#KidsMin from A to Z: Curriculum & Communication

Happy Wednesday, Friends! 

I am so excited about this Wednesday!  For one thing I have missed my little ones terribly.  I've seen them on Sundays but our program takes a 3 week break for Christmas on Wednesdays and I haven't seen several of my kids since the last time we had AWANA and Transit back in 2013.  I'm also super excited because we are entering my favorite month in all of AWANA!  It's time for Arctic Snowball Month! 

Arctic Snowball time is simply put incredible.  In my neck of the woods we LOVE snow!  We so rarely see it that when there is even a hint of that fluffy and white winter goodness we kind of go crazy.  We go to bed with dreams of snowmen and snowball fights and wake up rushing to the window praying that when we pull back the curtains we'll see snowflakes.  Unfortunately, more often than not all we see when we pull back those curtains is dirt and dead grass.  I have come up with a way to motivate my kids to learn there verses and to bring them snow all at the same time.  Throughout the month they earn points to accumulate snow for Miss Mary's Snow Mountain the first week of February and it is a huge success!  I'll be doing a detailed post on this in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime if you'd like more information feel free to ask in the comments!  

I'm also excited because I think we are coming out of this dreadfully cold polar vortex.  Yesterday we had a high of 28 and today we are moving all the way up to 44.  That's much better for this southern girl.  Like I said yesterday, if we aren't having snow then I don't want it to be so dreadfully cold. 

Today, I'm covering the letter C in my newest series on #KidsMin from A to Z. 

A is for Attendance and Awana

B is for Butcher Paper and Bibles 

Curriculum and communication are such big and important topics that I couldn't think about leaving either one of them out.  In fact, they are so big that I'm breaking the letter C up into 2 days.  Today I'll cover curriculum and I'll come back and finish up with communication tomorrow.  

Curriculum:  Let me just say that I am so thankful for my fellow Children's Pastor friends because they are a lifeline when it comes to curriculum.  I can't count the number of times that we have all e-mailed each other asking for recommendations on what has worked for us and what hasn't.  I said this when I covered AWANA but I think it is so important that I am going to say it again.   What works for one ministry doesn't work for everyone.  We use a variety of curriculum from a variety of companies for our different ministries and I truly believe that I have found the best fits for my ministry.  However, that doesn't mean it is the best fit for you. 

Here's what we use and what I like about it:

Connections (or Sunday School): Group's Hands on Bible Curriculum for preschoolers-5th graders.  I absolutely love this curriculum for my connections hour.  It's simple and easy for my teachers because everything they need comes in their box (minus the basics such as crayons and markers).  The lesson plans are easy to read, understand, and teach from and it provides a variety of activities to keep the kids engaged from start to finish.  

Children's Church: The Gospel Project by Lifeway for our K-3rd graders.  This curriculum is simply amazing and I love what it has done for our Children's Church hour.  It's a wonderful media based curriculum that provides opportunities for both large group and small group times which is working wonderfully for our rapidly growing kids church.  It also provides short videos (you don't watch a screen the whole time) that correlate directly to the lesson and keep our kids engaged and interested.  

Wednesday Nights: AWANA- I think I summed this up pretty well on the letter A so visit here to see what we like about this fantastic program!  

Transit (Grades 5&6)- For Transit we also use another program by Lifeway called Flyte that is designed specifically for pre-teens and I love this curriculum!  I think that I can speak for my volunteers and say that they are enjoying it as well and enjoy teaching it.  Like the Gospel Project it is a media based program that keeps the kids engaged.  It also provides great ideas for games, activities, and small group time.  I have seen such a great amount of growth in the heart of our pre-teens since we started using this program and they are really connecting with it and learning from it. 

For our toddlers and preschoolers we use short 4 week series done by various people such as Veggie Tales to give the kids something that is simple and on their level.  Many times my volunteers for these classes will come in with their own lessons that they have designed at home based on simple Bible lessons and I always have a big supply of books, coloring sheets, and Veggie Tales stacked in my office for them to choose from.  Our babies listen to Praise Baby worship songs throughout our service and we consider that their teaching time and lesson. 

That's what we use and why we like it.  It's so important to provide your volunteers with solid curriculum that is easy for them to use.  Make sure that you are asking your volunteers what they like or don't like and that you are listening to their suggestions.  I get catalogs from companies monthly that I look through and I am always open to changing a curriculum or using something else if what we have isn't working.  The thing I remember about curriculum is that it's always about flexibility. 

Do you have a curriculum that you would recommend?  

Sound off in the comments below!   

#KidsMin from A to Z: Butcher Paper & Bible's

First off, is anyone else out there in Blog land absolutely freezing?  I love a good winter day as much as the next person but this southern girl is no where near ready for 5 degree temperatures with a -8 including the wind chill.  I mean that is bone chilling cold!  And... I'm just saying that if it's going to be this cold that it could at least snow as a courtesy.  If this polar vortex or whatever it's called isn't going to provide me with white and fluffy snow it can just move on out of my corner of the world.  (And all my southern friends said... Amen!)

Today is Day 2 of my #KidsMin from A to Z series.
I got some great feedback on yesterday's blog and am excited about continuing. 

A is for Attendance & AWANA

Butcher Paper: To see a post I wrote last year on Butcher Paper feel free to visit here.  

There are so many things that you can do with butcher paper that I recommend that everyone have a couple of rolls lying around.  It's great for covering toddler tables before coloring.  Unless of course you love having to spend your Thursday mornings scrubbing crayon marks off of your white table.  It's great for throwing on the floor and having your kids make a mural with that extra five minutes that you weren't prepared for.  My preschoolers love to be traced!  It's by far one of their favorite activities.  And butcher paper is great for tracing.  You can buy your butcher paper at office or school supply stores and it will last you forever!  I promise you.  I haven't bought any in over a year and I still have a lot left.

Bibles: I am the biggest advocate and believer that you will ever find in having your kids bring their Bible's to church!  The Bible is the lifeline for Christians.  You won't ever need a phone a friend or poll the audience when you have that with you.  It is the guiding force for our whole life and I want my kids to be familiar with what is in it.  I want them to know where the book of Habakkuk and Zephaniah is in the Bible.  I want them to know the difference between the Old and the New Testament.  Bibles are important!  If any of my kids don't have a Bible I will provide one for them.  I buy cases of 20 and hand them out as needed.  All of my kids deserve to have a Bible.  I encourage them to mark in it, to highlight there favorite verses, and to carry them in their backpacks.  When I'm teaching Sunday School I wait for every child to find our verse before I read it so that they can get familiar with what we are doing.  Do not make the mistake of thinking that kids don't need to bring their Bible's or be familiar with them.  They do!  I encourage my kids to read their Bible's at home and to study them and to ask me questions. 

For a post on some of my favorite Bible's for kids visit here.  

What are some creative ways that you use butcher paper in your ministries? 

And how do you encourage your kids to bring their Bibles?

Come back tomorrow for letter C... Communication & Curriculum! 

Let's talk about it! 

#KidsMin From A to Z: Attendance & AWANA

I am so excited about 2014! Why you ask?  Well, for one thing I'm getting married!  (It never gets old to say that by the way.  It also never gets old to look at my ring.  It's gorgeous.  And I love it!)  I'm also super excited because I'm very stoked about all of my ideas for my blog for this year!  I'm kicking off the year with a series on kids ministry from A to Z.  I'll be talking about everything from the nursery to security to volunteers.  

I'm kicking off this series today with the letter A... 

Some of the letters of the alphabet were really hard to narrow down so I picked two words for a few letters!  

Attendance: Getting kids to our ministries can be one of the most rewarding or one of the most frustrating part of the ministry.  There are so many important things to remember about getting kids to your ministries is that they can't drive!  Unless you have a bus ministry kids are brought to church by their parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles.  Unfortunately this means that your attendance can fluctuate up and down at a bizarre rate.  For example, I can have 70 kids one Wednesday night and 45 the next week.  Here's what's important to remember: Yes, numbers are important.  I look at it this way every child that comes through my door is a child that I get to tell about Jesus.  However, it's also important to remember that numbers aren't everything.  How do we keep that at our forefront:  We remember that every child is uniquely special.  I truly believe that if I only had one child show up for a service that I should still do everything that I can to make that morning incredible for that child.  Because they are important and they are loved. 

AWANA: This is such a huge topic that I could spend 10 posts talking about it and still not get everything covered.  I will say this, AWANA is certainly not for every church or every child.  However, it is a fabulous program that has been wildly successful at my church and for my kids.  AWANA is focused on memorizing scripture and having fun!  I am reminded all the time how important it is for kids to have God's word hidden in their heart.  There will be times in their life when they are in trouble, and my greatest prayer is that during that time they will remember something that they learned in our ministry that will get them through whatever they are going through.  If you are looking for a program for your Wednesday night ministry then I would seriously check out this program.  It's split up into three times: hand books, council or story time, and game time (every kids favorite!).  Here's what I would encourage you with on AWANA: Don't be afraid to mix it up if you need to.  No ministry is the same so every program won't work the same for every ministry.  I recently made a few logistical changes to our program this year and it has worked out splendidly for our church.  We use our AWANA program for our babies through 4th graders.  We recently moved our 5th-6th graders over to Transit (our pre-teen ministry) and everyone over 7th grade participates in our youth ministry.  Here is what I will tell you:  Our kids LOVE AWANA!  

(Visit here to see a complete list of all of our AWANA themes!) 

I'll also be using this series to answer any of your questions about any of the topics that I'm covering.  If you have a question leave it in the comments or e-mail me at kidsmincalling@gmail.com.  

Tomorrow I'll be talking all about Butcher Paper and Bible's.  

See you then! 

Here's Where I've Been

I can not believe that today is the last day of 2014. 

This has been a whirl wind of a year! 

Before I get to some Really Big news (You want to keep reading for this!) I want to share with you our top 6 posts from 2013!

AWANA Theme Nights

Let's Go Fish

High Five for Friday

Ministry is a Privilege

Reduce -> Reuse -> Recycle

A Letter to my Future Children

Thank you, my readers, for helping to make 2013 a great year in the world of blogs!

I love all of my readers. 

Hang around for 2013.  

Starting tomorrow I'll be kicking off a series in January called #KidsMin from A to Z! 

I'll be starting tomorrow by talking about two huge topics... AWANA and Attendance! 

Check back daily to see what each new letter will be (I've even come up with a word for the dreaded Z!)  

In other big news... Here's where I've been for December!

GETTING ENGAGED! 

My sweet boyfriend  fiance' got down on one knee on December 27th and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.  I said, "Yes! Of course I will!"  And I've been floating up in the clouds ever since!  To say that I've found the love of my life is an understatement.  Jesus couldn't have paired any two people up more perfectly!  I'm so excited about wedding and life planning right now!  

I'm even more excited about what 2014 will hold!  

Jesus has been so good to me!  

I am blessed and favored beyond measure by His grace, mercy and faithfulness! 

Have a happy and safe New Year's Eve!  

Happy Birthday, Jesus! Kids Christmas Party Recap!

Last night was our last night of AWANA for our 2013 year!  And all my #KidsMin said a big AMEN!  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my AWANA program and all of my sweet kiddos.  It is actually one of the highlights of my week.  However, I am ready for a three week winter break and plan to take full advantage of these free Wednesday nights (I'll be home catching up on laundry)!  

Last night we ended our last AWANA with a bang and I threw my kids a Happy Birthday, Jesus party!  I will say this, I have nothing against Santa, but when I'm at church I want our entire focus to be on celebrating the birth of Jesus who is our Savior.  That's what we did last night.  Our kids came in and I opened us with prayer and then sent my kids to their classrooms for a 20 minute lesson and fun time with their specific teachers.  At 7:00 PM our kids came back into the sanctuary and our party began.  

I read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and then it was time for pizza and Happy Birthday, Jesus cake!  Can you say excited?  I didn't serve pizza last year so the kids were thrilled to discover an extra treat this year!  Afterwards, I read them the story of "The Crippled Lamb" by Max Lucado and on a total whim invited 4 kids up to pray out loud with me as we thanked Jesus for coming to earth to be our Savior.  

I'm telling you, it is out of the mouths of children that I see the glory of God in ways I have never seen before.  By the end of their prayers, I had tears in my eyes and had a hard time finishing my own.  The love of God was so real and so tangible to all of his children that I was overwhelmed with God's goodness.

After our prayers we played one round of "Merry Christmas" bingo so everyone could win a piece of candy and sang a few Christmas carols together.  Despite having the longest and most lingering cold I was able to lead the kids in: We Wish you a Merry Christmas, Silent Night, and Joy to the World.  I will also say, there was nothing quite like hearing 50 little voices sing Silent Night.  Again... tears to my eyes.  

I'm officially ready now for our 3 week break!  

I'll still be blogging throughout our break but you can also follow me on these other networks to keep up:

Twitter: @KidsMinCalling

Facebook

Pinterest

Instagram: @KidsMinCalling

Miss Mary's Favorite Bible's 4 Kids {Gift Giving Guide}

Can you believe that Christmas is only 15 days away?

This year, I've been asked a lot about my recommendations for kids Bible's for your little one's.  There is no greater investment that you will ever make into your child's life than one that is made into their spirit.  A Bible is the perfect gift for your little one's this year at Christmas. 

As a #KidsMin there is nothing that warms my heart more than to see kids walk into Kids Church or AWANA with their Bible's in hand.  
It's so important to teach our kids the value in God's word and about how God's word is the guide book for our entire life as a Christian. 

If you've been thinking about whether your kids are ready for a Bible... Yes!  
I believe everyone needs a Bible whether you are a baby or 90 years old.  

Here are a few of my favorites to get you started!

Bible's for Little Ones

The Jesus Story Book Bible

While this is not a full-text Bible it is perfect for those little one's reading with mom and dad or learning to read on their own.  

It's filled with pictures to keep even your smallest one's engaged with learning God's word. 

The VeggieTales Bible

This Bible is seriously adorable. 

I'd recommend this Bible for any of your kids who absolutely love Veggie Tales. 

The great thing is that throughout the Bible they will see scenes from their favorite Veggie movies. 

Bible's for Elementary Kids

The NIV Adventure Bible

It's the number one Bible for kids right now. 

This is a full-text Bible that I would recommend for 5-12 year olds.

Kids Quest Study Bible

This is the Bible that my Kids Church uses on Sunday mornings. 

It has an easy to read font that makes following along for reading simple. 

It also has great study notes throughout the Bible and at the beginning of each book.

Bible's for Pre-Teens

The Faithgirlz Bible

This Bible is designed specifically for the young girls in your life. 

This Bible is recommended for pre-teens (5th-6th graders).  

It's stylish but packed with truth. 

NIV Boys Bible

This Bible is just perfect for the young boys in your life.

Recommended for pre-teens it's designed specifically to help young boys grow into young men.  

Do you have a favorite Bible that you use with your kids?

What is it?

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas {Volunteer Appreciation}

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

That was the theme for last night's volunteer Christmas party and have a holly jolly Christmas we did.  And sadly, I took absolutely no pictures!  (I know... I'm a terrible blogger.)

Today, I'm talking about why volunteer appreciation is so important and the little things that we can do to make them feel loved.  Last night as I was welcoming my volunteers, this is what I said... "I want you, my volunteers, to know that I am thankful for you.  I can plan.  I can direct.  I can organize.  I can promote events.  I can do many things.  What I cannot do is take care of 75+ children by myself.  I have to have the help of volunteers."  There has never been a truer statement.  As #KidsMin we often feel like we do it all and like we can do it all, but we can't.  We have to have the help of our volunteers.

It's so important to make sure that our volunteers know that they are loved and appreciated.  This year I threw a Holly Jolly Christmas party just for my volunteers.  I served finger foods and dessert.  I decorated our dining hall with bright table cloths and Christmas prints.  We spent our time talking to one another and playing a few fun games.  It was all very low key and meant to be a fun and joyous time for everyone.  And I truly believe that it was.  

However, it's important that our volunteers feel loved and appreciated all year round.  

Here are some simple ways to show our thanks.

1) Say Thank You!  It's such a little thing but often overlooked.  I try to make it a point to stop by our nurseries every Sunday morning and tell our volunteers thank you for serving that Sunday.  

2) Send Cards!  At the end of every VBS I write out a short note to all of my volunteers and send it to them via snail mail.  I include in the card things that we accomplished through VBS because of their service.  

3) Post status' updates about them!  Any of my facebook friends could tell you that I love to brag on my volunteers.  There is no better way to do that than social media.  Here's a status that I posted last night telling everyone how much I loved my volunteers!

4) Bring them treats.  There are such cute ideas on Pinterest that are simple to do.  Visit my volunteer appreciation board here and be sure to follow to see new things I pin.  Bags of hot cocoa during the winter, or candy corn during the fall, are easy ways to let your volunteers know that they are appreciated. 

5) Have your kids write them thank you cards.  Nothing says thank you more than a 3rd graders hand writing to their favorite volunteer telling them why they love them.  Every once in a while I'll have a classroom spend 10 minutes making cards for a certain batch of volunteers and my volunteers always appreciate them. 

There are so many other ways that we can share our thanks and appreciation! 

Here are 2 cute ways that I saw on Pinterest to tell your volunteers thank you!
And they are super simple too.  

Thanks a Latte!

Source

We wash you a Merry Christmas!

Source

How do you tell your volunteers thank you?

Come back by on Thursday to see the pictures from my kids Happy Birthday Jesus party!