Connect

Please note: due the transition to the new Faith Alive website/online store, some of the images and links in these e-newsletters may not work after January 2009.

August 2008 Welcome to Connect, the monthly e-newsletter for those who minister to children in small Sunday schools, midweek programs, and new church plants. *To invite your ministry staff members and volunteers to receive Connect,* click here. Back to School How is this possible? In the midst of my quest for the perfect summer swimsuit the store shelves have been stocked with school supplies. It seems like only yesterday I was removing a banana peel from the liner of my 10-year-old’s crumb encrusted lunch bag and looking forward to a summer holiday free of classroom reminders. Now I’m having back-to-school panic attacks! Thankfully, with a curriculum like Kid Connection you can cross “Sunday School Stress” off your list for September. Preparation is simple, the supplies are minimal, and you’ll find your “To Do” list here: Attend a workshop in your pajamas. Check out a KC Webinar at www.KidConnectionOnline.org/Webinars—it's an online training session that leaders can attend in the comfort of their own home. All you need is the Internet and a phone (a cup of coffee is nice too). Find the date that works for you, sign up, log on, and listen in! Listen to teaching tips. Ever sent off an email and then thought of something else you wanted to say? Well, our online teaching tips are filled with the “something else” we wanted to say to you! In each two minute tip you’ll hear encouraging words, receive extra ideas, and get current information on the session you’re leading. Bookmark “Teaching Tips” under “Favorites” and make it easy to get connected each week. Sing in the shower. I know, it sounds a bit unconventional but here’s the thing: If you’re a large group leader you get to teach kids the songs you’ll be singing as you praise God together. If you’re a small group leader you get to support the large group leader by singing along as the kids are learning. The best way you can do either is by knowing the songs before you teach them, and the easiest, most effective way to do that is to play and sing them over and over again. Bookmark “Lyric Links” for easy access to lyrics to any songs not in the Sing With Me songbook. Gather supplies. It won’t take long—with Kid Connection the supplies can be found in your kitchen, your closet, or the local dollar store. Double check that you have what you need by reading through your session the week before you lead. To make things easy, leaders should have the following supplies in their teaching bag: Leader’s Guide Program CD Guess What! Family Magazines (one set for the leader as well as those you’ll be distributing to the kids) Package of colored cardstock Package of printer paper Package of markers Prepare your heart. It’s probably the easiest and most neglected step: read through the session you’ll be teaching a week before you teach it. Why? To plant the seeds of what you’ll be teaching in your brain so the Holy Spirit can nudge your heart. I was 12 when I got my first pair of glasses. After picking them up at the opticians I remember walking downtown and seeing nothing but glasses—on moms pushing strollers, on the guy selling newspapers, on the kid boarding the bus—it seemed like the whole world had glasses. I was noticing things I hadn’t seen before. Imagine how your teaching will be transformed when you have a week to think about the story you’ll be leading! Open your guide early and open your heart to what God wants to tell you. Of course, if you do have a “Back to Sunday School” panic attack you can call 1-800-333-8300 or email us. We’re here to help! Karen DeBoer Kid Connection Editor Recommended Resource Today’s families often struggle to help kids connect what they learn at church with everyday life. That’s why we’re introducing Nurture: a bimonthly family newsletter that focuses on faith formation at home! Nurture is fresh, colorful, and full of doable ideas that real families can use. Best of all, it’s affordable. At only $0.50 per issue, your per-family cost is just $3.00 a year. Better yet: subscribe by September 15 and you’ll get a 25% discount on your first year! Click here to order or to view a sample. Or call 1-800-333-8300. Please do not reply to this e-mail. If you try to reply, you will not receive a response. You are receiving Connect because you either signed up on our website or talked with a customer service rep, asking to be subscribed to our mailing list. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to this address or click here to edit your member profile or change your e-mail address. If you have questions or comments about this list, e-mail us or call 1-800-333-8300.

Please note: due the transition to the new Faith Alive website/online store, some of the images and links in these e-newsletters may not work after January 2009.

August 2008

Welcome to Connect, the monthly e-newsletter for those who minister to children in small Sunday schools, midweek programs, and new church plants. To invite your ministry staff members and volunteers to receive Connect, click here.

Back to School

How is this possible? In the midst of my quest for the perfect summer swimsuit the store shelves have been stocked with school supplies. It seems like only yesterday I was removing a banana peel from the liner of my 10-year-old’s crumb encrusted lunch bag and looking forward to a summer holiday free of classroom reminders. Now I’m having back-to-school panic attacks!

Thankfully, with a curriculum like Kid Connection you can cross “Sunday School Stress” off your list for September. Preparation is simple, the supplies are minimal, and you’ll find your “To Do” list here:

Attend a workshop in your pajamas. Check out a KC Webinar at www.KidConnectionOnline.org/Webinars—it's an online training session that leaders can attend in the comfort of their own home. All you need is the Internet and a phone (a cup of coffee is nice too). Find the date that works for you, sign up, log on, and listen in!

Listen to teaching tips. Ever sent off an email and then thought of something else you wanted to say? Well, our online teaching tips are filled with the “something else” we wanted to say to you! In each two minute tip you’ll hear encouraging words, receive extra ideas, and get current information on the session you’re leading. Bookmark “Teaching Tips” under “Favorites” and make it easy to get connected each week.

Sing in the shower. I know, it sounds a bit unconventional but here’s the thing: If you’re a large group leader you get to teach kids the songs you’ll be singing as you praise God together. If you’re a small group leader you get to support the large group leader by singing along as the kids are learning. The best way you can do either is by knowing the songs before you teach them, and the easiest, most effective way to do that is to play and sing them over and over again. Bookmark “Lyric Links” for easy access to lyrics to any songs not in the Sing With Me songbook.

Gather supplies. It won’t take long—with Kid Connection the supplies can be found in your kitchen, your closet, or the local dollar store. Double check that you have what you need by reading through your session the week before you lead. To make things easy, leaders should have the following supplies in their teaching bag:

Leader’s Guide
Program CD
Guess What! Family Magazines (one set for the leader as well as those you’ll be distributing to the kids)
Package of colored cardstock
Package of printer paper
Package of markers

Prepare your heart. It’s probably the easiest and most neglected step: read through the session you’ll be teaching a week before you teach it. Why? To plant the seeds of what you’ll be teaching in your brain so the Holy Spirit can nudge your heart. I was 12 when I got my first pair of glasses. After picking them up at the opticians I remember walking downtown and seeing nothing but glasses—on moms pushing strollers, on the guy selling newspapers, on the kid boarding the bus—it seemed like the whole world had glasses. I was noticing things I hadn’t seen before. Imagine how your teaching will be transformed when you have a week to think about the story you’ll be leading! Open your guide early and open your heart to what God wants to tell you.

Of course, if you do have a “Back to Sunday School” panic attack you can call 1-800-333-8300 or email us. We’re here to help!

Karen DeBoer
Kid Connection Editor

Recommended Resource

Nurture Newsletter Today’s families often struggle to help kids connect what they learn at church with everyday life. That’s why we’re introducing Nurture: a bimonthly family newsletter that focuses on faith formation at home!

Nurture is fresh, colorful, and full of doable ideas that real families can use. Best of all, it’s affordable. At only $0.50 per issue, your per-family cost is just $3.00 a year. Better yet: subscribe by September 15 and you’ll get a 25% discount on your first year!

Click here to order or to view a sample. Or call 1-800-333-8300.

Please do not reply to this e-mail. If you try to reply, you will not receive a response. You are receiving Connect because you either signed up on our website or talked with a customer service rep, asking to be subscribed to our mailing list.

To unsubscribe, send a blank email to this address or click here to edit your member profile or change your e-mail address.

If you have questions or comments about this list, e-mail us or call 1-800-333-8300.