Experiencing
---Belonging---Searching---Ownin Through a variety of
developmentally appropriate and kid-centered approaches we share the stories of
our faith; help our children to connect the lessons of the bible to their
everyday lives, and nurture the expression of their faith in word and deed. We offer classes for four age-groups: Each of our four age groups has its own set of
goals that support the stage of faith development for that group. First
Steps for children from birth to pre-Kindergarten [To come: Statement about childrens' participation in communion.] Keeping Our Children Safe Children
and Outreach [To
come: a description of the goals of the confirmation process at CCW. ] Workshop Rotation Details
for Each Age Group First
Steps (children aged birth to pre-Kindergarten) A Lead Teacher assisted by
parents leads the children in their First Steps with lessons involving stories,
music, age-appropriate crafts and plenty of free play. These activities are
adapted each week to accommodate the children in attendance. The
classroom is used during the week by Countryside Playschool which serves
children who are 2 years old, so it is chock full of toys the First Steps
children can play with safely. Our goals for this group are: Our
goals for this group are: Explorers
(children in Grades 6-8) Our goals for this group are: Every Sunday:
The Faith Discovery for Children program reflects our calling to create a safe and nurturing environment where children are
able to grow in their understanding of God’s love for them and for the world
around them. As a Christian community of faith, we are called to honor our
children, to meet them where they are in their faith formation, and to walk
with them on their faith journeys.
Pathfinders for children in Kindergarten through
grade 2
Lighthouse Keepers for children in grades 3
– 5
Explorers for children in grades 6 – 8
A Typical Sunday
Most Sundays start with the families together in the sanctuary for the
first 15 minutes of worship. After the Opening Hymn, Call to Worship and Unison
Prayer, the children come forward for a Time with Children during which the
lesson theme is often introduced by means of a story, a conversation or a song.
After Time with Children, they leave the sanctuary with their teachers and go
to class. Several times a year, the children go straight to class and are
brought back into the sanctuary for Communion.
Children in Worship
We encourage the participation of children in worship and staying in worship is
always an option. Children participate in worship by signing up to be Bearers
of the Light at the start of worship; sometimes children are greeters; older
children might read scripture. Twice a year, the children are the worship
leaders, Pageant Sunday and Children’s Sunday.
Children in Communion
[To Come:A paragraph describing our
efforts in a general way and this could include a link to a page for the
document.]
As a fully intergenerational community, we often find ways to involve the
children in outreach activities, whether it’s serving once a month at Bristol
Lodge, or helping to plant flowers at a nearby nursing home, or helping to
maintain our own church property. We have a liaison person on the Outreach
Committee whose task it is to keep an ear out for ways to involve the children
and for projects that would be especially meaningful for them.
Examples of projects we’ve done in the past are:
Making snack-packs for children of mom’s living in temporary housing due to
domestic violence.
Decorating and filling school bags for children in
Afghanistan.
Donating to Heifer International
Christmas caroling for shut-ins
Making Care Packages for one in our midst for each of his 3 tours of duty in
Iraq
Confirmation
Confirmation is offered to children in grade 9 and at the discretion of the
Pastor and Teacher it might also be open to children in grade 8. It is a
mentor-based process involving monthly meetings over a period of a year.
From grade 9 on, children are encouraged to attend worship and Youth Forums
when they’re held. They are also encouraged to assist in the classrooms, and/or
sing in the choir. They are also members of Youth
Group
For three weeks during the year, classes are taught using a Workshop Rotation
model in which a theme is presented in three different ways each Sunday for
three weeks and the groups rotate through the rooms, spending one morning in
each room. The chosen theme is one that often underscores a theme they’ve been
introduced to during the year and the workshop activities often form the basis
for Children’s Sunday. Past themes have been: Psalm 23, Abraham and Sarah, The
Beatitudes, Caring For and Protecting God’s Creation.
This group is all
about experiencing the faith of those around them. Our goals are:
*To welcome infants and toddlers to a safe and
cheerful environment.
*To greet our families with familiar, nurturing caregivers.
*To tell the stories of our faith that give each child an experience of what it
means to be loved by God.
*To nurture relationships with one another.
Pathfinders (children in Kindergarten through Grade
2)
This age group has now a sense of belonging. They’re familiar with the
church and enjoy knowing where to go. They are now on a path toward an
ever-deepening sense of faith.
*To experience the stories of our faith.
*To develop an awareness of God in their lives, and in their relationships with
one another, but exploring the ways stories of the Bible apply in our times.
* To provide fun, active, age-appropriate avenues for responding to the lessons
of the Bible.
*To nurture the expression of their faith in word and deed.
*To engage more fully in the life of the church.
To achieve these goals we use the Godly Play, Montessori-based
curriculum. The stories are told in an engaging way and the children are
invited to enter the story by sitting with the “wondering” questions, questions
that help the children feel part of the story. There is never a “correct”
answer to these questions! It’s all about helping the children find their way
into the story.
Lighthouse Keepers (children in Grades 3-5)
By this age, the children are ready with lots of questions! Their
full-fledged search has begun. Questions about God’s faithfulness to us and our
faithfulness to God. The lighthouse is a wonderful image for this. Is God like
a lighthouse to us or can each of us be a lighthouse, a beacon of God’s Light
for the world? The Lighthouse Keepers use the Seasons of the Spirit curriculum.
*To explore the stories and theses of the Bible in a
contemporary context.
* To provide appealing, active, age-appropriate avenues for responding to the
lessons of the Bible.
* To nurture a growing awareness of God in their lives and in their
relationships with each other.
* To more fully express their faith in word and deed.
* To contribute to the life of the church.
Able to think with
more depth and having heard some of the stories a few times now, this group is
getting ready to consider their own personal relationship to God and faith and
how what they know and feel will influence decisions they make. They also use
the Seasons of the Spirit curriculum
* To provide an emotionally safe environment for
exploring their evolving faith.
* To explore the role of Christianity and other faiths in the world.
* To provide mission and service opportunities.
* To deepen and strengthen their sense of God’s presence in their lives, and in
the relationships with one another.
* To provide resources that empower them to make
faith-based decisions in their lives.
* To contribute to the life of the church.
BRING YOUR FRIENDS!!!