10 Signs You Went To Vacation Bible School In The South

Some Southerners like to joke that there's a church on every corner in the Bible Belt. When I first moved to the Franklin, Tennessee, I finally understood that saying – you couldn't walk more than a mile without seeing a church in town. Those churches were especially noticeable around the same time each year – just as kids were leaving school to pursue the freedom of summer. Like clockwork: vinyl signs with flashy logos popped up on every church lawn. And, true to form, our region is once again dotted with colorful signs. It's Vacation Bible School time (also known as VBS).

VBS is a Southern rite of passage. As a child, I spent many summers in the mountains of Canton, North Carolina, reciting Bible verses, building Noah's Ark out of popsicle sticks, and watching Veggie Tales next to a paper cup of Kool-Aid. My Grandma Margaret, who was raised in those same Smoky Mountains, told me that Vacation Bible School played an important part of her childhood. When she was young, she would attend VBS for two weeks at a time.

One summer when I was in high school, I volunteered at VBS. I wanted to pass along my beloved summer experience to others, and enrich the lives of kids. It was only then, as I looked behind the curtain, that I realized just how many cups of coffee these moms need to get something as absolutely chaotic as a week of VBS off the ground. Construction paper flying everywhere. Dozens of styrofoam cups lined up in preparation for snack time. Countless Bible lessons to learn and skits to memorize. And, to top it all off, there were 200 kids in tie-dyed shirts and macaroni necklaces to wrangle.

In honor of one of the most rewarding parts of my childhood, I've pulled together a list of some things that I learned from Vacation Bible School.

It's possible to survive on Kool-Aid and sandwich cookies

As a kid, snack time was my absolute favorite time of any group gathering. I'm not sure where the trend of sandwich cookies and Kool-Aid came from, but every VBS I've ever attended has given me a paper or styrofoam cup with red Kool-Aid. It's the sticky-sweet summer drink of choice that runs through the veins of all VBS kids. I've never had so much energy as I did when running around with a red-stained Kool-Aid mouth. And, of course, there's always a napkin with a sandwich cookie – for me, vanilla – waiting to be demolished around 10AM.

It's essential to embrace the daily theme

Chances are that you've been to a VBS that has either a color or theme of the day, and you are expected to dress accordingly. From Pajama Day to Wacky Hair Day, dressing up is one of the best parts of Vacation Bible School.

The weekly VBS theme will become your passion project

There are some hilarious and incredibly thoughtful Vacation Bible School themes that Southern churches deserve credit for. My group leaders always found a way to make memorizing Bible verses and writing out prayer requests memorable with the help of these clever ideas. Here are some VBS themes that deserve recognition for their masterful creativity (and clever puns):

• Hero Central: Discover Your Strength In God
• Over The Moat: Drawbridge To The King
• Barnyard Roundup: Jesus Gathers Us Together
• Pets Unleashed: Where Jesus Cares 'Fur' You
• Camp Out: Getting S'more Out Of Jesus (a personal favorite)

Mastering the hand motions to the VBS theme song is the best feeling ever

I was a very energetic child, so it likely does not come as a shock that I volunteered for everything. Getting on stage (because there's always a stage at VBS) and singing, dancing, and motioning to that week's theme song was my specialty. I would practice the hand motions to "Our God Is An Awesome God" for the entire duration of camp. This was before you could just look something up on TikTok and practice at home. And it all paid off on the last day of VBS when I could show off my skills in front of all the campers.

There's nothing wrong with a side pony and scrunchie

Side ponytails are honestly the most playful and underrated hairstyle that summer brings (or, so I thought in the 90's). Having a side ponytail at VBS proved to everyone that you were super down-to-earth and ready to volunteer to do hand motions on stage. I usually had a large scrunchie keeping my hair up and, of course, it matched my outfit.

T-shirts were made to be tied to one side

The "cool kids" wore the tied-off-to-the-side shirts. Naturally, I copied that look. I'd always pick a shirt that was a little larger than necessary so there was ample room to bunch up the fabric on one side. I'd pick the flashiest hair elastic I could find, and match my scrunchie or curly shoe laces.

You can pull off a funny skit that also has a great moral

This is a specialty of VBS kids everywhere. They would break us into teams, pair us with a camp counselor, and give us 15 minutes to prep a hilarious skit that also told an accurate Bible story with limited props. I think this is where my creativity and love of writing really started took off. That being said, my role in these skits was usually some kind of animal who recited Bible verses.

Tie-dying is required

As my clothing donation pile taught me, Vacation Bible School meticulously hones the skills of tie-dyers. From my experience, most kids coming from VBS could create the perfect spiral of rainbow colors on their T-shirt or pillowcase without stained hands or that muddy brown color that happens when dye runs together. And, when you forget to bring your item of clothing on tie-dye day (been there), there are always spare white socks that let you join in the activity. I've tie-dyed shirts, pillowcases, socks, soccer socks, and towels.

'Water Day' will happen, so don't be afraid of wet sponges

We would likely all agree that the safest place for kids to be during a hot, Southern summer is inside an air-conditioned sanctuary. However, there was always one day of VBS that brought us outside – right before parent pick-up, of course – to be drenched in remarkably cold water. I waited nervously every camp week for the infamous 'Water Day', where we would be ushered outside with at least fifty other kids and armed with water balloons, squirt guns, pool noodles, and super-soaker balls. There would always be a few girls who would sit on their towels in the sun, pleading with the boys to not hit them with wet sponges, but they were inevitably drenched. I found, early on, that it was much easier to embrace the idea of having water balloons pop on my back if I mentally prepared myself. So, I was the one slip-and-slidin' my way through the relay race in my cut-off overalls and damp T-shirt.

The end-of-VBS party is the highlight of the summer

I would like to personally thank all of the moms, youth leaders, camp counselors, and team members that spent their afternoons decorating the church sanctuary with streamers, filling up styrofoam cups for snack time, and purchasing prizes for the last day of VBS. I would look forward to the last day of VBS from the first day, on – and, not because I'd want it to end. On the last day of Vacation Bible School, every camper is so exhausted that they're running on Kool-Aid-fueled adrenaline and screaming out the lyrics to "Jesus Freak" by DC Talk. The last day of VBS is the most exhilarating summer party I've ever attended.