Last summer, 8-year-old Alisha Walker of Grayslake learned what type of games kids in Thailand play and what foods Thai people like to eat at her vacation Bible school at the United Protestant Church of Grayslake.
This year, Norway is the chosen destination that kids ages 3 to 12 will learn about during the four-day vacation Bible school starting July 25.
Watching videos that show a glimpse of the culture’s traditions and capture the home and school life of Norwegian children, kids learn about Christianity across the world.
During the Thailand Trek vacation Bible school at the Whitney Street church, Alisha said she learned many fun facts.
“The weather is hot and they take off their shoes when they go in a room,” Alisha said.
Alisha’s mom, Jasmine Walker, was a volunteer in the Bible adventure room last year. This time, she’ll be leading the fun-and-games workshop for Expedition Norway.
“We don’t know anything about the Norwegian culture, so it’ll all be new to us,” Jasmine said. “I really like that they teach them about another culture and a spiritual dynamic is tied in.”
This time Alisha and her 4-year-old sister Gabrielle are looking forward to playing a Norwegian game that resembles musical chairs as well as a herding game.
“Kids in Norway herd reindeer. We don’t have that here but the kids will get a feel for the activity,” Jasmine said.
This cross-cultural education is fairly new for vacation Bible schools, said Tracy Watkins, product manager of GROUP VBS, the company that makes and distributes the curriculum for Bible-school programs.
Headquartered in Loveland, Colo., the company took its first dip in the cross-cultural Bible education pool with the Thailand Trek experience. Now, ministries across the world use their curriculum, Watkins said.
To make the programs, on-location filming takes two to three weeks.
“We send film crews to the country we chose through input from our customers and focus groups and seek out kids from different walks of life, so it’s very engaging, because there’s a variety of things to learn,” Watkins said.
After filming is done, a team sets out to create the games and activities kids will use as a hands-on experience to reinforce the lessons learned that day.
Watkins said the materials used for the make-believe travel are designed for a short summer school, but churches use them for other purposes, such as back-to-school programs or Sunday-school lessons.
At the United Protestant Church of Grayslake, kids will be sampling Norwegian comfort foods, such as pepperkaker — a gingerbread cookie traditionally eaten during Christmas.
Gurnee resident Sue Schmidt chairs the children’s ministry committee that oversees the vacation Bible school. She said although it’s only four days, the experience packs a lot of information and plenty of fun.
“They don’t just sit and watch a movie and hear us talk about it,” Schmidt said. “The children are placed in groups, and they travel from workshop to workshop. This is a way for us to offer something unique to the community.”
Yadira Sanchez Olson is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun
