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Site-Rotation FAQs for Gadget's Garage
• Flexible! You have options that work best for your church.
• Fantastic! Site rotation is easier to plan, energizing volunteers, engaging kids, and maximizing the use of your space.
• Fun! Kids enjoy building relationships with Group Guides and others in their G.A.D.G.E.T. Groups.
Discover more about how Site Rotation is a perfect fit for your VBS program:
What is site rotation?
Who makes a great site leader?
What are 5 reasons site leaders love Gadget’s Garage?
Who leads the students to each site?
Where do preschoolers go?
Can the Concordia Publishing House VBS be used as a same-age (traditional format) program?
Does site rotation work for smaller VBS programs?
Why does Concordia Publishing House offer site-rotation VBS materials?
What is site rotation?
In a site-rotation program, students spend most of their time with a small group of same-age or mixed-age children. A Group Guide leads a group of six children to seven rotation sites with specialty leaders. Preschoolers have separate classes.
Gadget’s Garage sites include:
Power Up! Opening
Transform Me! Bible Stories
Build-a-Bot Bible Challenge
Imagine That! Crafts
Invent-a-Snack
Gadget’s Games
Eureka! Closing
(We recommend you recruit one person as site leader for openings and closings.)
Site rotation uniquely addresses the challenges of staffing, recruitment, and space usage.
• The recruitment process improves because jobs match volunteers’ interests and strengths, such as crafts, music, or snacks. Volunteers do what they love best.
• Volunteers have less prep work. Site leaders have one job. They prepare 20 minutes of activities and repeat them several times throughout the day. Each site leader has a Leader Guide for creative and fun planning.
• Group Guides have little prep work and enjoy building relationships. They lead small groups of six to every site. Group Guide Books give them everything they need to lead small-group activities.
• Space usage improves because you only need six areas for one to 150 kids. (Remember, opening and closing share space.) If you have more than 150 kids, simply add another set of the five rotation sites to make 10 areas plus a space for opening and closing. The Director Guide offers detailed information to plan programs of different sizes.
Site-Rotation Chart (PDF)
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Who makes a great site leader?
Site leaders should be experienced teachers who have
• the interest, skills, and abilities to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with children and their families.
• a commitment to Christian education and outreach.
• an eagerness and joy to share the Christian faith.
• the ability to teach Bible stories, truths, and concepts to children of different ages.
• love for children and their families.
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What are 5 reasons site leaders love Gadget’s Garage?
1. Site leaders get to do what they do best.
2. Site leaders have one job, not multiple parts of a lesson.
3. Everyone works together to teach the whole lesson.
4. Site leaders prepare less content (about 20 minutes) and repeat it several times throughout the day.
5. Site leaders have a Leader Guide that makes planning creative and fun.
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Who leads the students to each site?
A Group Guide leads a group of six children, called G.A.D.G.E.T. Groups, to seven rotation sites.
What is a Group Guide?
A Group Guide’s most important job is to welcome and get to know the kids in his or her G.A.D.G.E.T. Group.
A Group Guide
• is a leader, not a teacher or boss.
• helps, encourages, and teaches cooperation.
• asks questions and leads kids to discover Bible answers.
• keeps kids focused on tasks and challenges.
• participates in activities.
• gets to know group members well.
• is patient and does not yell or get angry.
• has a Group Guide Book to help him or her lead children through the sites.
What is a G.A.D.G.E.T. Group?
At Gadget’s Garage, children rotate from site to site in a small group of up to six kids called a G.A.D.G.E.T. Group. An adult or teen leader called a Group Guide leads each G.A.D.G.E.T. Group. Several G.A.D.G.E.T. Groups usually move through the rotation sites together. G.A.D.G.E.T. Groups provide great interaction between kids and adults, ensuring that every child gets attention and help when needed.
Same-age or mixed-age G.A.D.G.E.T. Groups?
If you previously used VBS in same-age classrooms, same-age G.A.D.G.E.T. Groups may make the transition to site rotation easier for volunteers and students. However, mixed-age groups have unique blessings and you may want to consider using them. With some flexibility, either choice can work well and meet all your needs.
Benefits of same-age G.A.D.G.E.T. Groups
• Children from the same grade or age learn and grow together.
• You can rotate all G.A.D.G.E.T. Groups with kids of the same age through the sites together. Site leaders can tailor discussions and activities for age appropriateness.
• Special-needs students may relax with friends they know well. The Group Guide and group members can provide individual help when needed.
• Kids enjoy being with friends and nurturing existing relationships.
• You can easily accommodate requests to put same-age friends in the same G.A.D.G.E.T. Group. This makes it easier for kids to invite friends, since they can enjoy Gadget’s Garage together.
• Registration and group assignments may be simpler, especially if you have many walk-ins.
Benefits of mixed-age G.A.D.G.E.T. Groups
• Younger children look to older ones for help. They observe older students and model their behavior.
• Older students develop confidence as helpers and leaders.
• Kids cooperate and learn together. Peer competitiveness lessens. Kids have less inclination to compare themselves to others.
• Discipline problems decrease. Problems with a certain age group disappear.
• New relationships are formed with friends of all ages.
• Special-needs students benefit as students and Group Guides provide one-on-one assistance.
• If you are willing to be flexible, you can honor requests to have friends in the same G.A.D.G.E.T. Group.
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Where do preschoolers go?
Preschoolers discover their creativity and inventiveness in their own space.
Preschool Gadget’s Garage Sites
Preschoolers are a wonderful addition to VBS. Be sure to include them!
It's true that preschool-age children are too young to grasp abstract concepts of faith, but their sense of wonder and curiosity helps them to believe in things they can't see. They live in the moment and love to learn. They love to explore using their five senses. They enjoy music, games, and movement. Preschoolers like to worship, sing, and pray. They can't wait to witness and the wonder and workmanship of Jesus.
Gadget’s Garage activities let preschoolers explore and experience Bible truths in the ways young children learn.
Preschool Site Chart (PDF)
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Can the Concordia Publishing House VBS be used as a same-age (traditional format) program?
There are several ways you can use our VBS materials in same-age groups.
NOTE: Remember, preschoolers are not included in these small groups. They explore VBS in the comfort and safety of their own preschool groups.
1. Assign kids to same-age small groups and same-age rotation groups.
Let kids experience learning in same-age groups by assigning them to small groups with others of similar ages. For example, a small group might include 3–6 first and second graders with a teen or adult leader.
When you assign small groups to a group that goes through the rotation sites together, a Rotation Group, put all the groups with kids of the same age together. Each Rotation Group can have up to 30 children in five small groups. Doing this lets children of the same age rotate to each site together so site leaders can adapt their activities to fit younger or older children. Most Leader Guides give adaptation ideas for older or younger children.
2. Put same-age children in classes with teachers for Bible stories and Bible challenge activities
If you want kids to experience the Bible story in self-contained classrooms, divide children into groups of same-age kids, perhaps up to about 20 kids with one or more leaders.
Give leaders 40–50 minutes to lead Bible story and Bible challenge activities. Leaders also could escort their kids to other areas for crafts, games, snack, opening, and closing.
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Does site rotation work for smaller VBS programs?
Site rotation works great with smaller VBS programs! Be sure to check out our new Small VBS Starter Kit.
Remember, preschoolers are not included in these small groups. They explore VBS in the comfort and safety of their own preschool groups.
Churches that have VBS programs with smaller numbers of children receive great benefits with this site-rotation program.
If you have 30 or fewer elementary children, you can simplify by putting all of your elementary children together in one space.
Thirty or fewer elementary kids make up a rotation group. Since this involves all your kids, keep it simple by putting all the kids together in one space. You don’t need to rotate to different areas. Instead, bring the leaders to the kids.
Since each task only needs to be led once, leaders can do more than one task, especially if you have limited volunteers. For example, one person might lead Bible story, crafts, and snacks while someone else leads opening and closing, games, and Bible challenge.
It’s also feasible that one person could lead all the tasks. It doesn’t take any more work for one person than same-age materials would. In fact, it should be easier because the activities are designed for kids of many ages. If you choose to do this, try to involve resource people to help with audiovisuals, music, actions, or other tasks.
Whether you use one or more main leaders, still plan to involve other adults and teens as small-group leaders. Ask these folks to lead selected activities to gain teaching experience, such as a craft, a snack, or a game. This on-the-job training can prepare them for a larger role next year!
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Why does Concordia Publishing House offer site-rotation VBS materials?
In response to strong customer demand and preference, CPH follows a site-rotation model of VBS. In our experience, churches that follow the site-rotation VBS find it more helpful to plan, organize, and implement a VBS program, particularly in circumstances where staff and resources are limited.
CPH offers only site-rotation materials because we believe this model offers the best answer to concerns many churches have about VBS.
In many surveys, customers have told us that getting, retaining, and keeping volunteers are top concerns about VBS.
Finding capable, qualified people to teach each age level is a challenge. Finding volunteers for any task is a challenge!
To reach out to your community, VBS needs to happen when the most children are available. In many places this means having a daytime program.
Some churches have shifted successfully to night or intergenerational programs. However, many also say that they have not had the outreach appeal they had with a daytime program since a nighttime VBS competes with summer sports leagues, concerts, park programs, and other activities for kids and adults.
Site rotation uniquely addresses the challenges of staffing, recruitment, and space usage.
• The recruitment process improves because jobs match volunteers’ interests and strengths, such as crafts, music, or snacks. Volunteers do what they love best.
• Volunteers have less prep work. Site leaders have one job. They prepare 20 minutes of activities and repeat them several times throughout the day. Each site leader has a Leader Guide for creative and fun planning.
• Group Guides have little prep work and enjoy building relationships. They lead small groups of six to every site. Group Guide Books give them everything they need to lead small-group activities.
• Space usage improves because you only need six areas for one to 150 kids. (Remember, opening and closing share space.) If you have more than 150 kids, simply add another set of the five rotation sites to make 10 areas plus a space for opening and closing. The Director Guide offers detailed information to plan programs of different sizes.
Back to FAQs
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