill.

The kids enjoyed every minute, and didn't want to miss a night. My husband and I were leaders of the Tribe of Judah, so we were able to be involved with our kids in everything that happened. Here are a few picture memories of the week.