We are so excited to add the 11:00am service hour to the list of environments we offer for children at Hillside while still continuing to provide our high quality of ministry at the 9:30am. Here are a few questions you are going to want to know the answer to before Sunday, September 9th arrives...
1) Which service hour will you attend? You will need to choose which service will be the primary service you will attend and let us know on the Fall 2012 Registration Form. Our new times begin on Sunday, September 9th. New forms are available starting this Sunday, August 26th for anyone who wants to fill out a form early.
2) What will happen to my child's small group at 9:30? Because we value small groups at all ages, HillsideKids is set up with age-level small groups at 9:30am. We will seek to maintain those small groups. All of our leaders from last year love your kids and are returning this year, many for their 4th year as your child's leader. Avenue252 will continue to be available at 9:30am only in the conference room. At 11:00am we will need to grow into small groups, so until our numbers allow grade-level groups, we will function as youngers (K-2) and olders (3-5) in the UpStreet Room.
3) How is the 11:00am environment for children different than the 9:30am environment? In Waumba Land we will be grouping the children in two groups: Birth through 2 year olds in the Nursery (Room 1) and Room 2, for children 3 years old through Transitional Kindergarteners (TK), Room 4. This set-up will be identical for both services. For Elementary aged children, there will be no obvious changes to their environment at 9:30am. Grades K-2 will meet in the UpStreet environment. Grades 3-5 will meet in the Avenue252 environment (Conference Room). At 11:00am, both K-2 and 3-5 will combine for a shared environment in the UpStreet Room until our numbers and leaders grow to split them apart. Snacks will be served in all environments during the 11:00am service so if you have a child with special dietary restrictions, we ask that you provide a snack for them (clearly labeled with their first and last names) so that they can participate in the snack time which is part of our community time.
4) New forms? Yes, we are asking each family to fill out one form per child. This insures us the most current contact information and it helps us know which service you are committing to be your primary service of attendance. Every line of the form is important for us to deliver the best care and minister to your child more effectively.
5) Will you be continuing with "closed" environments this year? Yes. We will have 15 minutes before the service starts and 15 minutes after the service starts for a total of a 30 minute window in which you may drop off your child. So for the 9:30 service you will be able to drop off as early as 9:15 until as late as 9:45 each Sunday. If you are serving on a ministry team on Sunday, please see me to make special arrangements for your child to be cared for as an early arriver. For the 11:00am service hour it will be from 10:45 until as late as 11:15am each Sunday. After 9:45 or 11:15am, you will need to take your children with you to service or you may enjoy the service from the lobby. Please note that every service may not be appropriate for children so we encourage you to arrive on time. The purpose of this policy is to give our leaders as much solid teaching time without interruption as possible. It is also best for the children because they really do not like to come late, miss the story and not be able to participate fully in all the fun activities and discussions that happen in the course of our morning experience. If you should arrive late and be asked to worship with your children, please know that this is as hard for us to do as it is for you to hear. We simply must honor those who follow the policy, our volunteers and the other children who arrived on time. We honestly want you to come back next week, just a bit earlier.
6) Will I be asked to serve? The simple and fast answer is yes but let me explain. Our teams are made up of people who are making a year long commitment to lead your children in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, to mentor and guide these young spirits toward a life filled with Bible knowledge and Bible application - to disciple them. Because of the level of commitment these leaders are making we ask parents from each age-level small group to be the substitute for their child's small group leader. Our leaders find their own subs because they are very picky about who is leading your child/their small group kids. We have found that small group leaders make relationships with the parents of their kids and thus their parents make the best subs. Being a sub, doesn't mean you have to be up-to-speed on everything. What it does mean is that you will arrive a little earlier, 9:00am, on the day that you sub. You can go over the plan for the morning with the rest of the leaders. Small group leaders will provide you with a copy of the lesson and activities for the day and will prep whatever you need ahead of time for you. If you can sit in a circle, and talk to kids for 20 minutes, you will be a great small group sub. You will go through the morning with your kids, watching the video (bible story) and then leading your kids through 1-2 activities, greeting parents at pick up time, giving them any handouts. We expect each parent to be ready and willing to sub once during the school year and at least once during the summer for each child's small group or age-level group. It's a small return for the 50 weeks of ministry value your family receives each year.
7) Last year you had a choir for kids - will there be anything like that for our kids this year? I am excited to say yes. It will look different but function the same. This year our two choir directors (Alicia Howard & Jenny Ferrari - they also sometimes lead worship on Sundays) will be alternating Sundays in our environments to offer music as a part of the first 15 minutes each Sunday morning. Starting at the same time of each service, they will be leading the kids singing the virtue song for that month plus starting on September 9th we will begin learning two Christmas songs that we will present during the Advent season. We hope this configuration will assist families who just couldn't free up a weekend night for rehearsals. Another reason to be on-time Sunday mornings!
8) Is there a Mission project associated with Children's Ministry? Yes, we are supporting Gilead House (www.gileadhouse.org) by providing a Welcome Basket to new families as they arrive at Gilead House. These baskets (laundry hamper) are filled with items that someone needs to set up their living quarters at Gilead House. Things like shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, a set of new towels for each member of the household, a couple of DVDs (Veggie-tales, etc.) or books for them to have in their room. Anything you might want if you were moving into a new place in the way of personal items. So there is a display in the registration lobby where you can drop off your items or leave a financial contribution to the creation of this basket. A list of suggested items is also available if you would like to work off a list or if you and your family would like to provide one basket (cost is around $150). We are notified a week in advance to the arrival of a new family so it is critical that we have a basket ready to go or someone who is ready to donate a basket on short notice. Thank you in advance for supporting this unique ministry to single women and their children.
9) How does Transitional Kindergarten (TK) fit in with HillsideKids? If you have a child with a fall birthday who is 4 years old, then you may have a child who is eligible for a TK program in your local school. For our purposes of age-level grouping, UpStreet is for children who are in Kindergarten. TK will continue, due to age-level, to be a part of our older Waumba Land grouping. Small groups are set up by "class" once they enter UpStreet. Your child's small group is formed during their Kindergarten year and will continue through their Senior High School year. We are creating communities of children who will be doing life together so it is important that we set these groups up for long term success. Our PreK/TK group in Waumba Land will do the best job of meeting a young child's social and emotional needs.
10) Why does HillsideKids want to partner with parents? Isn't it a "kids" ministry? Partnering with parents continues to be the highest priority moving forward for me and for my team. We know raising kids, especially given all the hectic schedules, is a difficult task. In the busyness of the week, it is easy to lose sight of why teaching our children God's ways is the parent's primary task beyond physical health and safety for our kids. It's a task that God has given specifically to parents, not to the church. But it is the church's responsibility to provide and equip you with ways to have faith discussions as you do life with your kids. Beside providing you and your child with an amazing small group leader or age-level leader, we also provide you with a monthly take home (Parent Cue) as well as a weekly devotional (God-Time for elementary) for your child. On top of those items, our curriculum also provides you with a phone app that has valuable information in it that you can use from your phone to keep these conversations going throughout the week and on the go. Go to the App Store and download "ParentCue" for a small 1x fee and please begin to use it. It is for both Preschool (Waumba Land) and Elementary (UpStreet/Avenue252). It has our monthly themes, videos from the past week, parenting podcasts and activities to do with your kids and much more. We have several families that are using this app and reporting that they are seeing their kids grow (and they are too!). And the bottom line is that I am here for you...partnering with you is not just my job - it's my ministry. I am a marriage mentor as well as a parenting coach. Please feel free to contact me and let me walk with you through the highs and lows of your life. You are not in this alone!
Thank you for taking the time to read to this point....the secret word is "ParentCue"...free prize for whoever gives me the secret word!
Praying for you as you and yours begin a new school year - for safety, health and happiness!
Terri
terri@hillsidemarin.org
