Wildwood Forest - Cook

Wildwood Forest is a great adventure!! The theme is "Discovering the untamed nature and wild heart of God". At first I thought this might be kind of a strange fit with the forest idea but it really works!

The science stations are easily the best of any vbs I've looked at. They are actual science experiments that kids will absolutely love. One day they will mix vinegar and baking soda to experience a "blast" and mixing Mento's and tonic water for a colorful fountain will definitely be a hit!

I try to look really closely at all the director's guides as I'm doing these reviews and Cook's was another good one. There are some great staffing ideas and thoughts on how to put your volunteers in the right spots based on their spiritual gifts. I also appreciated the ideas they shared on how to use middle and high school age volunteers in some unique ways. The planning and promotion sections are also full of great ideas - different scheduling options, timeline plans and budgeting suggestions.

A majority of the kits I've reviewed had some type of mission project idea. I didn't comment on most of them but Cook's deserves a mention here! The theme for the mission project is 'Standing Tall Together: Serving in Ukraine'. Instead of just a standard "Let's collect money" focus Cook goes above and beyond with a variety of options and ideas. Depending on the size and focus of your particular vbs group they have ideas like: daily collection, prayer tree's, school supply drive or collecting provisions for homeless shelters. I like the focus on missions here - especially might be nice if you think your group will be on the older side.

Wildwood forest was Lynda Freeman's top pick for this year and I can see why. Anyone who picks this as their vbs for 2009 will be very happy with it!!!

G.A.D.G.E.T.'s Garage - Concordia Publishing

God's Always Doing Great, Exciting Things! Gadget's garage is the setting for Concordia's VBS this year and Gizmo the robot / puppet lives in that garage. Gizmo is grrrrreat!! (Sorry - couldn't resist!!) Seriously though, Gizmo is lots of fun. Kids will love him! He shows up in all sorts of different forms in this kit - puppet, grovin' gizmo, gizmo wristees. He is even available as a 5' inflatable ($24.99).

The focus is that Jesus makes all things new because God is Always Doing Great Exciting Things. Each day explores another wonder from the Bible - Mighty Wonder, Water Wonder, Growing Wonder, Glowing Wonder and Risen Wonder. I like that the Bible stories come from both the new and old testaments.

The directors guide includes a cd-rom with clip art, publicity signs, fill-in pdf forms, power point presentation with song lyrics and more. The entire written director guide is also on the disk! There are a couple of dvd's in the kit also. An overview and recruitment dvd and a skit dvd.

The music is an interesting feature of this kit. There is a music cd and song action dvd combo pack and a songbook with sheet music. I like the sheet music option a lot. When I think about vbs weeks that I attended as a kid one of my favorite memories is sitting around the piano singing songs with my friends. I realize that with cd's and power point presentations music can be more up to date now but there is something to be said for "the old fashioned way" too!!!

Rome - Group Publishing

It seems like this winter has been full of exciting travels for me...although all of it via VBS kits!! This time I got to visit Rome and I loved it! This vbs is awesome! Group did a fantastic job on this years Bible Times kit.

I was impressed from the start with the newly formatted directors guide. It is nicely organized in a 3 ring binder to make everything easy to find and use. Group included a Publicity and Product Sample Pack as well that has a giant outdoor banner, publicity poster and invitation postcards. I think that putting everything in a binder is a smart idea - makes it much easier to make copies or hand-out different sections to different volunteers. Also in the kit is a directors dvd with 3 recruiting commercials, a "tour" of Rome (which is a blast) and volunteer tips, training ideas and thank-you options.

Another unique feature is the Family Time Teaching Kit. Personally I think that trying to draw in whole families to vbs week rather then just the kids is a wonderful outreach opportunity. Rome gives you ideas for family activities - crafts, games, songs.

Rome also offers some craft options (abacus kit, laurel wreath kit, mock leather wristband kit, wooden top kit, bulla kit). I like the crafts - mostly because they are different then every other vbs kit. Variety is the spice of life - and of VBS week!!! :)

My only complaint about Rome is that there isn't a cd-rom included in the kit. However, I am more then willing to over look that since the music is great and I love the Bible Times costumes that ARE included (Roman soldier, Villager, and Rabbi). I have to say that Rome is one of my top 3 for this year and priced at $89.99 I think it will be a top seller too!!!

Studio Go! - Standard

When these kits first came in I have to admit that I thought they were a little corny and I wasn't sure I was going to like this vbs all that much. And I was totally right and wrong?!? Studio Go! is a little corny but that is part of what makes this kit fun!

The Director's cd-rom is awesome! A couple of features that I really like are the pdf forms that you can customize and the prayer calendar.

I should probably mention that Standard has 2 kit options this year. The Power Pak for $199.99 and the Starter Kit for $69.99. The Power Pak includes a few extra's - character costume kit (you will have fun with this :), theme pak, art and decorating cd, life focus poster pak, site names poster pak and a service showcase dvd. I would get the power pak if at all possible but you can definetly run a great vbs with the starter kit too!!

I really really liked the craft book that is in both kits. I think that Standard went above and beyond realizing that times are tough right now and even churches are suffering in this economy. I'll give you an example...The day 1 elementary craft options.

Option #1: Go Lead! Torch Pencils ($24.99 per pkg of 24) pencils with fun fur (hair), wiggly eyes and pompom stems to decorate.

Options #2: Gideon's Suprise Torch (minimum cost - collect things from home) baby food jar, construction paper, tissue paper, tea light candle, crayons and glue stick.

Both of these crafts look really neat when they are completed. They both seem fun and easy to make and I honestly am not sure which one I would pick to do.

In the end I had a great time with Studio Go! The music is fun and bouncy, the characters are great and the craft options let you really stick to a budget!