Using Boomerang Express® in Your Weekday Ministry
Summer can be a time to supplement your curriculum in your weekday ministry. Boomerang Express can provide a great way to teach 3s, 4s and pre-kindergartners about Jesus and have a great time doing it. This article can help you know how to adapt the VBS resources for use in a 3s, 4s, or Pre-K weekday classroom. (Note: The Boomerang Express resources for Babies–2s can also be used in a younger preschool weekday classroom. If you need help adapting those resources, please contact us online at www.lifeway.com/vbs.)
Use this schedule and suggestions as a guideline for adapting the Boomerang Express resources. You will need to adjust to meet your own scheduling needs. To follow this plan, each class will need a VBS 2009 3s–Pre-K Leader Guide (Item: 005121288) and VBS 2009 3s–Pre-K Leader Pack (Item: 005122014). You will also need a VBS 2009 3s–Kindergarten Rotation Pack (Item: 005121289). For even more of an impact, you should purchase a VBS 2009 Kid’s Activity Pak: 3s–Kindergarten (Item: 005121287) for each child and the VBS 2009 Snack Rotation Cards (Item: 005121255) for fun snacks. A variety of accessories are also available to supplement your teaching. A list of suggested Boomerang Express resources is included at the end of the teaching plan. For a list of all Boomerang Express resources, see the online catalog at www.lifeway.com/vbs. (Note: Resources are available for a limited time.)
After a week of fun on the Boomerang Express, you could follow up with a unit on Australian animals, a unit on the coral reef, or a unit on trains and transportation.
TEACHING PLAN
MONDAY (Track 1)
6:30 Free play/early arrival activities/breakfast
Suggested activities:
Build a Train (p. 9 in the leader guide)
Trace a Mate (p. 9 in the leader guide)
Work Puzzles
Bible Times Fishing (LifeWay, 001276458)
Bible, My Special Friend (LifeWay, 005160679)
Life of Peter Wooden Box Puzzles (LifeWay, 005159904)
Life of Bible Wooden Box Puzzles (LifeWay, 001051003)
Read Books
Australia ABCs, Heiman (Picture Window Books)
Australian ABC of Animals, Bancroft (Little Hare Books)
Big Rain Coming, Germein (Clarion Books)
Freight Train, Crews (HarperFestival)
My Big Book of Trains, Priddy (Priddy Books)
One Woolly Wombat, Trinca (Kane/Miller)
Patterns of Australia, Bancroft (Little Hare Books)
Terrific Trains, Mitton (Roaring Brook Press)
Tracks, Galef (HarperCollins)
Two Little Trains, Brown (HarperCollins)
Make Collages (“By the Tracks,” Arts and Crafts: Track 1 in the rotation pack)
8:15 Clean Up
8:30 Group Time
Use suggestions on pp. 10-11 in the leader guide.
8:50 Learning Centers
Art – Friendship Frames (Arts and Crafts: Track 1 in the rotation pack)
Blocks – Build a Doormat Path (p. 12 in the leader guide)
Books and Listening – Read Books About Australia and Trains (use suggestions above)
Homeliving – Pretend to Travel by Train
Place several chairs in a line along a wall; each chair should face the back of the chair in front of it. Create another line with space between (the aisle for walking). To the side of the “train,” place a table to create a ticket counter. Place paper scraps, markers, a hole punch, a telephone, and other office props. Provide small suitcases, dress-up clothes for dressing and packing, alarm clocks, travel cases, toy cameras, and other travel props. Display posters and scenes of Australia if available. (Backdrops and posters are available from LifeWay Christian Resources. One backdrop is a Railway Station scene and another is an Outback scene.)
Music – Make Didgeridoo Sounds (p. 12 in the leader guide)
Nature and Science – Make a Friendship Boomerang and Toss It (p. 14 in the leader guide)
Puzzles and Manipulatives – Play “Toss and Match” Game (p. 14 in the leader guide)
(You may want to keep out the puzzles from the early arrival time.)
10:00 Clean Up; Wash Hands
10:10 Snack Time
Mix and Taste Pretend Sand (p. 13 in the leader guide)
Read Kaylyn Rides the Boomerang Express (from the leader pack)
10:30 Outside Time
As a part of your time outdoors, play “Boomerang Train Trip” and “Down, Down, Down Under.” (See the Recreation Cards
from the rotation pack.)
11:15 Restroom/Transition
11:30 Music Time
Use the Music: Track 1 suggestions from the rotation pack.
12:00 Lunch
If you have rest time—
12:30 Rest
2:00 Missions Time
Use the Missions: Track 1 suggestions from the rotation pack.
2:20 Outside Time
If you do not have rest time—
12:30 Missions Time
Use the Missions: Track 1 suggestions from the rotation pack.
1:00 Quiet Centers
Use books and puzzles from the early arrival time.
Provide collage materials again.
Add trains and Australian animals to the blocks center.
2:00 Clean Up
2:15 Outside Time
3:00 Restroom/Wash hands
3:10 Snack Time
“Didgeridoos” (pretzel rods)
3:30 Group Time
Use suggestions on p. 15 in the leader guide.
4:00 Free Play/Learning Centers
Repeat the centers from the morning, adding or substituting these activities.
Art – Surprise Art (Arts and Crafts: Track 1 in the rotation pack)
Music – Move to Music
Play the music CD in the leader pack. Provide colorful scarves for children to move.
Blocks – Rock Tower Building (Ayers Rock)
Provide lots of crumpled paper and masking tape to build tall and wide.
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