Vacation Bible schools try to be more than just cheap day care

Costing much less than park district programs and summer camps, vacation Bible schools give parents a break while giving kids fun with a message.
July 9, 2010

Amy Zabka, 9, and her sister Hannah, 4, have begun making the rounds of weeklong vacation Bible schools, their family's way of limiting the girls' TV and gadget time while keeping the peace at home over the summer.

One recent morning, when there was no Bible camp, their mother, Johnni Zabka, 41, lamented, "Already this morning, they are fighting over what to watch on TV. … I am done with the 'iCarly' and the 'Dora.' It's just enough."

Like many Chicago-area families, the Zabkas, of Batavia, turn to church-based summer schools as an alternative to high-priced child care or specialty sports, theater and music camps. the rest image by Joshua Blount