NEW TOOLS FOR BIBLE CLASS KIDS PUT THEIR HANDS TO CHURCH BUILDING PROJECTS.

Byline: Sandra J. Terrell Staff Writer

WESTLAKE VILLAGE - The yard of the Westminster Presbyterian Church became a construction zone this summer, with children wearing tool belts, hard hats and carrying hammers everywhere you looked.

With some help from professionals, the children attending the church's summer vacation Bible school learned to build a playhouse with their own hands.

``The kids got so much out of this, it really made an impact,'' said Julie Sexton, the Christian education coordinator who organized the project.

``They made tool boxes that they took home. We called it 'Under Construction.' We had big signs all over. All the leaders were dressed in overalls and work boots. The kids did everything, wallpapered and floored. They even put in window boxes,'' Sexton said.

More than 150 youngsters, ages 4-11, participated in the project, with the help of congregation member Dick Martin and volunteers Lisa Phillips and Lauri Spear, she said.

This was the first year that the children of the summer vacation Bible school included the building project into their studies. The playhouse took a week to complete and was financed from Bible school registration fees.

The playhouse, which was constructed from a kit, was given to a family who will be living in one of the homes now being built in Piru by Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 --3) With some help from professionals, the children attending the church's summer vacation Bible school learned to build a playhouse with their own hands.