Butcher Paper

My Wednesday night program begins at 6:30 PM.  My registration opens at 6:00 PM.  This leaves me with 30 minutes of time to occupy my early birds with.  And arrive early they do.  By 6:10 I have anywhere from 15-20 little ones already running around my sanctuary.

This leaves me with a slight problem.

What to do with those 30 minutes.  We all know that if we leave that many little ones with nothing organized to do that the sanctuary will quickly erupt into chaos.  And many nights, that can be exactly what happens.  However, I try my best to make sure that we have organized activities waiting on the kids from 6:00-6:30 PM.  This year on the 1st Wednesday of every month we are going to have Butcher Paper night!

If you work with kids butcher paper should be your new best friend.

This was a super simple and easy pre-service activity to set up.  I literally rolled out 3 long sheets of butcher paper, put crayons in bins, and let the kids have at it!  Kids love to color and express themselves and something about coloring on paper on the floor just makes everyone happy.

I usually greet kids and parents on arrival at our check-in point so when I walked into the sanctuary at 6:28 last night to get ready for the opening I saw happy kids and volunteers calmly coloring on the floor.

I'd call that a #KidsMin win.

VBS Recap

V-B-S!

3 little letters that are sure to send any Children's Director into a tail-spin.  This year, I was no exception.

I absolutely loved the VBS that I prepared for our kids this year, but it was a lot of work.
I'm talking a lot of work.

When thinking in how to recap this event for everyone I've decided to share with you my Top 10 tips/tricks for planning your own VBS.  This was the first year that I ever planned a VBS from start to finish and I learned so much.  We had a fabulous VBS averaging 108 kids every night!  Jesus literally blew my socks off.  As I was preparing and praying for VBS my personal goal was to have at least 1 night of 100 kids.  If I could reach 100 kids just one night I knew that I was going to call our VBS a success.  When we had 110 kids on the first night I knew that Jesus was up to something big! 

*Throughout the rest of the post you will see pictures and tips as to how we decorated on a budget to make our VBS pop.  I threw these in just for fun! :) 

In no particular order, here are the 10 things that helped make my VBS:

1) I stayed flexible-  

I used a wonderful curriculum to plan my VBS and it helped me out so much.  However, I was still flexible to things that might or might not work in my particular church, with my particular volunteers, and my particular kids.  The curriculum was not my Bible for the event.  It was merely a map to help guide me in the right direction.  As I was poring over curriculum, making schedules, dividing rotations, etc I allowed myself room to make changes as I saw the need for.
     *Here's a great example:  On the 1st night of our VBS we had 110 kids and I had only prepped for 100 kids for crafts, snacks, etc...  My thoughts- No problem.  Let's grab some of our supplies for Day 2 and use them for Day 1 we can make it up tomorrow.  Did the crafts exactly match up with the lesson for the day? No.  Did the kids notice or care?  No.  They were having a great time regardless.
Being flexible was the key not only in planning VBS but in operating it the week of as well.  

Our snacks area was easily decorated with crepe paper from the ceiling.  

2) I threw a craft prep party-

Crafts can be a simple, easy, and inexpensive rotation to add onto your VBS schedule.  I purchased all of my craft supplies 3 weeks before my VBS was set to begin and hosted a craft prep party.  Two weeks before VBS I invited volunteers to come in during the day and help prep all of the crafts.  Everything that kids needed to complete their crafts was put into a small sandwich bag and was waiting for them every night during VBS.  This made our craft rotation easy and simple.

One of our crafts room decorated with plastic table cloths that only cost $1.00. 

An inexpensive but cute and colorful way to decorate. 

3) I hosted a volunteer training day- 

This was absolutely 100% necessary to have a successful VBS.  This provided an opportunity for myself, as the Director, to cast vision, go over policies, hand out materials, etc.  This also provided a great time for my volunteers to ask questions about their responsibilities.  What was the result?  On the first night of VBS instead of having to answer 75 questions I only had to answer about 10.  Everyone was clear as to what our purpose was and how we were planning on making it happen.

Volunteer training was a great time to make sure that everyone knew our theme, verse, and motto.
I made these posters myself using publisher and my local office supply store to get them printed.  

4) I held all of my VBS inside- 

While I realize that this may not work for everyone due to space and size issues, it worked for us and it was miraculous.  If you've ever been in the south in the middle of July you know that it gets HOT and HUMID.  I'm talking can't breathe, covered in sweat after 5 minutes hot.  This year, I made the decision to host all of my VBS (games included) inside.  Which meant that on the nights that it rained or was simply too hot to go outside we didn't break a sweat.  We stayed cool, comfortable, and stress-free knowing that we could still carry-on as planned.

VBS Set!  I was blessed with an amazing props team! 

5) I had a security system-

Absolutely nothing is more important to me in #KidsMin than making sure that the kids who come into my ministry are safe at all times.  With an average of 108 kids every night we knew that we needed a system in place to make sure that everyone made it home with the right person.  Having a system and a plan for this helped cut down on chaos at registration and dismissal as well as helped us feel confident at the end of the night that we had done everything we could to keep our kids safe.

We put together our lobby with decorations that we found in our attic. 

A great tip for decorating on a budget is to go treasure hunting in your church. 

Look in those dark closets that no one uses anymore and recycle what you can.  

6) I took time to experience the magic-

VBS can be a very stressful event to put on and being in charge can be a lot to handle.  I spent my week running around like a chicken with its head cut off and could have easily been tired, run-down and frustrated by day 3 and still have two more days to go.  How did I avoid this?  I took 15 minutes every night to just look around at what I created with Jesus' help.  Some nights these 15 minutes were spent standing on the stage and just looking around at the glow in kids eyes.  Some nights I spent these 15 minutes with a small hand tucked in mine.  Some nights I spent those 15 minutes dancing for Jesus at Worship Rally.  The point is to give yourself time, as the Director or volunteer, to truly be in the moment.  Take time to experience the excitement and wonder of what you created.

One night I experienced the magic by eating popcorn with one of our younger visitors. 

They loved having Miss Mary eat popcorn with their crew.  

7) I divided kids into crews by their school grade-

This helped tremendously.  We had 8 different crews divided by Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade.  If we saw someone who had slipped away from their crew we were easily able to figure out what crew they were in and where they were supposed to be.  Well-defined ages for our crews also helped with getting everyone registered quickly.  This was a simple and easy way to cut down on the chaos.

8) I had a clean up day after VBS- 

We ended our VBS on a Friday night and at the end of the night all of my volunteers were left completely tired.  We decided that instead of staying until 12:00 PM on Friday to clean up that we would come in on Saturday morning at 10:00 AM to help clean up from VBS.  This enabled us to leave the church completely clean and put back together.  It's important to remember in all ministry that we share spaces with one another so I always abide by the rule to leave a space better than you found it.  Hosting a clean up day also gave an opportunity for people to serve who couldn't serve during the week because of conflicts.  Its a win-win for everyone!

9) I had a plan for promotion-

They key to my kids ministry was promotion, promotion, promotion!  I promoted my VBS in lots of different ways.  I sent postcards to people who attended last year as well as everyone who attends my Wednesday night program.  I placed an ad in the newspaper that ran the two weeks before VBS.  I promoted our VBS almost daily on my ministry's social media and website.  (My volunteers were probably tired of seeing status' about VBS.)  I had flyers for our church family and volunteers to fill out.  I had a banner outside of our church property, and I had posters made for our volunteers to put up at their work and businesses.  I really believe that this is the one reason that our VBS was so big this year.  Our goal was to make sure that everyone in our community knew what was happening.

One of my many social media posts reminding everyone of how long until VBS.  

10) I had a plan for follow up- 

VBS is a great opportunity to reach out into your community.  We had a huge portion of visitors to our VBS.  If I had to guess at a percentage I would say that about 40% of our kids this year were visitors and this was huge.  This is an extra 40 people who we had the opportunity to reach out to Jesus.  We had 50+ kids accept Jesus into their hearts on Wednesday.  On Thursday we had the opportunity to meet with all of them and to talk to them about what it means to have Jesus in your life.  On Sunday, we hosted our VBS celebration in our morning service.  After VBS, I sent postcards to everyone who attended thanking them for coming and giving them the dates of our upcoming events and Wednesday night kick-off.  As a result, we are experiencing record numbers in our Wednesday night ministry.  Having a plan for follow-up is absolutely crucial.  You want everyone who attends your church to know that they are loved, welcome, and cared about at all times, and not just during VBS.

This is what I did to make my VBS successful.  Most importantly, I stayed calm and stayed open to the Lord's leading and guidance my the very beginning to the very end.

Wednesday Rewind-On Thursday

Happy Thursday, ya'll!

Working in full-time ministry Sunday-Thursday actually makes Thursday my Friday and I couldn't be more thrilled.  I'm starting a new series today called Wednesday Rewind- On Thursday.  My most popular blog post to date has been my post on AWANA theme ideas.  Every Thursday (because who has time to do anything on Wednesday) I'll recap my Wednesday night for you right here on the blog.  I'll give you the how-to's for all of my theme nights.  If your lucky you may even see some pictures of me looking crazy!

This week was our official AWANA kick-off and I couldn't have been more thrilled with how everything went.  We got everyone (All 60+ kids including Transit) registered, in club, and back home without a hitch.  Since this was kick-off week there was no theme, but my kids are super excited about Crazy Hair night next week.

I always theme my looks for crazy hair week and this was my look last Spring for Easter.   

Come back next week- same time & same place- to see my Crazy Hair look for this fall. 

I'm gathering my supplies today and getting started early. 

See you tomorrow for High Five 4 Friday.  

AWANA Theme Nights

It's that time of year again!  Time for our Wednesday night programs to kick back off. 

We had a fabulous summer here at the church where I work. 

Our Kids Ministry was rocking despite the break from our normal programs. 

Check back next week for a recap of what we did on Wednesday nights.  

Our Wednesday night Kids Ministry kicks back off next week with AWANA. 

If you haven't heard of AWANA be sure and check out their website for more information.

If you've ever volunteered in AWANA before, you know that most churches employ the use of themes.  Themes are an easy and exciting way to get your kids excited about coming to AWANA. 

Last year was my very 1st year working with AWANA and I fell in love with coming up with my own themes.  My creativity came out and I had a blast.  If you are looking for a last minute theme to fill your calendar check out our list below:

Ice cream social night

Crazy hair night- Style, color, fix up, put down and create your Crazy Hair look for the night!  This theme night is so much fun for both kids and volunteers that we do it once in the fall and once in the spring.  Check out my look for last fall and spring. 

Light the Night: Bring a flashlight!  We host our opening/closing and game time in the dark.  The kids loved it last year!  

(Note: We set out our spotlights for safety to make sure it doesn't get too dark) 

Team Spirit Night: Wear your favorite sports team gear. 

Music Night:  Bring a musical instrument from home and come prepared to make a joyful noise!  Get creative!  

Homemade drums and whistles are a must.  

Let's Go Fishing:  Go fishing for prizes for every section you complete tonight!  Wear your fishing gear and hats.  

(Note: For safety we ask kids not to bring fish hooks, and we use our puppet stage as our fishing pond.) 

 Here is a picture of the fabric that I made to drape over our stage last year.  

Bible Hero Night:  Clubbers should dress as their favorite Bible hero or character. 

Bring a friend night:  We host this 2x a year and always plan it the week before a big event like our Fall or Easter festival!  

This way you can make sure all those visitors get information about your event. 

We "Can-Do It" night:  Clubbers are encouraged to bring 2-4 can goods tonight that we donate to our church's monthly food distribution. 

Parent Night:  We also do this night 2x a year and generally have about 60-70% participation from our parents.  

They participate in all AWANA games and activities with their clubbers. 

Pie Night:  If AWANA clubbers can say more than 100 verses tonight, there will be a special prize at the end of the night. 

Happy Birthday, Jesus!  Christmas Celebration: Wear your favorite Christmas sweater. 

Double Bucks Night- Clubbers earn double the AWANA bucks for sections completed tonight. 

Fever night:  For every verse memorized tonight clubber's will get a colored dot to put on their leader!  

The leader with the most dots at the end of the night will receive a special prize for their club! 

Spread the love night:  Bring a card or note for your AWANA leader tonight.  (Typically the Wednesday before Valentine's day)

Pajama night:  Wear your pajamas!  Don't forget sneakers for game time. 

Drive in movie night

Beach night:  Dress in your beach clothes (No bathing suits, please!) and come prepared to have a wave of a good time.  

Here's a look at the Ocean Lagoon last year.  

Think Green night: Wear something green. 

Paper Airplane night:  Bring in the best paper airplane you can make with your own colors and design. 

 AWANA bucks are awarded for the best design and farthest flying. 

AWANA Rewind night:  Clubbers will vote on their favorite theme night of the year and we will host it one last time.  

During the month of January we host "Make a Snowman" month.  For every section that clubber's complete they will receive 5 feet of toilet paper to turn their leaders into snowmen at our indoor snowball fight the first week of February.  The kids LOVED this last year!  I've never seen so much fun with shredded paper. 

What are your favorite theme nights?  

Leave them in the comments section. 

See a theme night that you want me to elaborate on.  

Leave me a comment and you may see those in posts of their own!

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"A person's a person, no matter how small."

(While I do realize that this is out of the realm of anything that I would normally blog about, this is something that has been on my heart and I felt compelled to write about it.)

Tomorrow, is Dr. Seuss' birthday.

Today, in classrooms all across the world teachers are dressed as Thing 1 and Thing 2.  Kids are celebrating by having green eggs and ham at lunch and reading "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Lorax" during read aloud time.  It's a day that we celebrate this lovable character who made a historic impact on children's literature.  Children across the nation love the sing-song rhymes and unforgettable characters that come out of his children's books.

My personal favorite and the inspiration for this blog post... "Horton Hears a Who!"
"Horton, the lovable elephant, tries to protect tiny creatures on a speck of dust."

In this book Horton (the elephant) is going about his day when a tiny speck of dust floats past him and he hears the smallest noise.  Horton believes that the speck of dust is inhabited by tiny and microscopic people and that it is his duty to protect them at all costs.    Of course, the bad guys, don't believe Horton and they try to destroy the speck.  To make a long story short... The book ends with the entire tiny Who village banding together to shout over and over again, "We are here! We are here!"  All of the other characters realize that Horton was right and the speck of dust (and tiny Who village) are saved.

It is during the fight for the speck that Dr. Seuss penned the words that have touched my soul.
"A person's a person, no matter how small."

Over the last several weeks my heart has been burdened by the number of children who are tossed aside like garbage all over the world.  My heart and soul have wept (literally) over the little one's that no one wants.  The more research that I have done the more overwhelmed that I have become.  I recently woke up crying one morning because of those that I felt unable to save.  All of this has led me to ask two very important questions.

1) Why aren't these children wanted?
2) What can I do?

Why aren't they wanted?  I look at my own little one's every Sunday and Wednesday and feel overwhelmed with the joy that they bring me.  I look at my sweet boys and can't imagine life without my Piglet and his two older brothers.  Why aren't they wanted?  In many instances, so many children are simply seen as an inconvenience or a financial burden.  American's want to live a life of fun and they don't want to be saddled down with an infant requiring them to get up every two hours to feed and change them.  Many perfectly healthy children aren't wanted because they wear that Extra Chromosome like a badge of honor.  They may have Down Syndrome or another disability.  They are considered to be socially unacceptable and they are tossed aside.  There are many more reason's that I haven't listed here.

Are these good reasons?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Denying a child the right to live a full and happy life simply because they are an inconvenience, or because they have Down Syndrome, or Autism, or simply because someone doesn't want to be bothered is a violation of human rights at the very most basic levels.

Over the last several weeks my eyes have been opened to the tragedies that takes place all around the world every day.  I have wept tears of sorrow as parent's describe the situations from which their adoptive children came, and I have wept tears of joy as I have seen the transformations of children who are now in loving homes with loving families.

That brings me to this... What can we do?

Oh, how I have agonized over this question.  Some days I wake up feeling like Superman.  I know that I can change the world.  Other days, I fall tiredly into bed and think I'll have to try again tomorrow.  So, what can I do?

I can make a choice to no longer be ignorant of the tragedies regarding human life that take place all over the world.  I can choose to watch the news.  I can choose to pick up a newspaper.  I can read blogs.  I can educate myself on what children face all over the world.

I can make a promise to never look at a child with disabilities as anything less than perfect.  When I see a child with Down Syndrome or other disabilities I see pure perfection.  I will praise Jesus for these precious children who are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139) just like everyone else.

I can pray every day that these children who are tossed aside like garbage will feel the love that only a Heavenly Father will bring.  I can pray that heart's will be opened to adoption.  I can pray that caretakers will feel led to stay an extra 30 minutes one day to hold a baby who has never been held before.  I can pray that parent's will no longer see this children as an inconvenience but as a blessing.

I can consider adoption.  (Something that I will do one day in the future)  So many of these children simply need someone to look past what's on the outside and love them.  Love and kindness can go an extremely long way.  There are children all over the world (1.5 million in Eastern Europe alone) who are desperate for a family to love them.  If you are unable to adopt, you can give to someone who is.  Adoption is extremely expensive and every donation helps those who are making that step.

I can sponsor a child through Compassion International (http://www.compassion.com/default.htm)  ensuring that they receive proper nutrition, medical care, and education.  I can give to Reece's Rainbow (http://reecesrainbow.org/).  An organization that provides grants to those who are adopting children with special needs.

Never again will I see any child as anything less than perfect.
I will be the one to fight for those who the world is ignoring while they scream out that, "We are here."
My arms will be arms of love for those that no one wants.
My voice will be the one quietly singing in their ears that they are loved.
My voice will be the one advocating for them from the mountaintops.
It will be my knees that are knelt in prayer.

Because after all... "A person's a person, no matter how small."