For those of you who could not make our team meeting this past Sunday........
Here are a couple important things to know:
We are implementing a team of leaders within Noah's Club called CAGs. This stands for classroom, advocate, go to. We will have a CAG for each classroom. They will be the advocate, support, champion for the volunteers serving in each class as well as the point person for all contact. Our current CAGS are:
Veronika Glenn- nursery
Angie Palmer- 3 yr. old class
Leah Ayup- pre-k
We are still looking for CAGS for our toddler and 2 yr. old class.
If you don't already know the CAG serving in your class they would love to meet you and give you their contact info.
SAVE THE DATE*****SAVE THE DATE*****SAVE THE DATE*****SAVE THE DATE
*****SEPTEMBER 6*****SEPTEMBER 6*****SEPTEMBER 6*****SEPTEMBER 6*****
Saturday, September 6 from 10 am to 5 pm Noah's Club will be having an all day training event. We will be training on our new, exciting Fall curriculum as well as having break out sessions for different age groups and other fun things you won't want to miss. This will be a critical day as we move forward in the best way possible for us to reach kids so we all need to be there. I promise you after the day is over you will be prepared and pumped for the year ahead of us.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
WANTED
Noah's Club is looking for a volunteer to serve as a "recruiting liason." This person would be responsible for:
-spending time at the Parent Relations desk on Sunday's getting to know parents or fielding questions of people interested in serving
-serving as go-between people interested in serving and classroom leads
-giving tours to potential volunteers of Noah's Club
-helping director create a recruiting campaign by August 3 including t-shirts, flyers and booth
-follow up with people inquiring to serve
DISCLAIMER: This person is not responsible for handling all of the actual recruiting. Meaning the searching, finding and asking the right people to fill the needed spots. I feel this is the responsibility of any leader serving in our ministry.
-spending time at the Parent Relations desk on Sunday's getting to know parents or fielding questions of people interested in serving
-serving as go-between people interested in serving and classroom leads
-giving tours to potential volunteers of Noah's Club
-helping director create a recruiting campaign by August 3 including t-shirts, flyers and booth
-follow up with people inquiring to serve
DISCLAIMER: This person is not responsible for handling all of the actual recruiting. Meaning the searching, finding and asking the right people to fill the needed spots. I feel this is the responsibility of any leader serving in our ministry.
Friday, June 20, 2008
The Green Room
Wikipedia defines green room as:
A green room is a room in a theater, studio, or other public venue for the accommodation of performers or speakers when not required on the stage.
Its function is as a break/touch-up lounge so that performers do not have to go back to wardrobe/dressing rooms and are still easily accessible for their call.
It goes on to say one of the reasons it is called the green room because the room is colored in green which is thought to be a calming, soothing color.
Noah's Club does have a lounge area on the second floor right in front of the resource room. Our Children's pastor has been bringing in donuts to that room on Sunday's for who knows how long. Because of the nature of our ministry the room is rarely used. We don't have the luxury of lounging in a room until it's time to go back on stage, we are on stage (teaching in our classroom) from beginning to end of service without a break.
Even if we have to be creative in the times we use the room I have a heart to see the room occupied. It just so happens that the room is already painted green which might just be some kind of prophesy of whats to come. I have a heart to see volunteers meeting up there before class starts to pray together or even just hang for a moment and get to know eachother. Or maybe after service volunteers can meet in there to recap how class went and pray for students going through a rough time. I would like to expand on the green walls and bring touches of inspiration and "green" to the rest of the room. While attending a conference awhile back a church in Orange County had pictures hanging back stage with inspiring writings on them. They called the area "the hall of preparation" and at the end of the hall volunteers could take communion if they wanted. I would love to incorporate this in our green room.
Serving as director for Noah's Club for the past three months I've already learned so many things. One of the main things would be the volunteers serving in this ministry are faithful. Their commitment to serve week in and week out to reach these kids is truly inspiring. I'm hoping when this room is completed they will have a space to sit and unwind, relax, experience community, feel valued and inspired.
This week we will start with phase one. Donuts, starbucks coffee, bottled water and green M&M's. If you serve in Noah's Club come upstairs and experience your green room.
A green room is a room in a theater, studio, or other public venue for the accommodation of performers or speakers when not required on the stage.
Its function is as a break/touch-up lounge so that performers do not have to go back to wardrobe/dressing rooms and are still easily accessible for their call.
It goes on to say one of the reasons it is called the green room because the room is colored in green which is thought to be a calming, soothing color.
Noah's Club does have a lounge area on the second floor right in front of the resource room. Our Children's pastor has been bringing in donuts to that room on Sunday's for who knows how long. Because of the nature of our ministry the room is rarely used. We don't have the luxury of lounging in a room until it's time to go back on stage, we are on stage (teaching in our classroom) from beginning to end of service without a break.
Even if we have to be creative in the times we use the room I have a heart to see the room occupied. It just so happens that the room is already painted green which might just be some kind of prophesy of whats to come. I have a heart to see volunteers meeting up there before class starts to pray together or even just hang for a moment and get to know eachother. Or maybe after service volunteers can meet in there to recap how class went and pray for students going through a rough time. I would like to expand on the green walls and bring touches of inspiration and "green" to the rest of the room. While attending a conference awhile back a church in Orange County had pictures hanging back stage with inspiring writings on them. They called the area "the hall of preparation" and at the end of the hall volunteers could take communion if they wanted. I would love to incorporate this in our green room.
Serving as director for Noah's Club for the past three months I've already learned so many things. One of the main things would be the volunteers serving in this ministry are faithful. Their commitment to serve week in and week out to reach these kids is truly inspiring. I'm hoping when this room is completed they will have a space to sit and unwind, relax, experience community, feel valued and inspired.
This week we will start with phase one. Donuts, starbucks coffee, bottled water and green M&M's. If you serve in Noah's Club come upstairs and experience your green room.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A New Space
Last week at Journey we had 16 families participate in baby dedications during the services. I was able to pop in during the dedication part of the service and thought Journey did a great job making a group dedication personal and impactful for each family and those watching. Because of this our toddler class second service really felt the impact in attendance.
We had several toddlers walking around with teary eyes and dirty diapers. I was afraid the volunteers serving in there were going to have teary eyes as well before the service was over. Fortunately those serving, Kara and Briana had great attitudes and managed to stay gentle and calm for the kids. Our junior volunteers also helped with lots of hugs and playing with the children.
After reading an article in the magazine K by Michelle Triplett I have decided to change things up a bit to see if we can create a more peaceful atmosphere for the kids and volunteers without adding anything new to the room but rather just working with what we already have.
First things first. The room has to smell good. Rather than putting stinky diapers in the trash can in the room, (with no windows) this week we are going to take dirty diapers to an outside trash can after each and every one. I'm also planning on cleaning the room tomorrow with my favorite organic cleaner Mrs. Meyers geranium scent.
Second today as I was looking around the room I realized we have lots of different kinds of things for the kids to play with but no organization to the room. It's an open, fairly large room where kids have just roamed freely from one toy to the next. I brought in a divider and sectioned off a part of the room for "quiet space." This area has rocking chairs, books, big comfy seats for the kids and a tv. I'm planning on having one volunteer stay in this area to help the fussy children who may need a break from the rest of the room where the kids are playing louder. The divider also helps create a block so the children won't have to constantly watch the door hoping mom or dad will be coming back soon.
The rest of the room is divided up into three other spaces; snack tables, play kitchen and other activity toys and the last one is climbing center where we have two slides, a bin of balls and other things for kids to climb on.
I'm hoping with this new arrangement the kids can become more absorbed in their play. We will see how it goes on Sunday. I'll let you know.
We had several toddlers walking around with teary eyes and dirty diapers. I was afraid the volunteers serving in there were going to have teary eyes as well before the service was over. Fortunately those serving, Kara and Briana had great attitudes and managed to stay gentle and calm for the kids. Our junior volunteers also helped with lots of hugs and playing with the children.
After reading an article in the magazine K by Michelle Triplett I have decided to change things up a bit to see if we can create a more peaceful atmosphere for the kids and volunteers without adding anything new to the room but rather just working with what we already have.
First things first. The room has to smell good. Rather than putting stinky diapers in the trash can in the room, (with no windows) this week we are going to take dirty diapers to an outside trash can after each and every one. I'm also planning on cleaning the room tomorrow with my favorite organic cleaner Mrs. Meyers geranium scent.
Second today as I was looking around the room I realized we have lots of different kinds of things for the kids to play with but no organization to the room. It's an open, fairly large room where kids have just roamed freely from one toy to the next. I brought in a divider and sectioned off a part of the room for "quiet space." This area has rocking chairs, books, big comfy seats for the kids and a tv. I'm planning on having one volunteer stay in this area to help the fussy children who may need a break from the rest of the room where the kids are playing louder. The divider also helps create a block so the children won't have to constantly watch the door hoping mom or dad will be coming back soon.
The rest of the room is divided up into three other spaces; snack tables, play kitchen and other activity toys and the last one is climbing center where we have two slides, a bin of balls and other things for kids to climb on.
I'm hoping with this new arrangement the kids can become more absorbed in their play. We will see how it goes on Sunday. I'll let you know.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
A Colorful Craft
Butterflies from our 4&5 yr. old class second service. Mrs. Nancy does such a nice job organizing the craft each week for the parents to pick up. Not only were these lined up and ready to go but the names were in alphabetical order.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Service
I had three encounters today that made me stop and think about service. One was at a large furniture store. My co-worker and I asked a man for some help and he turned the other way and ignored us. A few minutes later we asked for help again inquiring about a desk unit and he said in an irritated tone, "that's out of stock." I replied "ok but we could always buy it for later on" he didn't really respond. Each time we asked him a question he sounded rude and annoyed. He never gave us the info. we needed.
Later on that afternoon I was in another store and purchased two items. One of those items was a pack of gum. Once back in my car (running late of coarse) I realized the gum was not in my bag but it was paid for on my receipt. I pulled my car up to the front and ran back in to get my gum. Now I understand when most people purchase gum they take it right at the cash register rather than bagging it however I didn't ask to do this and the sales clerk never asked me about it. After running inside to pick it up the clerk said, "oh, here YOU forgot this" in a tired tone. Funny I don't remember forgetting anything. Would it have killed her to apologize for my inconveience to have to run back into the store.
My third encounter was shortly after the first at the same furniture store. Because the first clerk was so rude we were afraid to ask him anymore questions so we asked another clerk. This clerk went out of his way to walk us over to a different department to show us what we were asking for because his department did not carry it. Our experience with this person renewed my faith in this establishment that I usually shop at without problems. On our way out we made sure to give the manager a little bit of feedback.......the good and the bad.
All three of these experiences got me thinking about service and how one feels when they receive good service or bad service. I think depending on our upbringing most of us know the proper way to talk to others. Most of us probably also know the difference between good and bad service. We know it when we experience it. Patrons expect good service. Good service is greeting people (by name if you know it) smiling, directly helping people or finding the help they need. Bad service is inexcusable. Everyone has a bad day. Everyone needs to vent once in awhile. Whenever you are in a place serving someone else this is not the place to be doing that. Of coarse we should be authentic in our service, but if we have to fake it one out of fifty times no one is going to know the difference and maybe just maybe a forced smile will soon turn into a real one. Sometimes we have to push ourselves through the motions before we feel the joy in serving.
How does this translate to serving in Noah's Club. Simple. If parents in Noah's Club expect good service at the places they transact business with during the week than of coarse the minimum standard for us should be good service. But is that really enough? Is good service enough to gain the trust of parents in watching their kids? Is good service enough to build relationships with kids so they will listen and trust us when we try to teach them about how God loves them? We have to go above and beyond.
Good service: "Hi Jane, come on in."
Above and Beyond: Kneeling down to greet Jane at her level, "hi Jane, I'm so glad you're here today. Come on in. We are going to make some really cool butterflies and have a lot of fun." walks WITH Jane to the craft table.
Good service: telling John happy birthday when he comes to class
Above and Beyond: sending John a birthday card in the mail
Good service: praying with the kids in class and teaching them how to pray
Above and beyond: Asking the kids how we can pray for them, write it down and pray for them during the week. Asking them the following week about the thing we prayed for.
The truth is above and beyond is much easier than we think. Making ourselves available to help someone so their life in that moment is a little bit easier and doing so with a smile and a pleasant tone of voice. If we do this in Noah's Club I think we will make huge strides for the kingdom.
Later on that afternoon I was in another store and purchased two items. One of those items was a pack of gum. Once back in my car (running late of coarse) I realized the gum was not in my bag but it was paid for on my receipt. I pulled my car up to the front and ran back in to get my gum. Now I understand when most people purchase gum they take it right at the cash register rather than bagging it however I didn't ask to do this and the sales clerk never asked me about it. After running inside to pick it up the clerk said, "oh, here YOU forgot this" in a tired tone. Funny I don't remember forgetting anything. Would it have killed her to apologize for my inconveience to have to run back into the store.
My third encounter was shortly after the first at the same furniture store. Because the first clerk was so rude we were afraid to ask him anymore questions so we asked another clerk. This clerk went out of his way to walk us over to a different department to show us what we were asking for because his department did not carry it. Our experience with this person renewed my faith in this establishment that I usually shop at without problems. On our way out we made sure to give the manager a little bit of feedback.......the good and the bad.
All three of these experiences got me thinking about service and how one feels when they receive good service or bad service. I think depending on our upbringing most of us know the proper way to talk to others. Most of us probably also know the difference between good and bad service. We know it when we experience it. Patrons expect good service. Good service is greeting people (by name if you know it) smiling, directly helping people or finding the help they need. Bad service is inexcusable. Everyone has a bad day. Everyone needs to vent once in awhile. Whenever you are in a place serving someone else this is not the place to be doing that. Of coarse we should be authentic in our service, but if we have to fake it one out of fifty times no one is going to know the difference and maybe just maybe a forced smile will soon turn into a real one. Sometimes we have to push ourselves through the motions before we feel the joy in serving.
How does this translate to serving in Noah's Club. Simple. If parents in Noah's Club expect good service at the places they transact business with during the week than of coarse the minimum standard for us should be good service. But is that really enough? Is good service enough to gain the trust of parents in watching their kids? Is good service enough to build relationships with kids so they will listen and trust us when we try to teach them about how God loves them? We have to go above and beyond.
Good service: "Hi Jane, come on in."
Above and Beyond: Kneeling down to greet Jane at her level, "hi Jane, I'm so glad you're here today. Come on in. We are going to make some really cool butterflies and have a lot of fun." walks WITH Jane to the craft table.
Good service: telling John happy birthday when he comes to class
Above and Beyond: sending John a birthday card in the mail
Good service: praying with the kids in class and teaching them how to pray
Above and beyond: Asking the kids how we can pray for them, write it down and pray for them during the week. Asking them the following week about the thing we prayed for.
The truth is above and beyond is much easier than we think. Making ourselves available to help someone so their life in that moment is a little bit easier and doing so with a smile and a pleasant tone of voice. If we do this in Noah's Club I think we will make huge strides for the kingdom.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Think Play Create
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Embracing Change
Last night during Ed's message he said leadership can be defined in one word- change. It's not for those refusing to move. He went on to say he believes Jesus was the greatest leader in history because he was always changing stuff and continues to change stuff. And then he had us ask ourselves where God might be asking us to embrace change in our life.
This was a great reminder for me not to be a coward when it comes to vision casting change and implementing change. In our area of ministry working with pre-schoolers this is so important. I'm not sure who wrote this but I recently read this about pre-schoolers:
"pre-schoolers are ready to expand their horizons and achievements, to seek out
information, explore new territory, and make sense of all they encounter. Play
along by providing lots of new experiences."
If we want to effectively reach this age group we need to constantly bring in new, changing experiences for the kids sake. How sad would it be if we as adults held back from change because we may not be comfortable with it at the expense of our kids.
I am commiting myself as a leader to embrace change.
This was a great reminder for me not to be a coward when it comes to vision casting change and implementing change. In our area of ministry working with pre-schoolers this is so important. I'm not sure who wrote this but I recently read this about pre-schoolers:
"pre-schoolers are ready to expand their horizons and achievements, to seek out
information, explore new territory, and make sense of all they encounter. Play
along by providing lots of new experiences."
If we want to effectively reach this age group we need to constantly bring in new, changing experiences for the kids sake. How sad would it be if we as adults held back from change because we may not be comfortable with it at the expense of our kids.
I am commiting myself as a leader to embrace change.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Prayer Request
Two leaders in Noah's Club that have both been around for a long, long time could use some prayer.
Merlin Loch who is our toddler leader during first service will be having open heart surgery at the beginning of June. Depending on the severity of his condition he may or may not need a valve replaced. Please pray for him and his family over the next few months leading up to this. I will post later on when we know exactly when his surgery is.
Dee Dee Milot who is a teacher in our 4 & 5 yr. old class during second service is asking prayer for her son Michael. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer recently. He has had surgery but will also be needing chemo because the cancer has spread.
Whenever our health or sometimes worse our kids health is in jeopardy it can be a scary thing to walk through. Please pray that God will touch Merlin and Michael with his healing power and restore them to total health. Please also pray that they and their family will not be anxious but know the peace that passes all understanding during this time.
Thanks.
Merlin Loch who is our toddler leader during first service will be having open heart surgery at the beginning of June. Depending on the severity of his condition he may or may not need a valve replaced. Please pray for him and his family over the next few months leading up to this. I will post later on when we know exactly when his surgery is.
Dee Dee Milot who is a teacher in our 4 & 5 yr. old class during second service is asking prayer for her son Michael. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer recently. He has had surgery but will also be needing chemo because the cancer has spread.
Whenever our health or sometimes worse our kids health is in jeopardy it can be a scary thing to walk through. Please pray that God will touch Merlin and Michael with his healing power and restore them to total health. Please also pray that they and their family will not be anxious but know the peace that passes all understanding during this time.
Thanks.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Initiation by Fire
A few weeks before Easter I met a lady who was interested in serving during one of our Easter services. I had a hunch from the beginning she would be great. That and the fact that while showing her the classrooms my son LOVED her. I'm learning that kids can be a great judge of people who should be serving kids.
During our Easter services she volunteered in the toddler class for half a service and the nursery the other half of our 7:30 service. She also volunteered in the 3 yr. old class during our 9:00 service. I encouraged her to try out different spots to hopefully find a place that fit. The following Sunday she was willing to come back again this time trying out the 4 & 5 yr. old class. It seems after serving in that class she may have found a fit. We decided she would come back again the following week (this past week) and serve in the same class.
Our second service 4&5 yr. old class has two great regular leaders who have been serving in there for a long time. They work together as a team and balance eachother well. Both existing leaders agreed this new volunteer would be a great addition to the team. However this past week one of the regular leaders (who does the main teaching in the class) was out of town celebrating her 30th wedding anniversary with her husband. I spoke with our new volunteer and told her how we would be short on help but that I would step in after large group to help lead the lesson time knowing that's not the role our other regular leader plays and not wanting to force our new leader into it.
I have to admit I was a bit surprised when I walked into the class with 35+ kids, two leaders looking kind of frazzled and two junior helpers trying to lead simon says at the front of the class. We also had ladybugs who had escaped the nature center flying around and a flood of water on the floor starting to seep out into the hallway. I grabbed the microphone and tried to gain control. It was not easy but somehow with everyones help we made it through. After the kids were dismissed I stuck around to talk about the experience with the two leaders. When it was time to go our new volunteer went to grab her bag and realized it had been sitting in a pool of water that we missed during the clean up. Her bag which had her cell phone and other important things in it that should remain dry.
This was definitely not the serving experience I had planned for a new volunteer. I'm praying that God would still be putting the desire in her heart to serve and that the relationship already established with the other leader would help too. I have learned two important lessons from this experience.
The obvious one being you cannot control or project the attendence. One week a class may have 20 kids, another week 15 and another 35+. Even if we only have 10 kids we should be prepared for 40. After all isn't the point to grow anyways reaching more kids. All of a sudden Kevin Costner in the movie Field of Dreams is coming to mind, "if you build it they will come." I want this ministry to want to grow and be ready to reach out to as many kids as possible. How sad would it be if I put a cap on it and said we could only handle so much.
The second lesson may not be as obvious but just as important. No class should have only one teacher in it. When one of the teachers/leaders is out there should not be an obvious void because everyone (with the exception of jr. helpers and check in check out roles) should know how to teach and lead the class. I want every teacher to always be mentoring new volunteers who should be able to assume the role if needed.
Although I don't recommend the above scenario of what happened in our class yesterday to be used as a recruiting technique I'm thankful that if anything this new volunteer has already learned the above lessons with me.
Tania, welcome to Noah's Club!
During our Easter services she volunteered in the toddler class for half a service and the nursery the other half of our 7:30 service. She also volunteered in the 3 yr. old class during our 9:00 service. I encouraged her to try out different spots to hopefully find a place that fit. The following Sunday she was willing to come back again this time trying out the 4 & 5 yr. old class. It seems after serving in that class she may have found a fit. We decided she would come back again the following week (this past week) and serve in the same class.
Our second service 4&5 yr. old class has two great regular leaders who have been serving in there for a long time. They work together as a team and balance eachother well. Both existing leaders agreed this new volunteer would be a great addition to the team. However this past week one of the regular leaders (who does the main teaching in the class) was out of town celebrating her 30th wedding anniversary with her husband. I spoke with our new volunteer and told her how we would be short on help but that I would step in after large group to help lead the lesson time knowing that's not the role our other regular leader plays and not wanting to force our new leader into it.
I have to admit I was a bit surprised when I walked into the class with 35+ kids, two leaders looking kind of frazzled and two junior helpers trying to lead simon says at the front of the class. We also had ladybugs who had escaped the nature center flying around and a flood of water on the floor starting to seep out into the hallway. I grabbed the microphone and tried to gain control. It was not easy but somehow with everyones help we made it through. After the kids were dismissed I stuck around to talk about the experience with the two leaders. When it was time to go our new volunteer went to grab her bag and realized it had been sitting in a pool of water that we missed during the clean up. Her bag which had her cell phone and other important things in it that should remain dry.
This was definitely not the serving experience I had planned for a new volunteer. I'm praying that God would still be putting the desire in her heart to serve and that the relationship already established with the other leader would help too. I have learned two important lessons from this experience.
The obvious one being you cannot control or project the attendence. One week a class may have 20 kids, another week 15 and another 35+. Even if we only have 10 kids we should be prepared for 40. After all isn't the point to grow anyways reaching more kids. All of a sudden Kevin Costner in the movie Field of Dreams is coming to mind, "if you build it they will come." I want this ministry to want to grow and be ready to reach out to as many kids as possible. How sad would it be if I put a cap on it and said we could only handle so much.
The second lesson may not be as obvious but just as important. No class should have only one teacher in it. When one of the teachers/leaders is out there should not be an obvious void because everyone (with the exception of jr. helpers and check in check out roles) should know how to teach and lead the class. I want every teacher to always be mentoring new volunteers who should be able to assume the role if needed.
Although I don't recommend the above scenario of what happened in our class yesterday to be used as a recruiting technique I'm thankful that if anything this new volunteer has already learned the above lessons with me.
Tania, welcome to Noah's Club!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
New Series Starting Up
We are starting a new eight week series this Sunday called "What's Bugging You."In addition to learning a new song this week they will be learning how to be prepared. They will find out how to look for ways to prepare their minds to make good decisions that will result in good actions.
I'm excited about the bug stuff! My preschooler son always seems more open to learning while exploring God's vast creation. We will be bringing a part of his creation into our large group classroom through our very own nature center complete with ladybugs and various other critters.
To find out what other cool things are going on you will have to bee there. If you're five and under or you love working with five and unders hope to see you!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The High's Outweigh the Low's
This past Sunday night after returning from our family Easter dinner my husband congratulated me for surviving my first Easter as a staff ministry worker. I said, "uh, thanks." I was not really sure how to respond. I knew Easter was going to be a bit more challenging than an average Sunday and would need a bit more preparation. I didn't realize however the stress I would be under. Part of it was due to my poor planning in deciding to have a birthday party for my daughter the day before. In the twenty four hour period before Easter I had lost my keys three times and probably yelled at my children at least twice that number.
When I accepted the position of director my first Sunday was about one month out from Easter. We had a going away party for the previous director that day and during the meeting I was already trying to recruit volunteers to help on Easter. I was determined to be prepared and ready. Every week I seem to learn new things about this ministry. One thing I'm reminded of each week is no matter how prepared I am there will always be at least one or two glitches. This past week my Easter glitches were the following:
-I ordered sticker sheets from Oriental Trading Company to use as a craft and for the kids to take home. They came in and I didn't think to count them until the Saturday before Easter. Not only were there not enough for the three classrooms I needed them for they turned out to be boring for the kids and not enough of a craft by themselves.
-Because of the sticker sheet fiasco I decided to make up a new craft at the last minute for the four and five year olds.....rock art. I found a bucket of rocks in our resource room and thought the kids could decorate them to symbolize the stone that was rolled away from Jesus tomb. In addition I thought what four year old would not want to take a rock home. Turns out some four year olds don't like rocks and the ones that do like to hit other four year olds in the head with them. Probably a better craft for on older age group.
-I wanted the toddler class to have something special to do for Easter. Because of this age group they don't have as much structure as the other classes so we had an Easter Egg hunt for them. I figured toddlers would love plasic Easter eggs with an animal cracker inside. Well, some of them did but most of them were screaming too much to notice. Key learning for next year is to be sensitive to the fact that kids will be more upset than usual because they might have a different person taking care of them, will have more kids than ususal in their class and more kids they don't know.
-I bought pots of real flowers for our large group stage. In my mind I was thinking Easter, spring, colors, what we would do in adult church for the stage etc. Yes they added some nice color but I highly doubt the kids cared about it. For the expense I could have found something much better. Now I'm stuck watering these things at church every week so we can continue to use them to get my money's worth. Oh and then there is the poisonous factor. Note to self, let go of my own interests of hating fake flowers for the best interest of the kids were trying to serve.
There may have even been a few more here and there but these are the first that come to mind. After taking some notes on what I would do differently I wanted to make sure to evaluate what went well if anything at all (I am new at this.) Turns out there was a few things.
-Our Good Friday services had the highest attendance ever and although we did not have childcare during the 5:30 service our 7:00 kids service was great. My job does not include overseeing Friday night services but knowing there would be more kids in there than usual and more families visiting I felt compelled to help. We set up the time just like we do on Sunday mornings. They were able to do a craft that we had leftover supplies for and they watched a video from the current curriculum we are using. Mrs. Nancy from the Sunday 10:30 four year old class was in there helping out which blessed me that she would step up in an area she does not usually serve in. The kids that knew her from Sunday loved seeing her there and she really made a huge difference in the evening.
-Speaking of Good Friday at the end of the services four college students came up to me and enthusiastically told me they wanted to serve on Easter morning. I did nothing to recruit them they just came out of the blue. Each of them showed up on Sunday with the same enthusiasm and helped the classrooms go from being adequately covered to more than adequately covered.
-Cristen Reber who has been serving in Noah's Club for the past few years off and on did an outstanding job leading large group during the 7:30 service. That girl definitely has some talent that I do not possess. Hopefully she will be in there at least once a month to connect with the kids.
-On a personal note one of my prayers was that I could attend the Good Friday service and one of the Easter services. I was able to attend the entire 7:00 Good Friday service and thanks to Leah taking over I was able to sit in a majority of the 9:00 Easter service.
-Lastly but most importantly THE VOLUNTEERS SHOWED UP AND SHOWED UP BIG! Like the Good Friday services our Easter services had the highest attendence ever. During the last service they had to bring in extra chairs to the worship center and divert many people to our video venue. How this translates for Noah's Club is LOTS OF KIDS. Even with the high attendence the classrooms were more than adequately covered. Some teachers like Mr. Chip and Mrs. Leah served during two services. We even had a "first serve" lady named Tania who served joyfully during two services. I was so proud of our amazing leaders for being there early and helping these kids.
So in the whole process of doing this Easter thing for preschoolers I learned a lot. Lot's of things I would do differently next year. But for this year I'm celebrating the good and how it outweighs (to a certain degree) some of the challenges.
When I accepted the position of director my first Sunday was about one month out from Easter. We had a going away party for the previous director that day and during the meeting I was already trying to recruit volunteers to help on Easter. I was determined to be prepared and ready. Every week I seem to learn new things about this ministry. One thing I'm reminded of each week is no matter how prepared I am there will always be at least one or two glitches. This past week my Easter glitches were the following:
-I ordered sticker sheets from Oriental Trading Company to use as a craft and for the kids to take home. They came in and I didn't think to count them until the Saturday before Easter. Not only were there not enough for the three classrooms I needed them for they turned out to be boring for the kids and not enough of a craft by themselves.
-Because of the sticker sheet fiasco I decided to make up a new craft at the last minute for the four and five year olds.....rock art. I found a bucket of rocks in our resource room and thought the kids could decorate them to symbolize the stone that was rolled away from Jesus tomb. In addition I thought what four year old would not want to take a rock home. Turns out some four year olds don't like rocks and the ones that do like to hit other four year olds in the head with them. Probably a better craft for on older age group.
-I wanted the toddler class to have something special to do for Easter. Because of this age group they don't have as much structure as the other classes so we had an Easter Egg hunt for them. I figured toddlers would love plasic Easter eggs with an animal cracker inside. Well, some of them did but most of them were screaming too much to notice. Key learning for next year is to be sensitive to the fact that kids will be more upset than usual because they might have a different person taking care of them, will have more kids than ususal in their class and more kids they don't know.
-I bought pots of real flowers for our large group stage. In my mind I was thinking Easter, spring, colors, what we would do in adult church for the stage etc. Yes they added some nice color but I highly doubt the kids cared about it. For the expense I could have found something much better. Now I'm stuck watering these things at church every week so we can continue to use them to get my money's worth. Oh and then there is the poisonous factor. Note to self, let go of my own interests of hating fake flowers for the best interest of the kids were trying to serve.
There may have even been a few more here and there but these are the first that come to mind. After taking some notes on what I would do differently I wanted to make sure to evaluate what went well if anything at all (I am new at this.) Turns out there was a few things.
-Our Good Friday services had the highest attendance ever and although we did not have childcare during the 5:30 service our 7:00 kids service was great. My job does not include overseeing Friday night services but knowing there would be more kids in there than usual and more families visiting I felt compelled to help. We set up the time just like we do on Sunday mornings. They were able to do a craft that we had leftover supplies for and they watched a video from the current curriculum we are using. Mrs. Nancy from the Sunday 10:30 four year old class was in there helping out which blessed me that she would step up in an area she does not usually serve in. The kids that knew her from Sunday loved seeing her there and she really made a huge difference in the evening.
-Speaking of Good Friday at the end of the services four college students came up to me and enthusiastically told me they wanted to serve on Easter morning. I did nothing to recruit them they just came out of the blue. Each of them showed up on Sunday with the same enthusiasm and helped the classrooms go from being adequately covered to more than adequately covered.
-Cristen Reber who has been serving in Noah's Club for the past few years off and on did an outstanding job leading large group during the 7:30 service. That girl definitely has some talent that I do not possess. Hopefully she will be in there at least once a month to connect with the kids.
-On a personal note one of my prayers was that I could attend the Good Friday service and one of the Easter services. I was able to attend the entire 7:00 Good Friday service and thanks to Leah taking over I was able to sit in a majority of the 9:00 Easter service.
-Lastly but most importantly THE VOLUNTEERS SHOWED UP AND SHOWED UP BIG! Like the Good Friday services our Easter services had the highest attendence ever. During the last service they had to bring in extra chairs to the worship center and divert many people to our video venue. How this translates for Noah's Club is LOTS OF KIDS. Even with the high attendence the classrooms were more than adequately covered. Some teachers like Mr. Chip and Mrs. Leah served during two services. We even had a "first serve" lady named Tania who served joyfully during two services. I was so proud of our amazing leaders for being there early and helping these kids.
So in the whole process of doing this Easter thing for preschoolers I learned a lot. Lot's of things I would do differently next year. But for this year I'm celebrating the good and how it outweighs (to a certain degree) some of the challenges.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Volunteer Spotlight
If you have been around Noah's Club for awhile chances are you have gotten these two sisters mixed up. Not only do they look alike but their names sound alike AND they serve in the same class. They're not twins but they do seem to stick together.....unless like last week one had to stay home from not feeling well. Whether serving together or apart they both have a genuine servants heart and make a huge difference in the lives of the kids they serve. Meet....
Cassie (left) and Kaitie (right)
Serving Role: 3 yr. old teachers 10:30 service
How long have you been attending Journey? 13 yrs
How long have you been serving in Noah's Club? Cassie- 6yrs. Katie- 8 yrs.
What is your favorite part of serving in Noah's Club? Having fun with the kids. We love kids.
What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time besides serving in Noah's Club? Cassie- Involved in school marching band as captain of the drum line. She has only been playing the drums for a few years and she is already captain:) Katie- enjoys playing trumpet at SDSU and playing soccer. Next year both sisters will be at SDSU together in the marching band.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Director's Diary....
This past week in Noah's Club we learned that Jesus is a King and we need to worship him by how we live our lives. One of the highlights for me was watching Dee Dee and Dennis in the 4 yr. old class second service on the floor acting as donkeys giving kids rides on their backs as a way to teach them John 12. After church we had our gear up for Easter meeting. Everyone opened eggs which inside revealed the agenda for the meeting. We discussed finding volunteers for classrooms and large group time, design of Noah's Club area while reflecting on some paintings around the room and prayed for several aspects of our Easter services. While praying John Steveson 2 yr. old teacher, first service almost made me cry as he thanked God for an Easter service in his past that brought him closer to Jesus. It was a reminder to me why we do this thing called Noah's Club. To create an environment for kids to discover and grow closer to Jesus and maybe even help the parents do so as well.
Thursdays are my in office work day. Since my husband is off on this day he keeps the kids so I can work without distraction and have the benefits of working in the office. One of those benefits is being able to work with other people doing the same kind of work I am. Although in different areas of the church we are all on the same mission and I get energy from being in their midst. Today I spent some time working with Penny who is on staff in our children's ministry. She gets the crafts ready every week, provides all of the supplies needed for each class, updates the check in cards and a dozen other things. We share an office together so it was nice having someone in there to bounce ideas off of. This morning one of the first things I said was, "ugh, how am I going to find enough help for this weekend. With the womens retreat this weekend we have so many gaps." Her response was, "yeah but the Lord always provides." I agreed half-heartedly thinking well yes he did last week but we will see about this week. Four hours and about fifteen phone calls later I can say whole heartedly yes the Lord does provide. I'm so thankful for my friend Kara who has offered to help me in any class as soon as she found out I took on this position. This week I knew she would help in one of the classes but little did I know she was already talking to her mother in law to help in another class as well. Another way God provided was through Brian and Jenn Kick. I called them asking for help in the nursery and once they found out that we needed two people in there they both agreed to come in and work together. Thank you Lord for providing and thank you for using people who have been around for awhile like Penny to speak words of wisdom to me.
I'm getting excited about Easter. I met with someone today who will be serving for the first time in Noah's Club that weekend. I also met with our facilities team to advise where our paintings should be hung. I'm expecting our lobby and hallway to look great with new pictures and paintings. Please continue to pray and get the word out for volunteers that weekend. We especially need help in the 3 and 4 yr. old class during the 9 am and 10:45 services.
Have a great rest of the week everyone. See you on Sunday!
Tara
Thursdays are my in office work day. Since my husband is off on this day he keeps the kids so I can work without distraction and have the benefits of working in the office. One of those benefits is being able to work with other people doing the same kind of work I am. Although in different areas of the church we are all on the same mission and I get energy from being in their midst. Today I spent some time working with Penny who is on staff in our children's ministry. She gets the crafts ready every week, provides all of the supplies needed for each class, updates the check in cards and a dozen other things. We share an office together so it was nice having someone in there to bounce ideas off of. This morning one of the first things I said was, "ugh, how am I going to find enough help for this weekend. With the womens retreat this weekend we have so many gaps." Her response was, "yeah but the Lord always provides." I agreed half-heartedly thinking well yes he did last week but we will see about this week. Four hours and about fifteen phone calls later I can say whole heartedly yes the Lord does provide. I'm so thankful for my friend Kara who has offered to help me in any class as soon as she found out I took on this position. This week I knew she would help in one of the classes but little did I know she was already talking to her mother in law to help in another class as well. Another way God provided was through Brian and Jenn Kick. I called them asking for help in the nursery and once they found out that we needed two people in there they both agreed to come in and work together. Thank you Lord for providing and thank you for using people who have been around for awhile like Penny to speak words of wisdom to me.
I'm getting excited about Easter. I met with someone today who will be serving for the first time in Noah's Club that weekend. I also met with our facilities team to advise where our paintings should be hung. I'm expecting our lobby and hallway to look great with new pictures and paintings. Please continue to pray and get the word out for volunteers that weekend. We especially need help in the 3 and 4 yr. old class during the 9 am and 10:45 services.
Have a great rest of the week everyone. See you on Sunday!
Tara
Friday, March 7, 2008
QUESTION??????????????
What would motivate you to get your friends serving in Noah's Club?
C'mon now, speak up and be honest.
C'mon now, speak up and be honest.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Volunteer Spotlight
One segment of this blog that I would like to do regularly is introduce the volunteers serving in Noah's Club and a few facts about them so we could all come to know one another better.
This week one particular volunteer stood out to me. As a grandpa was checking his 3 yr. old son in he said to Angie, "he has been talking about you non-stop for the past three days." Angie proceeded to greet this little boy by name with a big hug. Watching Angie interact with the 3 yr. olds in her class it would be easy to see why they like her so much. She is there every week so they have a chance to really get to know her and she is able to really know them. Not only does she teach them bible lessons, help them create crafts and play ball with them she truly delights in doing so. Watching Angie play with these kids you can tell she is having as much fun as they are. Her serving is so contagious that she has recruited her dad to join in on the fun.
Angie with her dad, Terry
This week one particular volunteer stood out to me. As a grandpa was checking his 3 yr. old son in he said to Angie, "he has been talking about you non-stop for the past three days." Angie proceeded to greet this little boy by name with a big hug. Watching Angie interact with the 3 yr. olds in her class it would be easy to see why they like her so much. She is there every week so they have a chance to really get to know her and she is able to really know them. Not only does she teach them bible lessons, help them create crafts and play ball with them she truly delights in doing so. Watching Angie play with these kids you can tell she is having as much fun as they are. Her serving is so contagious that she has recruited her dad to join in on the fun.
Angie with her dad, TerryName: Angie Palmer
Serving Role: 3 yr. old teacher 8:30 service
How long have you been attending Journey? 6 yrs.
How long have you been serving in Noah's Club? 3 yrs.
What is your favorite part of serving in Noah's Club? Hanging out with the 3 yr. olds
What is your favorite food? Peanut butter
What is your favorite things to do in your spare time besides serving in Noah's Club? Walking and going to movies.
Who is in your family? One hubby and one teenage daughter.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Get Ready For Easter
This Sunday Noah's Club will be starting a new series called "Get Ready for Easter." We will be learning about Jesus and how to accept hard things and how to worship him building up to Easter Sunday learning about the good news that he came back to life. I love the title Empowering Kids used for this curriculum. In planning Easter services for kids and adults staff and volunteers need to prepare well in advance to "Get Ready for Easter." More volunteers, more planning in communicating effectively this life changing message of what Easter brings.
As parents and teachers there are things we can do at home to prepare our hearts and our kids hearts for this significant day.
Maybe find creative ways to explain Lent to kids using ideas from here.
One family I know is having a weekly tea time. Each Sunday around 4 pm they will bring out their nice china cups and pastries and have tea together. While the little ones enjoy their delicasies their mom will read a picture book to them about Easter.
The Sunday's leading up to Easter can be just as important as Sunday, March 23. Here are a few ways we can prepare ourselves before we see our kids on Sunday:
- Pray for the kids throughout the week that we will be coming into contact with. Maybe God will bring one specific name to mind that we should be spending extended prayer time on. Maybe send a note in the mail to the child or family that keeps coming to mind. Preschoolers LOVE getting mail.
-Read through weekly lesson a few times and anticipate what questions kids might ask you.
-Instead of getting to class right when service starts or a run in a few minutes late feeling rushed and frazzled get there 15 minutes early to greet the kids that get there early. Or better yet arrive thirty minutes early to pray with the other volunteers serving that day.
One thing I did with my kids this year was plant Spring bulbs in the backyard. My son likes to check on them periodically and this gives me an opportunity to talk about new life in all of it's different forms.
What are some things you might be doing to "Get Ready for Easter" this year?
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Can Learning Be Fun?
As a mom of a pre-schooler and a toddler I'm becoming more and more aware of how much my kids pick up from the world around them. Whether it be a cartoon they watch in the morning or something I say in passing to a friend it seems to go into their head and inevitably later out of their mouth. This is causing me to be more intentional about the words that I say and more protective over the use of their time. These little sponges that are entrusted to my care seem to walk around waiting to learn something. One of my responsibilities as their parent is to keep their learnings on the positive side rather than the negative. One would think if learning is so natural for children why is it that some have such a hard time developing the skills needed for kindergarten? Forget graduating from highschool or college some parents just pray they will make it through these challenging pre-school years.
I'm not sure what the answer to that would be. I do think kids have different learning styles and we can't expect what might work for one child to work for another. Sometimes the best thing we can do as parents is let go of the control that grips us to try and make our kids what we think they should be and take more time to watch and listen to what their individual learning curve is. One way that might be universal for all children in how they pick things up is through television. I have found a show on PBS called Super Why. I love this show because it's helping my son learn how to sound out letters and read words in a fun, entertaining way. Parents can also log on to this website so kids can play fun games while learning reading skills. Even at this young age homework is already feeling forced so when tv can sneak in some academic learning when kids just think their watching their usual cartoons it's a good thing.
This show makes me wonder what the church can do better to help learning about God and his love more fun for kids? What would you say?
I'm not sure what the answer to that would be. I do think kids have different learning styles and we can't expect what might work for one child to work for another. Sometimes the best thing we can do as parents is let go of the control that grips us to try and make our kids what we think they should be and take more time to watch and listen to what their individual learning curve is. One way that might be universal for all children in how they pick things up is through television. I have found a show on PBS called Super Why. I love this show because it's helping my son learn how to sound out letters and read words in a fun, entertaining way. Parents can also log on to this website so kids can play fun games while learning reading skills. Even at this young age homework is already feeling forced so when tv can sneak in some academic learning when kids just think their watching their usual cartoons it's a good thing.
This show makes me wonder what the church can do better to help learning about God and his love more fun for kids? What would you say?
Friday, February 15, 2008
Saying Goodbye
As everyone should know by now pre-school director Natalie Mascari will be leaving her role to focus on her growing family.
Come join in to say goodbye February 24 at 12 noon.
We will be meeting and having lunch together as soon as the second service gets out at the Galaxy.
Come join in to say goodbye February 24 at 12 noon.
We will be meeting and having lunch together as soon as the second service gets out at the Galaxy.
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