Posts Tagged ‘Valley Kids’
Posted on August 24, 2009 - by kelly
Building A Special Needs Ministry- Part 1
Over the last few years Valley Kids has seen a growth in the number of children coming to the classroom with special needs. So far we have “managed” by pairing kids in the classroom with volunteers already serving that morning. But my heart has been telling me there is so much more we could be doing. Along with this feeling, we have seen increased numbers of children needing individualized assistance in the classroom, and the time has come to launch a new ministry area.
Because I have a limited background serving children with special needs I gathered a group of individuals that either had children with special needs or worked in a special needs related field to brainstorm ideas. From this meeting we determined that for Valley Kids, the ideal situation would be to start with an inclusive program, partnering trained volunteers with children so that they could participate in our programming.
I also reached out to the special needs community and was overwhelmed with support and advice on options, ideas, and trainings available to people in our area. (I will attach the links below of good resources.) The resounding support for an inclusive approach to meeting the needs of these special kids was heard.
This last weekend was our first program announcement; I will follow this week with an email that will go out to all members of our church body. My hope is that we will recruit 15-20 volunteers willing to partner twice a month with a CCV friend. Volunteers will be asked to complete a simple application (no special training is required ahead of time). Once I have a team built we will begin taking applications from families in need of a buddy. The goal is to partner a child with no more than 2 individuals that they would build a relationship with over the course of their time in Valley Kids. This volunteer would be in communication with the family during the week and be there in the classroom on Sunday mornings.
I know that we are headed in the right direction and look forward to watching this program grow. Valley Kids is a place where all children are accepted just as God made them.
Helpful Links:
Posted on August 19, 2009 - by kelly
Casey and Patti Show
I don’t know when it happened, about a year ago, I met two amazing women. They were team teaching in our elementary class on Sunday mornings and the chemistry between the two was infectious. The lesson that week called for a news anchor type set with Old Testament characters being interviewed. They were hysterical playing off each other in this banter of serious vs. nonsensical exchange.
Stephanie Carter, our Elementary Associate Director, and I met after the lesson and we were laughing and reflecting on what an awesome lesson it was and how much fun we had. Better yet, the kids walked away excited about the “show” and learned a lot. That morning the “Casey and Patti” show was born.
Since then, the Casey and Patti show has morphed into something between a “Saturday Night Live” Newscast and “Kids Choice” awards feel. Studio audience members are pulled on stage and get an “I was on the Casey and Patti Show sticker” to wear home. This last week the lesson was about Paul and how he used his life to change the world. They highlighted the Kids’ Camp efforts of fund raising for Kenya and encouraged our Valley Kids that they too could be life changers at a young age and many of them already are by participating in the basketball program. In typical Casey style she portrayed the journeys of Paul and let her counter part get her sea sick (with oatmeal), brave the wind storm, and survive being tossed around at sea (barraged by water guns). The kids had a blast, were entertained; but more important, they got the message.
We have incredible teams that spend numerous hours preparing for Sunday morning. This is just one example of the generosity and friendships that are born from serving Jesus in community.
Allowing these volunteers to “own” their morning has worked. The kids look forward to it, and the message comes out in the different segments just like it would in a traditional teaching venue, with much more flare. I would encourage leaders to work with their volunteers finding teams that have chemistry. Encourage them to find a format that works for them, experiment, drop the scripts, and most importantly have fun.
Posted on September 5, 2008 - by kelly
Back to School
I am a sucker for the back to school season. I love this time of year; school buses on the road, kids at bus stops, new back packs, the smell of new crayons, you get the idea. Even before I had children, seeing kids at the bus stop put a smile on my face. Now that I have children of my own, I still feel that same excitement but there’s a twist.
Sending Emma to school 4 years ago for the first time just about sent me over the edge. The thought of someone else being responsible for my baby during the day, teaching her lessons, making sure she remained safe, keeping her from getting her feelings hurt… This did not sit well with me and I moped around feeling quite sorry for myself for days. She was thrilled and thrived in the school environment and slowly I came around too. What other choice did I have?
Well, fast forward a few years and it is now Ethan’s turn. I felt very confident that I wouldn’t be effected in the same way. He is a boy and I had been through it before, so the night before school when I turned into a crazy whirling tornado I was taken by surprise. As I was packing enough lunch for him to last a week and making sure all of his forms were in his bookbag for the 5th time, my husband looked over at me and laughed out loud. I knew what I was doing and I was not happy. I sat on my couch and had a good cry.
New beginnings, as exciting as they are can be very painful too. That’s where I feel we are in Valley Kids. We are entering a new beginning. As our church continues to grow it is exciting and awesome, but at the same time painful. We need more volunteers and people are use to doing things certain ways, change is difficult but the benefits are huge and the rewards immense!
God gave each of us this incredible gift and the coolest part is, we can give it away as many times as we want and it never runs out. I look forward to sharing the exciting plans for the upcoming year in Valley Kids this weekend, Sept. 7th at 1:00pm. I hope you will join us as we explore the year ahead. It’s going to be a great one!
Posted on June 9, 2008 - by kelly
Legacy
Sunday we had Gene Appel as a guest speaker at our church. He spoke on the topic of leaving a legacy. The message was one of the most moving I have participated in awhile, one of those that won’t let you sleep.
What is my legacy? What am I doing that will make a significant impact on the world around me long after I’m gone?
Having moved several times in my life I have the advantage of seeing things in a temporary light. I have learned the hard way that we don’t have infinate time to do the things we want to do or say the things we want to say. Wether it is a job relocation or a death, time is a temporary measurement and I am challenged to make sure I am using mine efficiently.
So I left here Sunday thinking about how I am using my time. Starting the preschool last year was valuable time spent, now as I set out to oversee the direction of our weekend ministry I want to make sure I am leaving a legacy of growing families in our church while not sacrificing my own.
Gene asked us to end the service by writing our Legacy statements. My statement was this: “I hope to leave a legacy of loving God with all of my heart by honoring my family and maintaining a healthy balance of home and work.” I want my husband and children to know each day how much I love them.
Posted on May 1, 2008 - by kelly
Where are we headed?
Just to give a little background, I am directionally challenged. I get lost often. When we moved to Pennsylvania I went to the grocery store and couldn’t find my way home. After driving back and forth on the same road with ice cream melting in the back seat, I called a neighbor I had just met and asked them to guide me home.
Last year as we opened Providence Christian Preschool the very first thing I tasked myself to do was to create a road map to guide us ahead in our school year. It was very simple; students came in with X knowledge and they needed to leave with Z. It was something that was clear, specific, and measurable. Naturally I desire to do the same with our children’s ministry as well.
I now find myself on a road less traveled. As I have researched scope and sequencing maps, I am finding that the road is not only less traveled, but seems to not even be paved. Many boxed curriculums have independent goals and outlines to their programs, but if I wanted to have a baby in our church, send them through our preschool program, and into elementary, I would not have a clear vision of what they would learn when they left us.
I think we owe our children more than that, we owe our parents more than that, we owe God more than that. I need to know that I have done a sufficient job of planting the seeds God has tasked me to plant. If that means writing our own curriculum, supplementing bits and pieces with others, whatever it takes; we need to get it done. We can’t do it though until we know where we are headed.
I’ll let you know how the paving goes.
