Small changes to our Faith Formation options for kids during the 10:30 hour

As many of you know our kids are able to join amazing teachers up on the 4th floor after the Children’s Moment each Sunday.  Our preschoolers and Kindergarten children meet in Room 402 while our 1st through 6th graders meet in Room 401.  

Our younger children learn a Bible story over the course of two weeks by hearing the story, doing a simple craft and playing some lower energy games.  It is a quiet and pleasant space to learn.  

Our 1st through 6th graders are across the hall learning a Bible story over the course of 4 or 5 weeks.  They learn the story through cooking, video, science experiments, music, games and storytelling… focusing on different disciplines to hear the same story in different ways.  It is no surprise that a group of children who span the ages of 1st grade through 6th grade come in with different energy levels, understanding and comfort in group settings.  

All of our teachers do a wonderful job of attending to the needs of all the children. That said, it is very understandable that some of our 1st and 2nd graders might prefer staying with the preschool/ Kindergarten children.  If this is your child – please know, and let them know, that they are welcomed and encouraged to stay in Room 401 for as long as they like.  They can even act in the role of helper to our little learners. I trust that once they are ready to move across the hall that they will let you know. 

Instead of calling both classes Sprouts, we will now refer to our younger group as Seedlings and our older group as Sprouts.  We will remove age ranges.  My only recommendation is that for a child to attend Sprouts they need to be at least in 1st grade.  The lessons are not really taught in a way that a very young child would understand or be able to participate in fully.

I am excited about this!  I appreciate our teachers bringing it to my attention. We have the most remarkable teaching crew and set of youth helpers.  Your children are in VERY good hands when they join us upstairs after Children’s Moment.

-Jenny Gee, Director of Education