Vacation Bible School

Last week the twins attended Vacation Bible School at a Methodist church down the street. It was their first time in a structured school setting away from Mommy or Daddy, so I was a little concerned about how well they'd do, but their friends Lizzie and Michael were also attending, and Miss Leah was one of the helpers, so I knew they would be in good hands.

The folks running Vacation Bible School were wise in that they knew that food--particularly junk food--is the key to a preschooler's heart. I was unable to extract much information out of boys regarding their daily activities other than what they ate. Among other things, they feasted on bagels with "crim cheese", "rice Christmas treats" (Rice Krispies Treats), and "red juice". They also told me they "took a couple sips," meaning they drank from the water fountain. "Red juice" seemed to be the most frequently recurring theme throughout the week, and I can imagine it must have seemed like heavenly nectar to these sweet-toothed boys whose previous perception of juice was limited to watered-down 100% fruit juice.

During the week we tried in vain to detect any evidence of Biblical instruction they might have been receiving at Vacation Bible School--the boys would only talk to us about food (and no, I don't believe "red juice" was used as an allegory to Jesus' shed blood!) Throughout the week there was also occasional mention of a cricket, which they eagerly introduced me to on Friday--a lonely little dead cricket on the floor in the corner of their classroom, not a class pet or story character as I had previously speculated. On one of the last days Caleb happily pointed to a door across the hall labeled "Music" and asked, "want to go do music?!" and he also mentioned learning a song, although he didn't feel the need to share it with us. At the end of the week each boy brought home a prized plastic cross filled with sand, Bible verses on keychains, and a Bible story booklet. And thus we were pleased to learn that there had been a "B" in VBS after all!

The boys' teacher told me that earlier in the week they kept to themselves and refused to participate in any of the activities, but by the time Wednesday rolled around they were joining right in on all the fun. Throughout the week the boys insisted that they did not want to go to Vacation Bible School, and sweet Caleb fought back tears the first couple of mornings when I dropped them off (but he stayed tough and never actually cried). By Friday morning, however, he was smiling and waving good-bye to me as I stood outside the classroom door.

As much as I enjoyed my peaceful mornings with just Moses, I did miss my big boys. I always arrived 15 mintues early to pick them up, and enjoyed observing them from the window before entering the classroom. The first morning I was saddened to find them sitting next to each other all by themselves at the table, but also thankful that they had each other for comfort. The second morning, only Caleb sat at the table while Joshua played nearby. As the week wore on, I would return to find that they'd ventured further from the table, playing with toys and reading books with their teachers. And when they would first see me, they'd exuberantly exclaim, "Mommy! Did you have fun at Vacation Bible School?!" On Saturday morning they actually asked to go to Vacation Bible School, but of course there was no more Vacation Bible School to go to. I know they'll be looking forward to going back next year.