Adventure Kids Fall Kick-Off & Ministry Update
Waffle Party
Sunday, Oct 2, During Service (in children’s area)
Hello Families!
We will be eating waffles and having a fun party down in Children’s ministry to kick off the start of Fall! Bring your kids hungry and ready to eat waffles with fun toppings, and to play fun fall games. We will also have our regular story time and activities.
Adventure Kids Children’s ministry update:
A Sunday in the life of an Adventurer
Have you ever wondered what happens downstairs in our children’s program?
Well, let me tell you about it!
After Covid, we found that our little community had become quite small. Many of our kids grew out of Children’s ministry while we were in isolation, and when we returned a new community began to slowly grow. We saw this as an opportunity to really cultivate more of a safe space for kids to play, relate to each other and hear God’s stories. We really paid attention to being attuned to each child and their needs. It has been such a blessing to watch it slowly grow again from this new foundation. Last week, our classroom was buzzing with kids playing, making bread and really enjoying one another.
Each Sunday we start our time with free play. Kids love to play or to do art projects as this is a choice time for them. We have slowly been adding activities that really help the whole child during that time. We have a small sand box, a weaving loom, sewing supplies, puzzles and toys for them to use during that time. Our classroom is also well staffed, so kids get lots of caring attention. Part of free play involves the work of preparing snack.
After Free Play and clean up, we move into the story room for our time together. Many Sundays we use a curriculum called Godly Play. The curriculum is made for multi age classrooms and it always amazes me how well it reaches kids from 3 years old up to 5th grade! I will write more about that another time. But for now, this curriculum invites our kids to play with God and God to play with them through our wondering time about the story. We are careful with the stories we pick, avoiding stories that might be too scary for the kids. And we teach in ways that are compatible with what is being taught upstairs. Sometimes we watch clips from the Chosen or act out stories together.
Then we end with snack around the tables and afterwards we clean the classroom together. Just last week, we started a new system for snacks. The first Sunday of each month we will have Oatmeal with yummy toppings, the second Sunday will be bread baking week, the third Sunday we will make a soup together and hear stories of community. The kids will chop veggies with safe tools and prep the soup with us. Then on the 4th Sunday we will have fun snacks from our snack basket (like Pirate bootie or granola bars).
It is such a blessing to be able to hold this space with and for your kids. Thank you for entrusting them to us during that time. Feel free to drop kids off as early as 9:45am. But don’t worry about being late. The free play really allows that built in time to adjust to being there. However, be sure to pick up kids right after service. Sometimes they feel a bit distressed when other kids are being picked up and their parents are not there, and it helps us with clean up time as well.
If you have any questions or concerns, I invite you to come talk to me or email me. I would love to hear from you. If you are concerned that your 4th or 5th grader might not feel comfortable in class, please feel free to chat with me so that we can be attentive to their needs as well.
Angie Dancer
