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Read What Others Are Saying
About Us! . . . |
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I just finished two exciting weeks
of Vacation Bible School using your program, "Assorted Saints
and the Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love." The kids loved it;
the volunteers had a wonderful time; the parents gave us nothing
but positive feedback. The best part is the children learned
about their Faith while having a lot of fun. One five year old
could name all three virtues and explain that they were gifts
from God that we received at our Baptism. The kids made
connections among the five stories. They easily memorized their
Bibles verses as did the volunteers. Everyone enjoyed the songs:
we sang them during crafts. Their favorite craft was the Eye of
God and they loved the mouse magnets. Their tilmas and maracas
were very creative and we took lots of photos. Next year we'll
use Saint Patrick and the Holy Trinity. Thank you for your
wonderful Catholic product.
Mary Rusek, Coordinator of Religious Education, St. Cornelius,
Chadds Ford, PA |
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"This was my first experience
running a VBS - what a lot of work!! But your program made it
easy. I appreciated your comprehensive program where everything
carried on the theme of the day. The kids loved the program;
they had fun and learned a lot, too. Our Religious program is
dedicated to authentic Catholic teaching, and I appreciated that
you sought Church approval of your program. Also, kids don't
seem to be getting much in the way of Catholic culture at home,
so I loved the idea of bringing to life the virtues through the
saints' examples. Your program was thorough and allowed us to
structure our VBS according to our specific needs. Thank you for
a great program.
Church Staff Person, St. Jude Religious Education |
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Thanks for an awesome Program. The
main thing that I like is that it is a Catholic program. I have
tried the other programs from other publishers - even though
there is a Catholic companion - they are all the same - they use
the same Bible stories. There is nothing exciting about them. We
used St. Patrick and the Holy Trinity last year and I loved it.
It was so different from the other programs. Both programs, St.
Patrick and the Holy Trinity and Assorted Saints and the Virtues
have been a breath of fresh air. They are so different from the
others - I love them.
I like the music - it is awesome! The children enjoy making the
crafts. The 4 and 5 year olds love the mouse mask - we had many
little mice running around. I took the pictures on the Take Home
Pages and enlarged them. I gave them out to the 4 and 5 year
olds to color as they arrived. It gave them something to do as
they waited for the others to come. They all like to tell me
what they thought the story would be about that day from the
pictures they were coloring. They also took the page home and it
gave them a reminder of what the story was about. I also liked
the reproducible pages - that I only had to place ONE order!
Thank you for the simply awesome programs. I am excited to see
next years! "
Karen Evers, Faith Formation Coordinator, Immaculate Conception |
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Oh my goodness!!! One more day of
VBS and then we are done!!!! We have 123 children this year and
they are loving the program! We are also doing the change thing
again and as of today we have raised $800.00. But the great part
is, we are also collecting gift cards for the Paul Stefan Home
for Unwed Mothers and we have over $500 in gift cards!!!! The
gift cards we sold also benefit our school, so we gave to our
school as well! One week and 3 different organizations we
donated too!
Oh!!! The milk shakes for St. Nick were a HIT today!!!!! As were
the reindeer sandwiches! The kids loved them all. They were
screaming when they came out into the hallway and saw that their
shoes were filled with candy!!!
We have also taken ALL 123 children to Mass each day with our 30
Teenage volunteers getting confirmation hours!!! I am beat, but
we have been making you a CD each day with ALL the photos. I
hope you and your family will enjoy them!! I really hope our
paths cross in person one day! God Bless you and your family!!!
Allison M Gleich, Rel. Ed. Teacher, VBS Coordinator, St. Patrick
Church |
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First of all your program is
awesome. The kids really enjoy the songs and art projects as
well as the wonderful book and materials. This is the second
year that we are using your programs and you have us hooked.
My question is: Are you going to be writing a new program for
next year? If you are, can you give me an idea if you where the
next year will be headed?
Thanks, God Bless, Becka Nubson, Blessed Sacrament |
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We had a very successful VBS using
St. Patrick and the Holy Trinity this past July! I have been
asked to order your other VBS program, Assorted Saints and
Virtues for this coming summer. We want to order now so we can
begin planning while many things are still fresh in our minds.
The music and skits were a highlight for us, and the crafts were
much more kid and leader friendly than some other things we've
done in the past. One thought may be to add in an extra craft or
two in case the kids finish something quickly... this happens
from time to time. The crafts really tied in nicely with the
theme of the day as well. Nicely done! We liked the service
project, and just modified it to support our Dominican Poor
Boys, studying to become priests. The service project for Saints
and Virtues sounds awesome! These really help the kids to carry
what they learn from VBS to others. God bless, Karen
Karen Gerrity, St. Patrick Church |
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Just wanted you to know we finished
our camp yesterday. Had a great response from all; people have
already signed up for next summer. Will be sending you a CD with
pictures and also some hints that we found helpful. Hope all is
well with you and yours. Thanks for all you do! Blessings on
your day!
Janet Lucy, Office of Faith Formation, Sacred Heart St. Francis
de Sales Church |
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Are you going to have a new
vacation bible school program for next year? This year we used
your Assorted Saints VBS and loved it.
Lynn Stadtmuller, Transfiguration Catholic Church |
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We just completed our second summer
of Growing with the Saints. The children loved learning about
the virtues of Faith, Hope and Love through these five wonderful
and diverse saints, three of whom will be depicted in our new
church that we will begin building in the spring of next year.
Many families commented that it was our best VBS ever! I am sure
you have already begun preparations for VBS 2008 and can’t wait
to see what program you have for us to use. Being St. Francis of
Assisi, it would be wonderful if one summer you could have a
program that focused on St. Francis and other saints that
expressed Franciscan spirituality and its elements of service,
poverty and prayer, such as St. Anthony of Padua, St. Clare of
Assisi and St. Bonaventure. Just an idea! Again, thank you so
much for your wonderful program. Yours in Christ,
Diana E. Elwell, Director of Children's Ministry, St. Francis of
Assisi Catholic Church |
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I just came back from a deanery
meeting. 3 of the parishes used your program and we all thought
it to be wonderful.
Lynn Bruder, Holy Family Catholic Church |
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Friday night was the last night of
a VERY successful VBS program. Congratulations to all of you at
Growing with the Saints. We had to modify it a bit to meet our
particular needs but by and far went with your suggestions and
program. After we take a breather, we will compile a few notes
that we have to share with you. Again, what a great way to teach
our faith.
Mickey Caruso, Ministries Coordinator, St Thomas the Apostle
Catholic Church |
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Our Vacation Bible
School Program was reviewed by
Lisa M. Hendey
on her website:
catholicmom.com
Following is an excerpt from
her review: . . .
"Program materials
include a wide-ranging program overview outlining the
five stage curriculum, which is designed for students of
all ages from preschool through grade six. The
comprehensive Coordinator’s guide is designed to help at
every stage of the process, from the months prior to the
VBS schedule to a complete post-program evaluation.
Helpful forms as well as eye-catching reproducible clip
art are included.
The meat of the VBS,
the curriculum itself, is both trustworthy and
informative in its teaching. I enjoyed the emphasis on
teaching children not only the concepts of prayer and
the Holy Trinity, but also on translating these
teachings into our constant call to be Missionaries of
the Word in our world. Relevant bible verses,
activities, crafts, and even a “green themed” list of
snack and beverage ideas are outlined in great detail,
ensuring a high quality and fun VBS experience." . . .
-
Lisa Hendey, Writer, Webmaster, Wife, Mom
Read full
review . . .
http://www.catholicmom.com/brvbs.htm |
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“I cannot begin to
tell you have absolutely excited I am with your Saint Patrick
and the Holy Trinity VBS. I took a vacation day two weeks ago
and sat and read through the entire program. By the time I was
finished, I was bubbling over with joy (the Holy Spirit at
work).
I want to thank you for
forwarding the additional games/activities suggestions from
other DRE's. Will let you know what we come up with. GREAT job!
Thanks for your help, Susan.”
- Mary Lou McNamee, Religious Education Office, St. Philip
Parish - Crafton |
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“Hi Susan!!!!! We
just got done with our last day of VBS. Just waiting for the
closing ceremony tonight! The week was just soooo awesome, so
blessed by the Holy Trinity. After it was over all of the adult
volunteers met in the back classroom for a prayer, and quick
wrap up. I led a prayer of thanks and praise to the Holy Trinity
and then the Holy Spirit led me to invite all to say a "Glory
Be" to praise the Holy Trinity. When all started to pray I had
the chills going down my arms. It was soooo cool. I can go on
and on and on.....
Fr. Liam Leahy, . . .
our pastor, said, "People are STILL talking about vacation bible
school!"
- Jennie Lane, St. Mark's, Oro Valley |
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“Many thanks! We
just completed our VBS today at St. Anthony/St. Elizabeth parish
in King George, Va. . . . I just had to jot you a quick note to
let you know how amazingly great everything went this week for
our program. The parents were so impressed with the solid
Catholic faith we were teaching and the crafts that back up the
lessons so coherently.
The opening skit was
fantastic -- our teens were such professionals -- excellently
written and easy to stage.
At our closing ceremony
today, the kids were terrific -- everyone especially enjoyed the
little ones in their "piggy masks" (as they called them all
week) reciting "Pork Chops and Bacon!"
Our field day was great
fun . . .
Another great aspect was having the crafts, songs, games, all
written out instead of in our heads as in years past. This made
it so easy for our 17 teen helpers to pick up the instructions
and provide help. They made bishop's mitres, too -- it was a
site to behold -- kids ranging from four to eighteen all in
their decorated, very authentic-looking mitres.
I could go on and on,
but just know that we were thrilled with your truly Catholic VBS
program -- our homeschool group in the parish is ready to buy
your next VBS edition to do as part of their monthly meetings.
One last note . . . one
of our older, veteran attendees told me today that in summers
past, by Thursday of VBS week she is usually bored and ready to
have it be over; this year, she was sad to see it end!
God bless you and your
staff -- please pass along our thanks and congratulations on a
job well done -- we can't wait to "grow with the saints" again!”
- Tracy Sivak, VBS Coordinator, St. Anthony-St. Elizabeth
King George, Colonial Beach, VA |
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“I just wanted to
let you know that the children had a great time with the St.
Patrick VBS program. They enjoyed the crafts, the snacks, story
telling (our principal made a great story telling
pirate),singing and gestures.
Personally as
Coordinator of Religious Education, I really liked your program.
It taught the children about a real live saint and how St.
Patrick taught the Holy Trinity. Last year was our first year
having a VBS and it was on Jesus in the Holy Land and when I
found out about a Catholic VBS in my search on the internet, I
was excited. Teaching our children about our faith, Traditions
and customs is important. Thanks so much for your hard work in
helping to teach children about our Catholic faith.”
- Eugenia Martinez, Coord. of Rel. Ed., Sacred Heart Parish,
Brawley, CA |
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“Wow! All I can
say is Wow! There are no words to describe how amazing our VBS
program was this year! As a VBS Director, it was incredible to
see children of all ages coming together to learn more about our
faith while having a great time. As a parent, it was
unimaginable how much my children were inspired and are still
talking about it and dancing to the CD!
I want to share a story
on how it really hit home. My daughter, Emma (age 4), is shy and
a “hip hugger” when I’d drop her off with her group. I watched
her have fun, but had no idea she was actually listening until
she was talking to her grandma (GG):
GG:
What did you do today?
Emma: I went to VBS
and learned about the Holy Spirit – do you know where the Holy
Spirit is?
GG: I’m not sure
(pretending), where is it?
Emma: It’s inside me
and you!
GG: Wow!
Emma: Do you
know when you got the Holy Spirit?
GG: Um, please tell
me.
Emma: At our baptism!
I was so proud!!!
God Bless and we’re looking
forward to next year!”
- Cheryl Carosone, VBS Director |
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“EVERYONE from
kids to parents to volunteers LOVED the VBS program. So much so
that we already have volunteers on board for next year. You
should "hear" what our music teacher did with the songs...it was
awesome! The kids got into it so much. They sang and sang and
sang all week. I understand some are still singing the tunes. At
mid-week some of the kids wanted the day to be longer and by end
of week they wanted VBS to be longer.... some even said they
wanted a 4 week VBS! During the same week we held our VBS some
of our kids also attended another VBS program in the evening at
another local church. Their mom reported to me that they didn't
like it and wanted to stay at ours.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for a
fantastic CATHOLIC VBS from all of our little Saints!”
- Christine Boucher, St Mary, Groveport, OH |
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“Dear Susan,
Hello! This is a LONG overdue email to you regarding our
fabulous Vacation Bible School we had this summer. . . . I
wanted to email you and THANK you for a great program.
. . . I called you some
time last year and we spoke about why I should choose your
program over the other one I really wanted. . . . after speaking
with you AT LENGTH, our RE office purchased it and it was the
best investment we have made for VBS!!! I ran our VBS last year
with my very good friend Lena and we wrote and organized the
entire thing. It was wonderful having it all spelled out for us
this year. We had 99 children in 2005 and this year we had 136
children!!!!! . . . I loved how each group had their own section
to follow but yet each grade was on the same page lesson wise. .
. . There was NEVER a child bored and everyone was eager to come
the next day.
The snack ideas were
out of this world!!!! Many children never saw green Rice Krispy
treats before and our kitchen staff became pros at melting
chocolate for the pretzels!
We have never had a
closing ceremony and were very nervous about doing it, but God
provided and it was great! . . . I am still amazed at how
wonderful it was.
. . . I thank you
Susan, for taking the time to speak with me personally. If it
was not for you, I know our VBS would not have been as
successful as it was. I cannot wait to begin planning for next
year already.
Please contact me for
any referrals!!!!
It is a wonderful program for every Catholic Church to be using!
The children had so much fun, they did not even realize how much
they learned!! Another plus, we attend St. Patrick Church so
even I learned more about St. Patrick then I knew before!!!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
- Allison M. Gleich |
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We piloted this
program at Our Lady of the Hills Catholic Church in
Columbia, SC.
"This was a great program! The
crafts and activities were age appropriate. It was
refreshing to work with a VBS program that incorporated
a saint, and gives another opportunity to teach our
children about the early followers of Christ." -
Donna Tomasini, Director of Religious Education |
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Read comments from a few of our satisfied customers:
Susan, I've appreciated our recent communications very much and am so grateful that you "happened" across my desk through your phone call promoting your wonderful product
. . . We have such precious little time really even in a five-day program to touch hearts for Christ and open minds to the treasure of our Catholic Faith -- it is absolutely vital that the materials we use be solid in our Catholic teaching and true to our Catholic Tradition. The material we choose to use IS important -- thank you and thanks to every single person who is a part of your ministry for your commitment to developing TOTALLY Catholic summer programming materials. If only we who work in catechetic would "demand" the tools we need and not settle for second best!
. . . I couldn't wait until the summer to use the materials -- we are putting together a St. Patrick Day after-school event for our parish children in grades 1-3 and will be using the materials you provided. I intend to hold periodic "St. Patrick Adventure Days" using your materials. They are excellent!
. . . I certainly will support a totally Catholic program in the future; especially one that is as solid in content, as delightful in approach, and as thorough and attentive to the details as what you are producing.
. . . Again, again, again, may the Holy Spirit guide you and inspire you in your work.
- Cindy Fisher, DRE - St. Patrick Parish - Lodi WI |
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Following are some
comments about Saint Patrick and the Holy Trinity VBS
Program from our home base in Indiana:
"I have found something very
helpful from them for summer VBS program; TRULY
Catholic!"
-
Sister Lois Ann Meyer, Superintendent of Catholic
Schools, Diocese of Lafayette, Lafayette, IN |
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"I was a skeptic concerning VBS
programs. This program is very exciting; quality crafts
and music. There is no need to be concerned; quality
product!"
- Pam
Peroutky, Assistant Superintendent, Pastoral Office for
Catholic Schools, Diocese of Lafayette, Lafayette, IN |
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We will be featured in
the March issue of Faith
and Family Magazine
just in time for Easter, as it was Saint Patrick who
celebrated the First Easter in Ireland. The Senior
Editor loved our material and sent it to Dr. Meredith
Gould for evaluation:
" Your materials were
forwarded to me by Elizabeth Douglas at Faith and
Family Magazine after she and I had a conversation
about the agony and ecstasy of publishing. Your stuff is
fantastic!!! If you check out either of my websites
www.meredithgould.com or
www.plowsharespublishing.com, you’ll see that I’ve
been writing and editing for quite a while.
I’ve seen a LOT of work and
rarely have I encountered anything with so such a
terrific mix of creativity and professionalism. Your
content is great and your presentation is simply
delightful. You probably don't need Plowshares
Publishing to make it any better . . .Great work . . .
Really really totally great. God bless you and your
work!"
-Meredith Gould, PhD |
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