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Resource: Under Construction: Building God’s People (Habitat for Humanity)
Published
by:
Smyth and Helwys
Publishing.
-
Is this a "permanent" resource (i.e. you buy it once and you can reuse it over many years) or a "dated" resource (i.e. it is produced for just one summer, with a new one coming out each year)?
This is a permanent resource. - What
are the main goals or aims of this VBS resource?
The aim of Under Construction is to create an environment which will provide children an opportunity to participate in Christian community—it does this through the metaphor of a construction site (church as building site; children are the construction crew, etc.) Under Construction uses the construction site theme in order to help children see themselves as partners in building Christian community and uses the elements of fun activities to point out the “fun” of building Christian communities. - What
is the content (i.e. particular Bible stories, a theological theme,
questions, etc.)?
Under Construction uses Acts 2.44-47 as the description of the community of faith (it gives the functions of the community). This resource uses daily bible stories that pick up on the themes of "community meanings” : Acts 2.44 The community shares Exodus 35.20-29 Acts 2.45 The community cares Luke 5.17-26 Acts 2.46 The community learns Acts 8.26-40 Acts 2.47 The community worships Joshua 24 Acts 2.48 The community celebrates Nehemiah 12.27-43 - For
what ages is it intended, and how are they grouped?
Preschool = ages 3 to 5 years old (a separate module is provided for this group) Children/ Younger = grades 1 to 3 Children/ Older = grades 4-6 Youth and Adult = separate module/book is provided for this group; no age specifications Allows for the mixing of ages depending on the number of participants. Maximum number of children per small group is 18. If there are a large number attending, then more groups may be needed. - What
is the structure of a week, a day, and/or class session in this VBS
program? What kinds of activities do learners engage in?
There is maximum flexibility with the structure so that the community can focus on what it wants to “get out of” this resource. The general schedule is as follows: 8:40-8:55 Early Bird event (optional) 9:00-9:15 Briefing of the Day Job Sites 9:20-9:55 Job Site 10:00-10:35 Job Site 10:40-11:15 Job Site 11:20-11:55 Job Site 12:00-12:35 Job Site This resource can also be used at a camp, extending the job sites to 40 minutes; at a Children’s Church, using teaching books as individual lessons; or as an Evening Program of a church, done in 2-hour segments over 5 nights. The activities of this resource include story telling, reading bible stories, music, bible drama, recreation (games) and refreshments, crafts. - What
kind of teachers would you need if you were using this VBS program?
Recruitment of teachers is based on their interests and gifts and their familiarity with the developmental needs of children. The Crew Leader-adult assigned to travel with the groups of children to the different job sites. Engineers-teach at each job site. Creative Technicians-direct drama. Youth and Pre-School administrator’s. Contractor-director/organizer. - What
space, resources, additional staffing, and other resources would you need to
use this VBS appropriately?
Additional Staff needed: Someone to aid recreation engineer with food preparation; someone to aid music engineer with piano/instruments; someone to assist craft engineer with organizing crafts. Space: flexible according to site where resources is used. - What
view of children, their development, their faith, and their ways of learning
are implicit in this VBS material?
Children have a variety of learning styles; the whole community plays a large part in the development / shaping of children intellectually, spiritually, and physically. Children are a significant part of the congregation’s sense of community and need to focus on children as contributing parts of the community life. The community shapes the child’s faith and the child’s faith helps to shape / develop the community’s faith. Each child should be treated as an individual and should be given choices, respecting each child’s decisions. Also, remind children that while working together, they are building community. “High” view of children as pertaining to their value in contributing to the community. - As
this VBS resource treats it, what IS the Bible, how is it interpreted, and
how is it used in the VBS?
The bible is the community’s blueprint and foundation. This resource focuses on the bible as story, including the bible as the community’s story. There is focus on the bible as a source of stories on community building, with particular focus on certain bible texts as examples of community. Bible meanings are interpreted and explored through hands-on experiences and activities. - What
theological concepts or themes are central in this VBS?
Building community and the nature and definition of what community should look like and its tasks. - How
does the promotional material (advertising or marketing pieces) relate to
the substantive content of the VBS (in other words, does it have slick
packaging, and does the packaging really have anything to do with the
content of the VBS program)?
This resources comes in a plain box with manuals that resemble construction manuals. Overall presentation / first impression is not very exciting. Packaging has everything to do with the context (community building = construction site) but is not very imaginative. - What is
the cost of this resource? If a small church with 25 people attending
VBS wanted to use this material, how much would they have to spend? If
a large church with 100 people attending VBS wanted to use this material,
how much would they spend?
$199.00 for the complete set + $15.00 S&H. - Over
all, what do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of this VBS resource?
Strengths: Focus on different learning styles for children (drama, crafts, games, stories, food, etc.); solid focus on theme of community; view of children as contributing members of community; well-planned with clear purpose, goals, aims; very flexible with many options to fit individual church needs; good drama interpreting scripture and OK music; shared and specialized style of leadership (must work with one another); evaluation form in back. Weaknesses: Takes a lot of people to carry out fully (small churches may find it difficult); order information is not obvious (only a phone number and address of the publisher is given); expensive due to large amount of craft and activity resources; adult / youth studies are separate from children and each other; issues of inclusivity not addressed directly (no real focus on celebrating differences); no instruction on how this VBS resource could be translated to the daily life of the church community.