Playgroup is booming!

It's hard to believe that in the middle of 2009 we were wondering if persisting with Playgroup was a waste of energy - it was very tiny, and though we had lots of visitors, they rarely came back a second time. The two co-ordinators discussed it, prayed about it, and decided to give it one more term - but with some changes. We decided to have 'activity stations' around the room, for example, a playdough table, a mat with cars and trucks, a kitchen corner, a rug with toys for pre-walkers; and we introduced a much more structured program, so that every week there is a craft, a story, and singing time, and to choose themes that suited the time of year.

And Playgroup hasn't looked back. It's a Christian Playgroup, that's open to anyone; what that means is that we do say thank you to God before we hoe into the fruit and water for morning tea; and we do sometimes play Christian children's songs in the background, and now and again the story book will be a story from the Bible. We

don't expect everyone to be a follower of Jesus, and we don't push people - parents or children - to talk about God.

One of the big hits has been the craft - we always have a craft that involves parent and child working together, and it's great to be greeted at the door by small children asking, "What are we making today?" Great also to be greeted by mums saying, "Look what we made at home this week - we thought you might like to do this one at Playgroup sometime!"

And I love the end-of-term get-togethers! One of the mums suggested that we could book a table at one of the many terrific, very reasonably priced restaurants in Carlton, for a late-ish dinner - leave the littlies at home with spouse, and just enjoy a bit of grown-up time. Her idea was very well-received, so we've had dinner out once a term ever since!

And Playgroup just keeps growing. Four new families have visited this term, and it looks a though they are all planning to stay. With 37 people last Wednesday morning, we're looking nicely full!

So now I reckon it's time to think about starting a second Playgroup!

(For more info about St Jude's Playgroup, click on the button in the right hand column)

Toolbox Parenting Seminar - A first!

On Sunday 10th October after morning services finished we had our first Toolbox Parenting Seminar.

Toolbox is a brilliant course; written in New Zealand by Christians who were working with troubled youth, it encourages parents to see themselves as coaches, training their children towards the independence, values and self control they will need in adult life, providing a a secure base for exploring and developing life skills, and creating great family memories.  What particularly impresses me is how encouraging it is - it's about understanding what kind of parent you are, then choosing what kind you want to be, and what sort of family you want to have, then equipping with 'tools' - strategies to choose from.

Beth Barnett, Children
 & Families Facilitator
for the Baptist Union
 of Victoria

Usually the Toolbox course is presented in 6 informal small group sessions, over six or twelve weeks. Presenting it in seminar format was a new venture for us, and it turns out it's a new venture for the course as well! We wanted to make the course more accessible for busy parents, and especially to make it easier for both parents to attend - both parents agreeing on values and strategies is always the ideal.

So 20 parents arrived at St Jude's, and we gathered around coffee tables in the hall where Beth Barnett took us through the Toolbox approach and selections from the course. Later in the program Beth and our own Emma Baillie facilitated small groups in discussing strategies and issues specific to 6-12 year olds or 0-6 year olds respectively.

It was a terrific afternoon - parents commented that they learnt a lot from the seminar, and were keen to experience the rest of the course. We were made very comfortable with tea, coffee and delicious home-made treats available throughout. Kids were contentedly occupied with a great program organised by our very gifted leader, Jo, and her volunteers, at no cost to parents.

With such a successful beginning, we're planning to run a Toolbox Seminar each term next year, covering the remainder of the course, but also offering the main principles each time so parents who missed the first one don't have to wait a year to get started with this really useful course.

Film & Pizza Night 11th September

It's astonishing how the term flies by - where did it go? Maybe it was all the colds and flus and tummy bugs that have been interrupting - it just seems as though we've settled into the routine and it's almost the end of term! But end of term is great, cos that means it's time for a Film & Pizza night!
Kids in Grades 3-6 invite their friends along, we all bring our own beanbags, sleeping bags and cushions; and we have a great social night together - without mum & dad!
This time we're watching 'The Tale of Despereaux' - which is a very quirky tale indeed, full of mice with unusually large ears, rats that DO like sunlight, gourmet soup, distressed princesses, and unlikely heroes with swords and courage and chivalry...
And because we love to eat together, there'll be plenty of pizza, and we're going to make fairy floss too - yum - maybe we can experiment with a bit of food-colouring...
Film & Pizza night is for anyone in Grades 3 to 6 - if you'd like an invitation, leave a message for Katie Peken on 9326 1556.

School Holiday Program Vibe! only 7 days away!

This time next week, I'm looking forward to hanging out with a whole bunch of kids, learning about Peter the fisherman, playing games, learning songs, getting to know each other, and eating great food - mmmmm. We've got a great team of leaders, rearing to go, the program is coming together and looks fun and exciting - with some space for reflection and processing too - and the menu is firming up as well! Right now we're working on decorating - with a fishy theme, of course!
Get your registration forms in this week, and I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!

Vibe! will be full of fishy fun!

Less than two weeks 'til Vibe! Our theme will be 'Peter: Totally Hooked!'

Peter was a fisherman until he met Jesus, running his own business on the sea of Galilee. When he met Jesus, he became his student first (that's what a disciple is), and then his friend. He travelled around with him, heard his teaching, and saw the amazing things he did. We're going to learn a great song about him - one of my favourites!

Peter and Jesus spent a lot of time close to water and boats. So there'll be lots of activities about beaches, fishing, and all sorts of water creatures - but no swimming, you'll be glad to know - not when it was -1 degrees yesterday!

Even without swimming, you'll have lots of fun and learn good stuff as you hear fish talk, enjoy the fishy buzz words, hear stories told from under water and lots more!

Vibe! School holiday program is only 3 weeks away!

It's hard to believe the term is nearly over! The weather has turned chilly at last, and we're all thinking about the winter break. Maybe you're wondering, what are the kids going to do while I'm at work? Or maybe you're thinking, it'd be great to schedule in some fun activities with other kids to mix it up.
Well, look no further! Vibe! is a full two-day program, designed to fit around your working day. Kids arrive at 8.30am, we provide all the activities, and even the food, and pick-up is at 5.30pm. What could be better?
Click on the title to go to a page of information about Vibe!; you can also view a pdf file of the daily program and download the registration form there.

Getting Better at What We Do!

Kids matter, and we believe the time we spend with them has significance, for now, for the rest of their lives on this earth, and on into the next life too. We want to make the best of the time we spend with kids, on Sunday mornings, in religious education classes, at Film & Pizza nights, over morning tea, on church camps, and everywhere else. So last weekend four of our members went along to the Ministry to Children conference, out at Mount Evelyn, which is about an hour to the east of St Jude's - a bit less when the traffic is good! It was good fun meeting lots of people from other churches, and we heard some really inspiring talks from Wes Stafford, who is the President of Compassion International; there were lots of great electives to choose from, I wanted to be in two or three places at once - connecting with boys, how to create experiences for kids, how to manage classroom behaviour, great storytelling techniques, and lots more. There was a 'marketplace' of excellent resources, too.
One of the highlights for me was hearing from two primary school children, a brother and sister, who visited Cambodia recently and were inspired to raise funds for children there who can't go to school because they have to work to help feed their families, so they are trapped in poverty. Those two kids stood up and explained what they are trying to do, and how, and they invited us to help them help Cambodian children. You can find out more here. I had a lump in my throat, being challenged by such young ones to be more generous, and to try to make a difference in the world. It reminded me that Jesus said we need to be like children, to be his kind of people.
Now to put what we've learned into practice!

Participation and Contribution...

Those two words have been on my mind lately. In the Anglican church, we believe that children are fully part of the church family. When they are baptised, the whole congregation joins in and says, 'We receive and welcome you as a fellow member..." I've been thinking about what that could look like. It's a bit of a foreign concept to some church-goers, who grew up on the 'Children should be seen and not heard' principle - which I think sometimes really means, "Not seen and not heard"!
But the Lord Jesus is in the business of breaking down barriers and bringing together people who have nothing in common except him.
In 2010 I am committed to working harder at including our kids as PARTICIPATORS and CONTRIBUTORS. By the time they reach High School age, I'd like them to be totally at home, understanding everything we do, enjoying taking part, confident that they belong, and knowing that they have something to offer that's truly important to everyone.
We're starting small, building on what's already happening. Already, some of the high school kids, and one of the Year 5s is helping run the pa system. Some of the kids help serve communion. Two of the kids groups are rostered on to prepare and serve morning tea. A couple of the Youth boys play the drums regularly during morning services.
There's lots more that could happen. Kids could take turns reading the Bible, or leading parts of the service. They could encourage us by telling us about service projects that they are involved in in the local community. Often during services we have 'open prayer', when anyone can come up to the microphone and lead the congregation in a prayer. I'm looking forward to being led by one of the little ones.

2010 - A Fresh Year Begins!

Wow! Christmas came and went in a crazy rush, and the 'quiet' summer period is almost over - where did it go, and what happened to all the projects I was saving 'til then? Victorian schools start back next Monday, families are gearing up, and kids are maybe excited, maybe apprehensive, maybe ambivalent... Here is some helpful advice from "Parents Inc." - the folk who wrote the excellent "Toolbox" course (if you click on the heading of this post, it'll take you to their website and more parenting tips):

New Year, New Classroom...

• Whether your child is about to start school for the first time, or you’ve been through it all before, here are a few tips to help make the transition out of holidays a little easier on the whole family:


• Get back in the habit of homework by having regular reading time every day. Ask questions about what they’ve read, and get them to write a little bit too.


• Start gradually making bedtime earlier; late sleep-ins or bleary-eyed children won’t help stress levels in that first week back.


• Get the family thinking about ways to make school mornings run more smoothly. A personalised chart is a great way to make sure kids know what they need to do and can check it off as they go. They’ll grow in responsibility, and you can break the nagging cycle!

With school starting, term-time program resumes this Sunday for our kids groups. This term we're thinking about the early church - what happened in the first few years after Jesus lived, died, came back to life, and then went to live with the Father. That would have been an exciting time - for the first time people were hearing that God loves us, and made it possible for us to be his friends - lots of these people had only ever heard of gods who were fickle and violent and selfish, and the only way to relate to them was to beg and plead, make bargains, and butter them up.

Imagine hearing for the first time of a God who wants to do us good, who is more eager to give us good things than we are to ask him for them! It would have been a scary time too - because not many people believed in Jesus, and the early Christians were often viewed with suspicion, even thrown in gaol, or beaten up, or even killed because of their beliefs. What a privilege to live in a country where we can openly worship Jesus, talk about him, meet together, and tell other people about our beliefs.

While we think about the early church, we're also thinking about our church - St Jude's wants our kids to know that they are truly part of this Christian community, so we're looking at ways to encourage kids to participate and to contribute. This year the Diggers are joining the morning tea team, rostered on together to prepare and serve morning tea a couple of times each term - many hands make light work, and they loved the trial runs we had last year!

Our MCs are also looking for ways to include kids in the whole-church part of our services, to encourage them to join in with the rest of the congregation, and to take part in leading prayers, Bible readings, etc. Ideas welcome!