Hello!

[SLDL]

Hello! I have posted before but it has been a while! I am planning on attending a meeting this weekend at our local Family Christian Bookstore and wondered if anyone has been to one of their "curriculum overview" meetings? We will be able to get 10% off supplies but I don't know what will be available to order. I am very nervous about staying within the budget our church has set forth for VBS.

What are some ways you cut back on expense?

I am excited about the response so far as we have most of the positions filled except a teacher for ages 6-8, which is an important job. Last year we cancelled our VBS b/c we didn't have enough teachers sign up so this year looks great!

I was also wondering about buying the curriculum for the kids. We may do an early registration for our church kids but you have no way of knowing how many will be in each group. How do you keep from buying too many or not enough of each group's curriculum for the kids?

Thanks for any input! Stephanie

[kimbak]

I have been to one of the curriculum events at another local christian bookstore, it was great. The publishers come out and teach a portion of the curriculum for you, they are great about getting everyone involved. For me it was a great experience.

We don't buy any of the indivdual teaching materials for the kids, we just haven't felt the need for them. Crafts and snacks we of course want to make sure we have enough. I usually look at our attendance record for the last couple of years and add 10%-15% more, expecting to have a few more. We usually end up having some extra, we end up using it in children's ministries for other things. I have my children's minitries budget and vbs budget lumped together so it doesn't make a difference for me.

[Josh1]

I would recommend that you go to the Bookstore Preview. I've gone for the past 2 years and loved it. It's a great time to see the different curriculums and what they have in store for VBS. I personally "dress-up" for the Bookstore Preview. Last year I wore my SonForce Kids t-shirt and the spy glasses that were in the Super Starter Pack. It was great!:cool:

That's awesome that you have all of your volunteers so early! Way to go!:D

I would look at how many kids came to your VBS 2 years ago and work from that. If your church hasn't done a VBS before I would start out with 50 kids and as kids get pre-registered alter the numbers. If you want to do alot of publicity I would expect 50% more kids. I had 23 kids at SonForce Kids last year and this year I'm expecting 50 kids. It all depends on how much publicity you want to do.
God Bless,
Josh Trommer:rolleyes: