K-4th grade Summer Programming consisted of lots of fun, laughter, and memories.
This was Calvin Kellum’s first time coordinating the Abundant Life VBS program. During programming this summer, he was able to connect with the kids he knew already from Johnson Tutoring and new kids that joined during the summer.
Each week they would travel to a different church around Charlottesville to learn about the love of God. Before leaving for the church, Calvin would ask the children if any of them would like to pray for the upcoming day they were about to experience. At first the children were very hesitant to pray in front of all of their peers, but there was always one student whose hand would jump up immediately, his name was KJ. KJ loved to pray for safe travels, for fun, and for family and friends. He was what the group needed to give all the students confidence to participate and by the end of the summer, every student was raising their hand to pray.
This year, Abundant Life tried something different to extend the day until 4pm, to better come alongside parents and accommodate their schedules; they ran childcare sessions from 12PM-4PM for K-5th graders. Following the daily VBS sessions, the group ate lunch together and then moved on to afternoon activities. They worked on reading and writing at the Abundant Life house with Calvin and Ms. Faith. They would read two books each day and wrote a few sentences to based on a writing prompts to practice their handwriting and comprehension skills. After their work was done they would have lots of fun playing outside as well as painting, drawing, and making bracelets.
Thank you to all of the churches who hosted us for VBS this summer and all of our volunteers; we could not have done it without you!
This summer was filled with excitement and great times learning about the Lord. We learned how to pray and why we pray, Calvin and the children can not wait for K-4 VBS 2024.
