Great Reminder

I love reading from the blog:  We are THAT Family.  I thought I would forward along the post from yesterday.  I love the reminder that if our children don't hear from us first then the world will be right there to influence them.  

We are THAT family

Lord's Prayer Kit

The Explorers Sunday Community class (Rising Kindergarten - Kindergarten) have been working on learning the Lord's Prayer.  The children received a Lord's Prayer Kit this past Sunday with picture cards to help them with memorizing the Lord's Prayer.  Please go over this with your child.  You can also check out the following website for further explanation to each picture:  Lord's Prayer in a bag

Grace Kids Update

 Operation Christmas Child - Samaritan's Purse

 For all you Duck Dynasty Fans check out the following link to see Uncle Si teaming up with Operation Christmas Child:

Operation Christmas Child/Duck Dynasty  

This might be something your children would enjoy watching as they consider what they would like to add to the boxes they are packing.  More boxes will be available this coming Sunday at church.  Filled boxes can be returned at any point - please place them under the table with the tree.  All boxes need to be returned by Sunday, Nov 10th. 

Our goal for GCPC this year is 70 boxes!!  

Thank you for all the support with this ministry!!!

If you did not receive a copy of The Scoop this past Sunday you can find a copy here: 

November/December Scoop - You will find out all the upcoming events for November and December for Grace Kids Ministry with this newsletter.  Make sure and take a look. 

This past week I took copies of The Advent Jesse Tree  by Dean Meador Lambert to church for the resource table.  You can read more about this book here: 

 Advent Jesse Tree

Copies are available for $12.  We will be handing out a gift for families beginning at the start of Advent that works perfectly this book.  Handouts will be provided with the git but the Advent book would supplement well. 

Opportunities for Kids

Prayer Sticks for Tucker Sibiga

Below are the 5 prayer sticks for Tucker.  On each stick is one picture of Tucker and one picture of a way to pray for him.  We've also written a little more on the stick about the prayer.  Please use these prayer sticks in the morning, during dinnertime, at bedtime or whenever else you want to pray.

 Tucker's parents have created a website

 http://tommyandellie.com/index.php/tucker/life-at-home/

Operation Christmas Child

www.downloadclipart.net

Operation Christmas Child -Samaritan's Purse.  

There will be a tree set up the next few weeks at church.   

There will be Samaritan's Purse brochures attached to it.  We would like to
encourage families to take a brochure and follow the guidelines listed in
the brochure to fill a box (Boxes will be available at church).  I have
additional backpacks left over from Kids Give Back that will also be placed
by the tree.  If you want to take a backpack to include with your box that
would be great.  The brochure indicates items to include in the box and
suggestions for 2 possible ways of payment for shipping the box:  You can
include the $7 to cover shipping in the envelope included with the brochure
or pay online.  The great benefit with the online payment is you will be
sent the destination of your box.  Filled boxes and payment for shipping
will be collected by Sunday, November 10th.  You can bring back filled boxes
as soon as they are completed and place on the Sunday Community Table.  Feel
free to take more than one box. 

We have set a goal of 70 boxes for our church - Let's do it!!   

Click here to find out more about Samaritan's Purse

http://www.samaritanspurse.org

Update: Sunday Communities, Children's Worship, Picnic!!

• Just a reminder that we don't have Sunday Communities or Grace Kids Worship this week!  We will start back up on Oct 20th. 

Sunday Communities

* Sprouts (3 year olds):  They will be working on a craft for God made the world and God made me.

• (No memory work yet but saying Psalm 23 with them while using the hand motions would be great.  They will start actual memorization of Psalm 23 beginning Nov 3rd.)

* Explorers (Preschool - Kindergarten): This class continues to listen to stories from The Jesus Storybook Bible. Please go over the handouts they bring home to follow up with the lesson.  The story they will learn about next week is, Son of laughter.  

• Memory Work for Oct:  "Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be they name. They kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

* Seekers (1st - 2nd Graders): Their lesson next week will be on Jesus' First Miracle from John 2:1-11.  

• Memory Work for Oct: John 2:11 "What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him."

* Adventurers (3rd - 5th): They continue to work through the Desiring God Curriculum - How Majestic is His Name.  They will be focusing on Adonai next week.  

• Memory Work: Psalm 8: 1- 4 "Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens . Through the praise of children and infants you have established  a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is banking that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

Children's Worship

There are a couple cd's available for children's worship for the Ask Me Whooo Cd's  available on the Resource Table for Volume 1 and Volume 2.

Each CD is $10 and it puts each Catechism to music!  In my opinion well worth the money and it is a great way to have kids learn the catechisms. 

FALL PICNIC

Coming up next Sunday, Oct 20th following Sunday Communities is our Fall Picnic at Chickahominy Oaks Pavillion.  If you haven't rsvp'd to the Evite yet please do and indicate the number of pumpkins you would like to decorate.  

Elementary Resources

Available Resources for Elementary Children at GCPC

1) Jesus Calling 365 Devotions for Kids by Sarah Young 
There are a few copies available on the Resource Table.  I have been reading this with John (3rd grade) and Ruthie (2nd Grade).  I have a different version of Jesus Calling for myself and highly recommend both books.

2)  The following Bible is perfect for Elementary Children (designed for children 8 - 12 years old):  Grow Bible.  A few copies of this Bible will be available at the Resource Table beginning next week for $15.  This is a great deal on the Bible.  If you are interested, I recommended purchasing one before they are gone as I could only get 4 copies at that price.  If there aren't additional copies on the resource table you can purchase at Amazon.  

Description from Amazon:  "The ESV Grow! Bible is designed specifically to reach children ages 8–12 for the time between when they use a children’s Bible and a more advanced Bible. Coupling the full ESV text with many helpful features, this is a Bible that young students can call their own. 

The ESV Grow! Bible comes with all-new features to help children learn and understand God’s Word. Nearly every other page features a “W Question”, boxes answering the who, what, where, when, or why of a text—basic questions a child might have while reading."

3) "Joining the Church Family" Handbook - Copies of this booklet are available from Julie.  If interested contact julie@gcpres.org.  This is a booklet to work through with your elementary child as he/she begins to consider joining the church.  The handbook uses the catechism booklet, First Catechism Teaching Children Bible Truths, which the children use throughout all of Children's Worship.  Clint offers a membership class when children are in middle school and uses Understanding the Faith by Stephen Smallman. 

4) I also wanted to let you know that children receive a NLT Student Bible at church when they join.  If your child does not join by age 11 or 12 we recommend in 6th grade a Bible of his/her own.  

*** Please Note ***

The intent of this post in not to have your 1st grader, 2nd grader, 3rd grader, etc. join the church ASAP.  I wanted to provide resources that could be valuable for your family as your children grow in their faith. 

Sunday Communities 2013 - 2014

I wanted to give a brief overview of our Sunday Community time!!  We had a great kick off today.  The teachers are all FABULOUS and invest  a lot of time and energy with preparation for their classes.  Your children are being well cared for during the Sunday Community hour.  If you did not pick up a copy of the Sunday Community Handbook there will be copies available on the Welcome Table this week and you can also find a copy on the church website at the following link:  Gcpres.org

We have 5 Sunday Community Classes offered for children along with a Nursery Option during the Sunday Community hour (11:00 AM - 12:00 PM)

• Infants - 2 (Nursery)
• 2 and 3 year olds (Critters)
• Children who will be 4 by Fall 2014 (Sprouts)
• Rising Kindergarten (will attend Kindergarten Fall 2014) and Kindergartners (Explorers)
• 1st and 2nd Graders ( Seekers)
• 3rd - 5th Graders (Adventurers)

11:00 AM Sign In for Sunday Communities (You can't miss it - There are large orange traffic cones with Class Names and ages on them)  The Critters, Sprouts, Explorers, and Seekers will all sign in by the stage.  The Adventurers (3rd - 5th grade) will sign in by the door at the fellowship tables.

12:00 PM Dismissal from Sunday Community Class - CHILDREN WILL NOT BE DISMISSED TO COME TO PARENTS IN THE CAFETERIA.  We need parents to come over to their child's Sunday Community Teacher and pick up at the assigned table.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Memory Verses:

Sprouts (3 and 4 year olds)
They do not have memory work for the first month.  We will be working on learning all of Psalm 23 during the year but right now we are doing an overview of lessons with memory work beginning in November.

• A bookmark of Psalm 23 was sent home today and  a poster will be sent home next week for Psalm 23 with hand motions that correspond with each line of the Psalm. 

Explorers (Rising Kindergarten - Kindergarten)
They are working on learning the Lord's prayer.  They will be working on this through January.  Each month they will add on to what they have currently memorized.

*** A handout was sent home today with the children. It actually looks more like an *** exercise routine with a lot of stretches but the hand motions will help the children with learning the Lord's Prayer.  They will get the added benefit of a little workout too.

• September: "Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be thy name
• October: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
• November: "Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
• December: "And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil"
• January: Recite the entire Lord's Prayer

Seekers (1st and 2nd Graders)

This week an index card will be handed out with the memory verse for September on it.  Please encourage your child to place the card in a visible location so they can see it every day. 

• Luke 18:14b "For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Adventurers (3rd - 5th Graders)

This class will work on memorizing all of Psalm 8, 121, and Psalm 100 this school year.  They are beginning with Psalm 8 and will work on it from September - December.  They received a memory verse card this past Sunday to keep at home.

• September: Psalm 8:1-2 "Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger."
• October: Psalm 8: 3-4 "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?"
• November: Psalm 8:5-9 "You have made them  little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.  You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim in the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"