The Perfect Christmas Gifts!

Dear Friends,

Are you looking for the perfect gifts to give this Christmastime? Well, I found them so I'm gonna share!

1. A gentle answer.
"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." -Proverbs 15:1

2. Patience.
"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." -James 1:19

3. Love.
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

Merry Christmas with joy!

Jackie

Preschool Christmas Songs for FamJam

 

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Children’s Ministry Team Meeting & Training

This Sunday, September 19th @ 12:45 p.m.

Dear Valuable Volunteer!

You are invited to attend the Children’s Ministry Team Meeting & Training this coming Sunday, September 19th @ 12:45 p.m. This will be a great time to fellowship with other team members & staff, eat some yummy Moose’s Tooth Pizza, listen to Pastor Dan share his vision with us, receive ministry specific training in the area you serve, have fun and be appreciated! I hope you will all make every effort to join us! And if you need childcare, please let me know as soon as possible. Thanks!

Joyfully,

Jackie

Welcome & Welcome Back!

Letter to our Preschool Classroom Volunteers, FALL 2010

The Fall Quarter in the Children’s Ministry is here and we are off to a great start thanks to all of you! Some of you are returning and some are just starting and I am so excited to have all of you on the team! Welcome and welcome back!!

So this note is to welcome you, let you know that you are appreciated and loved and to fill you in on some items and events that are coming up. :) Please read it all the way to the end so you won’t miss anything. Thanks!

Back 2 School Skating Party – Sep 12th @ 5:30 to 7:30; Dimond Skateland
Everyone is invited and it’s a great way to connect with FCC kids and families! Cost is $6.00 plus whatever food you buy.

Children’s Ministry Team Meeting & Training – Sep 19th @ 12:45 p.m.
Plan now to attend! This will be a great time to fellowship with other children’s ministry team members & staff, eat some yummy Moose’s Tooth Pizza, listen to Pastor Dan share his vision with us, receive ministry specific training, have fun and be appreciated! I hope you will all make a real effort to join us! And if you need childcare, please let me know as soon as possible. Thanks!

Curriculum/Class Time Tips - Here is a class time schedule that works well if you are new to planning it out and want some help:

*Start with centers & visiting with the children (blocks, puzzles, coloring, playdough, legos, trains, etc.) until about 15 minutes after the hour
*Clean up centers
*Go to worship time (if a worship volunteer is scheduled) or do some worship songs in your room with the kids
*Back in class - Bible Story time & Activity Page
*Snack & Bible Verse
*Activity/Game or Craft (there are a number of choices in the curriculum; choose from those or one you come up with)
*Wind down with centers & visiting again if time allows
*Parents pick up kids

Note: You can use this or come up with your own class time schedule.

OUR GOAL is to teach God’s truth in a very inviting and loving atmosphere. Young children who feel loved and safe, are having fun and who learn that God loves them will be drawn to Him through us. Glory to God!

Supply Room –
The room across the hall from the Moose classroom is our supply room. You will find craft supplies, construction paper, & more toys for centers in this room. Please remember to return whatever you use from this room, unless it is a consumable. Take a moment this month to go check out what is there and make a note of the supplies and items we already have on hand.

Important -

*Arrival time - Please be in your classroom and ready to interact with your children 15 minutes prior to class time. All prep should be done by then, if possible. This will allow the children to feel welcome as they arrive and it will also allow the parents to get to the church service on time, insuring them a place to sit!
*Security - Please check in at the front desk for your name tag and grab your lanyard from the hospitality room before you serve. Since we have so many people coming and going it is very important to wear these identifiers. If you need a lanyard, please let me know.
*Parent pick-up - Please make sure you match up the parent sticker with the child’s nametag before letting a child leave the classroom at the end of class. There are custody issues and parents that are not allowed to be with their children so it is very important that we do this for all families. If a parent cannot find a sticker, please use the walkie-talkie and contact me or the preschool staff member for that service so we can come and check the child out.
*Resource needs - When you choose to do an activity or craft that requires resources, please let me know by Tuesday before the weekend you need it. This way we will have enough time to buy it or round it up for you from our supplies. We will have it on the counter for you to use before class.
*Vacations – Please let me know of any dates you will need a sub at your earliest convenience. You can email me or write it on the volunteer log kept in your classroom.
*Clean up – please straighten the room, clean the counter & table and push the chairs in after class. If you serve at the 11:00 a.m. service, please stack chairs and book center books. Do not do these last 2 items if you serve at 6PM or 9AM.

Whew! There’s probably more, but I think we will stop there for now. Hopefully I didn’t put you to sleep. Please be sure to let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks again for serving! I am overjoyed to have you on the team!

Blessings with love,

Jackie

Helping Children Love God

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Summer is here!

Summer is underway and we are having fun at Faith!

First, a HUGE THANK YOU to all our wonderful school year volunteers for your loving, dedicated service to our children this past school session! This important, eternal ministry happens because of you!!

Now thanks to Gimme 5! volunteers, our classes at 6PM, 9AM & 11AM have been staffed for the first two weeks of June. YAY GOD! And thank you so much to all Gimme 5! volunteers for stepping up to the plate and joining the team!

Lastly, please join with me in praying that I will be faithful in giving people opportunities to serve in the preschool (there are many openings), and that I will trust God to supply for those needs. Recently he highlighted this verse for me:

"We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." -1 Thess. 1:3

As I read this verse I felt like God was showing me that I need to "work by faith, labor in love, endure by my hope in Jesus" and let Him do the rest. What peace that brings! God simply wants me to do my part, not His. Only He can do that. So I am reminded once again that I need to trust Him AND that he is worthy of all my trust…in every area of my life.

Blessings with much love,

Jackie

Hi Faithful Friends,

I am loving how this week is starting out! I hope you have been blessed by our great weather too.

Here are a couple of items of interest for you:

•Some of you Sunday teachers decided to do the lesson we skipped on Easter the week after Easter. If so, then you are on lesson 9 now. If not, you are on lesson 10. No problem either way.

•Mother’s Day is this Sunday. The curriculum does not include a Mother’s Day craft, so if you want to do one with your kids you certainly may. You can come up with your own craft and supplies* or you can use this easy idea - coffee filter flowers. Go to this link to find out how to make them: http://www.mppl.org/kids/crafts/crafts-april.html. Scroll down and click on the craft link for the coffee filter flowers to read all about it. Let me know by Thursday if you want to do this craft and I will make sure we have enough supplies.

•Fun in the sun! When you take your class out to the playground make sure to follow these simples rules:

Leave a note on your door telling parents where the class is
Take a head count before going out
Take a whistle (to be provided) and train your children to come to you immediately when you blow it – make it fun and practice in class
Return to the classroom before church lets out (unless you have a small class of 6 - 8 children or less). This is for safety reasons. Its hard to stay close to and monitor the children while also being at the gate and checking children out to go home with their parents.
Only go out for a portion of the class time so that you can have time in class to tell the Bible story, etc.

•We are still recruiting for VBS teachers and helpers. It’s going to be SOOO fun! I am going to be there serving in a classroom. Woohoo! Let me know if you would like to join the team too. The dates are June 5 – 10.

•Summer is coming! If possible, we really need you to continue teaching until the end of May. Please let me know if there is a serious problem with that. I will take a survey this weekend on what your summer plans are as well as your plans for serving next Fall. Thanks!!

I think that’s all for now. God bless you all for serving our children and leading them to Jesus! Your valuable participation is vital, your investment is eternal, and the fruit of your labor is nothing short of God’s purpose being fulfilled on this earth through you. Glory to God!

With much love,

Jackie

THANK YOU Easter Volunteers!

To the 80 adult and youth volunteers that served at one or more of our four Easter WOW! Kids services: THANK YOU SO MUCH for loving and serving our little ones!! Because of you 208 children felt God's nurturing love and heard the message of His resurrection power! We will never fully know the impact of what we say and do, but I do know that God is glorified and children choose to follow Him because of you. It doesn't get any better than that! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

With love & joy because of you,

Jackie

Easter Info...(Updated)*

Hi Faithful Friends,

Easter is an exciting time in our church body! There are many new faces that we get to love on and tell the good news to! This is especially true in Children’s Ministry! This year we are having four (4) Easter services again on April 3rd & 4th as follows: 6PM, 9AM, 11AM & 1PM.

I would like to invite you to be a part of blessing our Faith families and visitors this Easter!

• If you are already scheduled to serve that weekend, please encourage a family member to help you. Also, would you prayerfully consider volunteering for one extra service time?
• If you are not scheduled to serve, would you prayerfully consider volunteering on Saturday and/or Sunday?
• If so, fantastic! Let me know what area (nursery, preschool, or either) and what service time(s) you want to serve at. Then I’ll get back in touch with you and confirm the details.
• Regular Preschool Teachers - *Update: Please refer to the Easter curriculum I emailed you on March 23rd. Be sure to let me know if you need another copy. If you want to show an Easter movie, please make sure it is only part of class time so you can still do some fun and hands-on things with your students.

With love & resurrection power,

Jackie

VBS is coming!

Hi Faithful Friends,

We are going to have a Vacation Bible School (VBS) this summer at Faith! You may have heard about the VBS planning meeting that is coming up. This note is to let you know that it was originally on Sunday, but has been changed to next Wednesday night, February 10th, in room 204 at 7PM. Light refreshments will be served. So, if you are interested in the exciting opportunity to reach kids for Christ through VBS, please attend this meeting! Also, please pass the word on to your friends.

Joyfully,

Jackie Evans

FamJam Fun!

Attention awesome Children's Ministry Volunteers!

You are invited to join us for the February FamJam - Friday, Feb. 5th @ 6:15 p.m. Come for dinner, fun, music and games for families of preschoolers and elementary age kids. It's a great way to connect on a different level with the kids in your preschool class at church!