CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
for Children

Kid's Stuff Newsletter - January/February

ParentLink for Kids - a monthly newsletter for parents - January/February 2012 Issue

A rich Sunday morning educational program that explores the Christian faith for all ages is presented every Sunday morning. All classes are begin at 9:45 a.m. and run for one hour.

Nursery and Childcare: Child care is available in two different rooms in lower Heritage Hall for infants/toddlers and for preschool/kindergarten children. Two certified child-care attendants staff the infant/toddler room and parent volunteers staff the preschool/kindergarten room during every service. The nursery, or infant/toddler room, is available for infants and toddlers up to age 3, and the preschool/kindergarten room is for children ages 3-5. School aged children are encouraged and welcome to attend church services with their parents. A beautiful new tot lot adjacent to Heritage Hall provides a safe and attractive outdoor play area for preschool/kindergarten aged children.

Two & 3 Year Olds - Bible-In-A-Box: This program is designed to start the young child in learning Bible stories in the most age-appropriate way: through play. Each month, one story from the Bible will be presented. The story will be told and then the children are invited to play with puzzles, puppets, action figures, sand play and more that relate to the story. By doing this, the child becomes familiar with the Bible story and internalizes it.

Click Here for the Bible-in-a-Box Schedule 2011-12

To Register your child for Bible-in-a-Box, click here.

Four & Five Year Olds - Godly Play: Godly Play is a term coined by Jerome Berryman to describe an approach to children's spiritual formation that is based on creating a sacred space in which to present the stories of our faith, wonder about them together, and then allow the children open-ended opportunities, usually with art supplies, to engage the story on their own terms

The stories are told very simply, with simple props and without interpretation or moral instruction. After a story is presented, the children and the storyteller wonder together about aspects of the story that draw their interest. The story is then put away and the children choose the art supplies they would like to work with to spend time creating whatever they choose in response to what they feel is most important or most interesting in the story.

Click Here for the Godly Play Schedule 2011-12

To Register your child for Godly Play, click here.

Elementary Grades 1-5 - Workshop Rotation Model: The Workshop Rotation Model is an exciting, innovative method of teaching Sunday School. The story or theme is taught in more than one way over a period of several weeks. Children move or "rotate" each week to a different "workshop" with a different leader.

For example, the first week the children might experience the story through drama. The second week they might be doing science experiments. The third week the class could be working on a mission project. The fourth week they might make a video.

The students participate in a different type of workshop each Sunday, but all of the activities are related to on story or theme. By studying the same story in various ways, the participants develop a deeper understanding of the story. A key feature of the Worshop Rotation Model is that it incorporates the theory of multiple intelligences.

The Workshop Rotation Model works so well because it is based on the way children love to learn: through games, movement, drama, art, computers, music, and more.

Study this year: What's In the Bible? It's Bible 101 with a twist ... a very FUN twist! It's the story of God and what He's done for us, told through puppets, animation, music and more. This addition to the Workshop Rotation will enable children to learn the whole story of the Bible and how the individual stories fit into God's overall Rescue Plan.

Each Sunday, the children will interact with film clips that present information about the Bible, define those "church-y" words and learn how the events of the Old Testament relate to those in the New. For reinforcement, "Parent Take-home" cards will be sent home each week with information about what was learned at church school and will also contain a password for families to log onto the What's in the Bible website for more fun and learning.

Click Here for the Rotation Model Schedule 2011-12

To Register your child for the Workshop Rotation Model, click here.

Elementary Grade 6 "Bridge" - Grapple: Preteens are bombarded on a daily basis with difficult challenges temptations and questions. The 6th grade "Bridge" seeks to allow preteens to apply the lessons from the Bible stories to their lives.

Using the curriculum Grapple, 6th graders will tackle the tough questions they are asking about their reltionships with God, others and themselves. Each week they will dig into the real-life issues that they are dealing with every day -- and find out what the Bible has to say. In addition, students will be able to take their Biblical learening to a whole new level through access to our own Grapple website.

To Register your child for Grapple, CLICK HERE.

BE SURE TO VISIT OUR SPECIAL PROGRAMS PAGE
FOR ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION. CLICK HERE!

Updated January 4, 2012