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.

Pizza, Rats, and Edible Christmas Decorations

Two weeks ago we had our last Film & Pizza Night for 2009 - it was a different feel to usual, because we held it in the main part of the church, instead of our usual location, the crypt - but I think the kids enjoyed the opportunity to play games and munch pizza in amongst pews and traditional stained glass windows!
It was a creative night - 22 kids (mostly boys) started by eating pizza, then mixing up batches of Dutch Pepernoten - kids worked in groups of 4, and lined up to melt butter in the microwave, then collect sugar, went off to mix it all up thoroughly, lined up for the flour, then the spices, and so on. Once it was all mixed, they divided it between them, and kneaded and molded and patted and thumped their dough into something which might be hung on a Christmas tree...
While the Pepernoten was baking in the church kitchen, we watched "Flushed Away" - it's lots of fun, and voice-stars Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Kate Winslet and a few others you might recognise too!
We discovered that the more you work the dough, the better the finished biscuit holds its shape. Hmmmm - something for our young MasterChefs to remember for next time.... Not many ornaments were recognisable - or hang-able! when they came out - the picture above is definitely NOT what they looked like - but they were put to the taste test, and even the reluctant kids said they tasted good!
Not to worry, you can't have too much craft, so we finished off the evening by making edible Christmas wreaths - we handed out sturdy paper plates with the middles cut out - so they were just the outer rim. The kids decorated them with Christmassy colours of crepe streamer, in all kinds of creative ways, then used hot glue guns to attach caramels in foil wrappers - they looked fabulous at the end - I'm really regretting that I didn't take my camera along this time!!

"Chicken Run" and UV creations!

I love Film & Pizza nights! Our Term 2 F&P night was last Saturday, and twenty-three kids in Grades 3 to 6 turned up in St Jude's crypt to eat lots of pizza, watch "Chicken Run", and make UV puppets. These pics are from my mobile phone, so they aren't great, but I know a couple of people took better ones (they have groovier phones!), I'll put them up when I get them.

We started with some games - you had the choice of lobbing hacky-sacks onto targets, then doubling your winnings (sweets) by performing a challenge, like standing on one leg, holding the other leg up with one hand while touching your finger to your nose for a count of ten...; or you could try to flick a coin onto a table - if your coin landed in a circle, you won a prize, but if it landed in a circle of the same value as the coin, you won two prizes!

Then it was time to eat - wow, everyone was starving! Don't they get fed at home any more?? - and to start the movie. Once the chickens had escaped safely from the farmyard with determination and terrific teamwork, we started on the UV puppets. They're very simple, but really effective - you just need some flourescent coloured cardboard, black textas to draw your designs, masking tape to hold them together, and a couple of special effects UV lights hired from a dramatic lighting company (it cost us $20 for two - bargain!) and Bob's your uncle.

And it wasn't only the kids who had a good time - it was great weather for an evening out - not too chilly, and only a sprinkle of rain, so some of the parents chose to make the most of being on Lygon Street on a Saturday evening: one couple road-tested a pub that's under new management, and I overheard two dads who hadn't seen each other for a while, deciding on the spur of the moment to catch up over dinner - great idea!

School Holiday Program - Gearing up for Vibe!

Time is flying, and we're getting very excited about Vibe!, it's only two and a half weeks away! Chris Young is working on finishing touches to the program. I'm gathering lots of circus-type equipment - hoola hoops, juggling balls and sticks, parachutes, 'diablos' - you know, they look like huge hour-glasses suspended on a string, and you spin them and toss them and do amazing tricks with them.


Verdi the puppet is getting wriggly in his storage box... Julie, who is a mum in our 9am congregation, has offered to help out with food - and that's great, because she's a fabulous cook!

If you'd like to come along to Vibe!, click on the picture of the jumping kid at the top of the page - it takes you to the Vibe! webpage where you can download the registration form and more info about the program. We're looking forward to seeing you there! :)

Profile: The Diggers - Grades 3-6 at our 11am meeting

The Diggers are a great bunch - there are around 12 this year, and there are a lot of boys! Usually our group time starts with an energetic game - seems to help with being more settled afterwards... We don't have a lot of room, our meeting place is one of the church foyers, bright and pleasant with lots of cushions on the floor, but pretty squeezy; so we head outside and use the paved entrance on Lygon Street for relays, hopscotch, trust games etc.



Then we head inside and have something to munch on - to replace all that expended energy! Then we look at the Bible - we've just finished a series about God's faithfulness, looking at how he kept his promise to do good to Abraham and his descendants, when Abraham was so old he thought he could never have a baby, and when Isaac was getting on and still hadn't found a suitable girl to marry; and finally last week, when Jacob sneakily tricked his older twin and his father into giving him the inheritance and blessing that belonged to Esau. We thought about our families and our world, where people can be horrible to each other; but God doesn't give up on us, he still keeps his promises; so we prayed about bullying and wars and families where brothers and sisters are mean to each other.



This coming Sunday we start a new series, but also the Diggers are bringing their favourite songs to church to share with each other - we'll be asking, what do you like about that song - why's it your favourite? We think this will be a good way to get to know each other better. With so many boys, I'm guessing we'll get an interesting selection of songs!