FAQ
Here you will find the
most frequently asked questions and the answers to those questions.
- What makes
Growing with the Saints’ Catholic VBS Programs unique?
- Why choose
Growing with the Saints’ Catholic VBS programs?
- Are
Growing with the Saints’ Catholic VBS Programs approved by the Catholic Church?
- What is the program format?
- What is
the theme of each Growing with the Saints’ Catholic VBS Program?
- Do your
programs include skits?
- How do I know
Growing with the Saints’ Catholic VBS programs will work in our parish, we have
a large/small VBS attendance?
- Do you have Bulk Pricing for large orders?
- How does the cost of
Growing with the Saints Catholic VBS programs compare to other VBS
programs?
- Do
your programs include craft supplies?
- What
other items are available for sale other than the VBS program?
- Can Growing with the Saints’ Catholic VBS Programs be
used for more than a one week summer VBS program?
- How does Growing with the Saints ship
their VBS
products?
- How does Growing with the Saints ship to
international addresses?
1. What
makes Growing with the Saints’ Catholic VBS Programs unique?
Foremost, we are a Catholic family writing NEW
completely Catholic VBS programs, NOT Catholic companion material. We utilize
the life and teachings of saints to inspire children to answer God’s call to
holiness. Our VBS programs are one complete program, NO MORE STARTER
KITS with all the extra and costly add-ons. Everything needed to
implement the entire program is packaged in one lovely reproducible binder kit.
Your VBS dollars will not be wasted on unnecessary supplementary materials. We
developed these programs to be the Most Coordinator, Leader,
and child friendly programs on the market today. We include a succinct
Coordinator’s Guide, which includes planning suggestions, recruitment,
registration and evaluation forms, promotional materials, and press releases.
These forms are designed to lesson the workload of the VBS Coordinator.
Our program themes, are supported by creative/fun
lessons, Bible verses, activities, games, music, crafts, and snacks and skits.
Most significantly, we have written delightful children’s storybooks,
The Adventures of Saint Patrick, The Assorted Saints and the Virtues and St.
Catherine Labouré as program supplements. Four storybooks are
included with each program, one for each grade level leader. The children will
listen to parts of these engaging books each day to learn about the incredible
lives of the saints, and the many miracles God performed in their lives. It is
said that many saints aspired to become saints by reading about saints. This
novel idea to include a storybook to enrich and supplement our VBS programs is
an innovative and creative approach.
As an added BONUS we include a FIELD DAY section,
which includes themed games and crafts for hours of outdoor enjoyment. Should
you choose to do so, FIELD DAY is a wonderful way to wrap up the week. A Closing
Ceremony Guide (an end of the week celebration for VBS participants and family)
is yet another program feature. The Music Leader will find this guide extremely
helpful in setting up a Parent Program. Suggestions for planning, organizing,
implementing and selecting songs are included in this guide.
2. Why choose Growing with the Saints’
Catholic VBS Programs?
Parents look for wholesome
summer activities. Growing with the Saints’ Catholic VBS programs are a
wonderful way for Parishes to reach out to their youth. Along with daily Bible
lessons, Parishes will have the opportunity to plant seeds of faith rich in the
Sacraments and Sacred Traditions of the Church. Within one week, our VBS
programs will pack a lifetime of spirituality into young impressionable minds.
Children will experience first hand the all- knowing, all- loving,
all-powerful God guiding the saints, and protecting them at every turn. We
hope to ignite a spark in children that will grow into a fire of faith, hope and
love. Religious leaders are urging a return to the teaching of the saints. Our
VBS answers this call.
“If you are what you
should be, you will set the whole world ablaze!” -Pope John Paul II
3. Are Growing with the Saints’
Catholic VBS Programs approved by the Catholic Church?
YES! Saint Patrick and the Holy Trinity VBS: On
September 2, 2005, Father David L. Rasner, J.C.L. granted the Nihil Obstat. The
Imprimatur was granted by the Most Reverend William L. Higi, Diocese of
Lafayette, IN on November 18, 2005 for writing sound Catholic Doctrine.
And:
The Assorted Saints and the Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love VBS: On
November 22, 2006, Father Michael Heintz, Censor Librorum granted the
Nihil Obstat. The Imprimatur was granted by the Most Reverend John M. D’Arcy,
Diocese of Fort Wayne – South Bend on November 27, 2006 for writing sound
Catholic Doctrine.
And:
Parachute with the Angels & St. Catherine Labouré VBS: September 2007,
Father Michael Heintz, Censor Librorum granted the Nihil Obstat. The
Imprimatur was granted by the Most Reverend John M. D’Arcy, Diocese of Fort
Wayne – South Bend on September 17, 2007 for writing sound Catholic Doctrine.
4. What is the program format?
We have written the most popular format choice, a five
day Adaptable Rotation Plan. Our program is written in a five day, three
hours per day format but can be easily adapted to suit your individual needs. It
is comprised of four separate grade levels: (PreK/Kindergarten), (1-2), (3-4),
and (5-6). You will need a lesson leader for each grade level. You will also
need individual leaders for the following sections: Craft Leader, Snack Leader,
Music Leader and a Field Day Leader (if you choose to have a field day). This
plan makes recruitment easier because volunteers are more comfortable working
in their area of strength/talent.
Depending on the size of each grade level, you may
need a helper for each leader. All grade levels will rotate in and out of each
section.
5. What is the theme of each
Growing with the Saints’ Catholic VBS Program?
Saint Patrick and the Holy Trinity VBS:
The daily lessons reflect our VBS theme. It is the Holy Trinity theme: Day One:
God Knows, Day Two: Jesus Loves, Day Three: The Holy Spirit is God, Day Four:
The Holy Trinity, and Day Five: Be a Missionary. An opening prayer, Bible memory
verse, activities/games, skits, poems, and songs reinforce each daily lesson.
The Assorted Saints and the Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love VBS:
The daily lessons reflect our VBS theme. It is the 3 Virtues theme: Day One: The
Virtue of Faith, Day Two: The Virtue of Hope, Day Three: The Virtue of Love, Day
Four: The Greatest of All Virtues, and Day Five: Be a Missionary. An opening
prayer, Bible memory verse, bible stories, activities/games, skits, poems, and
songs reinforce each daily lesson.
The Assorted Saints and the Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love VBS:
The daily lessons reflect our VBS theme. It is the Role of Angels theme: Day
One: Messenger: One Who is Sent, Day Two: Protector, Day Three: Comforter, Day
Four: Guide, and Day Five: Be a Missionary. An opening prayer, Bible memory
verse, bible stories, activities/games, skits, poems, and songs reinforce each
daily lesson.
6. Do your programs include skits?
Yes! If you desire to "jump start" your VBS week these
skits are exactly what you are looking for! Our Opening Ceremony skits,
assembled from the content of our exclusive children's storybooks, will delight
and captivate all audiences. These fifteen minute entertaining and fast paced
productions will enlighten and give children "the giggles" as several episodes
in the lives of the saints unfold. With Saint Patrick’s VBS, you will
meet pirates Cap'n Hank McPlank, Boney MaHoney and Smiley O'Reilly. Best of all,
children will be enthralled as Victor, a guardian angel disguised as a bird,
flaps his way onto the stage.
With Assorted Saints VBS, kids will witness a gathering of the saints
and their “storytelling adventure” with Jonah. Kids will hear Jonah’s exciting
story about his scary meeting with a huge whale and what can happen when one
says NO to God!!
In Parachute with the Angels, children will meet the characters from
the REAL Bible stories that they will learn about throughout the week. They will
see the dramatic episodes from the lives of these Bible characters right in
front of their eyes!
Throughout the all skits, funny remarks and phrases, humorous character
expressions and actions, and opportunities for audience participation combine to
make each skit a WINNER and one that children will NEVER forget!
Becoming involved with these skit productions is an ideal way and unique
opportunity to get your Junior High Youth Group involved in VBS and evangelizes
their faith. Creating props, designing background scenery and joining the cast
will help youth accumulate confirmation service hours. Suggestions for casting,
props and background scenery are included.
An echo Bible Verse activity lead by the VBS Coordinator integrates the theme of the first day: "God Knows!"
Becoming involved with this skit production is an ideal way and unique opportunity to get your Junior High Youth Group involved in VBS and evangelizes their faith. Creating props, designing background scenery and joining the cast will help youth accumulate confirmation service hours. Suggestions for casting, props and background scenery are included.
7. How do I know Growing with the
Saints’ Catholic VBS programs will work in our parish, we have a large/small VBS
attendance.
We develop our programs to help create the flexibility
you are looking for. We have the MOST coordinator, teacher, and child friendly
programs around. All materials in our VBS programs are reproducible
with the exception of the storybooks, The Adventures of Saint Patrick, The
Assorted Saints and the Virtues and St. Catherine Labouré. However, we do
include 4 copies of each book with each corresponding program.
If your parish is very large resulting in high enrollment, we
suggest you divide it in half and run either two concurrent programs (if your
space allows) or two identical programs at different times of the day. Or you
may choose to run 2 separate VBS weeks. No matter which scheduling option you
choose, reproducing our program materials will satisfy any of these scheduling
scenarios. Simply purchase additional storybooks for each extra Lesson Leader.
If you have a smaller parish with lower enrollment numbers, you
may want to combine grades 3-6 into one classroom which will reduce your number
of groups to three instead of four and also reduce the number of volunteers
needed to implement your VBS program. We suggest using the grade-level lesson
that you feel is appropriate for the children in that combined group.
Growing with the Saints’ Catholic VBS programs are ONE SIZE FITS ALL
programs.
8. Do you have Bulk Pricing for large orders??
Yes. You may follow this link: Bulk Book Pricing
If your parish is very large -
If you or your parish members have interest in additional copies of The Adventures of Saint Patrick you will want to take advantage of our bulk pricing.
Maximize Your Savings! -
You may want to tally requests for all items and order them as one shipment to
be delivered to your parish. Even if your order quantity isn’t eligible for the
bulk book price, you still get the Special Parish price of 8.99 each available
for only those who have ordered a complete VBS Program! That is 3.00 off the
retail book price! Take advantage of bulk pricing savings and substantial
savings on shipping charges.
9. How does the cost of Growing with the Saints Catholic
VBS programs compare to other VBS programs?
We are unique in that we do NOT sell Starter
Kits. We sell ONE COMPLETE PROGRAM. With other programs, what may seem
reasonable, can become quite expensive by the time you order all the extra
products needed. With our program, your VBS dollars will not be wasted on
unnecessary supplementary materials. To keep the VBS costs down, especially for
parishes on tight budgets, or with a large VBS attendance, we developed a
program in a reproducible format. One price for everything you need to run a
successful VBS.
10. Does your program include craft
supplies?
No, it does not. You will find that no
available VBS program includes craft supplies; these are always an
add-on item. These add-on items can impact your VBS budget negatively. However,
our crafts are designed to use easy to find, inexpensive materials, so
you can optimize your VBS dollars. We also provide simple instructions, templates
and full-color photos of the completed craft.
11. What items are available for sale other than the VBS
Program?
All of the following items can be purchased by using
the order portion of the registration form or by ordering through our website.
The Adventures of St.
Patrick
Saint Patrick and the
Holy Trinity CD
Saint Patrick and the
Holy Trinity t-shirt
Assorted Saints and the Virtues
Assorted Saints Music CD
Assorted Saints Jammed Packed T-shirt
St. Catherine Labouré
Angel of God Music CD
Parachute with the Angels’ On Target T-shirt
12. Can Growing with the Saints’
Catholic VBS Programs be used for more than a one time summer VBS program?
YES! Because these VBS programs are packaged in ONE *reproducible
binder filled with a variety of lessons, bible stories, activities, games,
crafts, music, snacks, and Field Day, you can adapt it to fit your specific
situation. Our VBS Programs can be utilized as much more than a one-time VBS
summer program. They are also a valuable resource kit for
schools, Religious Education Classes, summer faith formation programs and the
home school network. Teachers can use our program to enrich their existing
curriculum; thereby teaching children about The Holy Trinity and the life of
beloved Saint Patrick, The Virtues and the lives of the diverse saints who
practiced them, or The Role of Angels in our lives and the wonderful story of
the Miraculous Medal.
13. How does Growing with the Saints ship
their products?
Shipping within the United States
Product will be shipped from Ft, Wayne, IN distribution center using US Postal
Service. We do not ship to P.O. boxes. Your product will ship next
day after you complete ordering process. Unless you request a one or two day
shipping option, shipping time will be between 3 and 7 business days. Shipping will
vary depending on the weight of your ordered items, and the distance from our
distribution center.
14. How does Growing with
the Saints ship to international addresses?
All orders received from outside the contiguous U.S. must be emailed to melissa@growingwiththesaints.com or phoned in to 260-489-8493. We will choose the method of shipping that provides the best combination of cost, delivery time and other factors.
Programs are usually shipped Air Parcel. The cost for shipping your complete VBS program is $21.15 and usually take 4 to 10 days to arrive.
Your parcels may have customs fees and import duties added from the package destination country. These additional fees are always the responsibility of the recipient.
Our financial institutions will only accept payment in the form of a check payable in US funds to Growing with the Saints.
Please contact Melissa Kaiser at 260-489-8493 to discuss any other payment
options.
