Sample Schedule and Group Rotations
Monday - Friday Schedule
Opening Assembly:
9:00 – 9:10 Arrival and music (Theme Song, Action Songs, etc.)
9:10 – 9:25 Prayer, Welcome, Announcements, Virtue demonstration, Bible verse, and Skit.
9:25 Dismissal to first rotation of stations
To add variety to each day, use the sample schedule for Monday. On Tuesday, shuffle the groups over one column to the right. (Ex. Canada would do Italy’s rotation, the Italy would do Mexico’s rotation, etc.) Shuffle again on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This works great to allow groups to start and finish at different stations each day.
Depending on the number of participants at your VBS, you may choose to have four different groups instead of five, with one station closed during each rotation.
The Snack Station could be closed for the first rotation every morning, so the snack leaders can prepare the food. This gives every station leader a break during the morning.
Another option is to only have the snack station open once during the day in order to have everyone all together for a mid-morning snack.
Optional: Friday Schedule (Adjusted For Mass and Closing Celebration)
Opening Assembly:
9:00 – 9:15 Arrival, Music, Prayer, Announcements, Virtue demo, Bible verse, and Skit
The Cat.Chat VBS sample schedule is set up around a group rotation. The number of kids in your small groups will vary depending on the number of participants registered in your VBS.
Assign children of the same age into the same small group. Try to assign no more than 15- 20 children in a small group. This is a manageable number of children for one adult and one teen assitant (approx. 6:1 ratio). Younger groups may need additional assistants.
The children will go through the daily schedule with their group leader. The group leaders do not lead the activities; they guide the children to each of the stations and assist in the children’s participation in the activities. The station leaders will be the ones leading the crafts, snacks, games, etc.
(Option 1) Flight Group Names
- Pilots (10-11 year olds)
- Air Traffic Controllers (8-9 year olds)
- Airport Security Guards (6-7 year olds)
- Flight Attendants (5 year olds)
- Airplane Mechanics (4 year olds)
(Option 2) Country Group Names
- Canada
- United States
- Poland
- France
- Italy
- Mexico
- Australia
- South Africa
- China
- Japan
- Haiti
- India
If you have more than 100-150 kids registered in your VBS, it works well to have two small groups visiting a station at the same time. Or have two separate stations running. (Ex. two craft stations, two snack stations, etc.)
Group Banners and Flags
Group banners are great for a meeting place in the morning and to keep the group together as you move from station to station. To have the banner stand up on its own, insert the banner pole into a large traffic cone.
If you choose to use the Country Group Names, we recommend purchasing flags online for the groups. We also include a printable version if you want to print and color them yourself.
Print the group schedules and rotations to tape on the back of each banner.
