VBS!  The Sky's the limit!  Mark your calendars for VBS at Blacktop!  Monday June 25th through Thursday June 28th ( M, T, W 12:30-3pm and Th 11am-noon) we are going to discover how everything is possible with God!  


We will be needing some extra helpers during VBS!  Group leaders will simply take a bunch of students around to the various fully staffed stations!  No prep involved!  This is a great chance to build relationships with a few kids and help make VBS a wonderful time for everyone!  Please e-mail me if you would be willing to help!

Yaaaay!  I just want to say a quick thank you to EVERYONE that helped out on Sunday.  Whether you help with the set, spoke on the Shepherds panel, or simply brought your kids to all the practices.... THANK YOU! It was wonderful and your support as parents is sooooo essential to everything we do.  You are such a blessing!

Hello everyone!  

I can NOT believe it but the musical is THIS SUNDAY!  Things are coming along VERY nicely and we still have ONE practice left.  I just wanted to remind everyone that we have our last practice and dress rehearsal coming up this Saturday morning (the 19th) from 9am-noon.  I know you and your kids have very busy schedules but PLEASE do your best to be there!  It is much easier to accomplish everything with all the kids there at the same time.  We want them to SHINE and for that to happen we really need one more great practice with everyone present!

One more thing.  With the musical wrapping up and all the sports teams in full swing I would LOVE to come to some of their games!  If you could send me a couple days/times/locations for your kids games I will come and cheer them on!  

Thank you all for being such wonderful parents!

Have a great and blessed week!

REMINDER!

No more Wednesday night musical practice!  BUT we DO have practice from 9am-noon THIS Saturday the 12th AND next Saturday the 19th!

Musical Practice again tonight!  We will be in B20 again!

Also, VERY IMPORTANT!  Sunday school lessons are done but we will be having Musical Practice during the Sunday School hour.  It is VERY important that everyone that can possibly be there is available for practice these next two Sundays.  The musical is quickly approaching!

Don't forget, this SUNDAY, April 29th, at 5:30 pm our next cross-inter-all generational event!  It's gonna be a church potluck!  Which we all know means AMAZING food!  You're not gonna want to miss it!  We are asking each family to bring TWO dishes.  First dish is an item of your choice.  Second dish: if your last name begins with A-E please bring a salad (fruit or veggie), a side dish for F-L, main dish for M-S, and a dessert for T-Z. It will be a great time to mix it up and build new relationships as we learn some interesting facts about the staff and play some fun table games!  And I can promise you won't want to miss our MC Rusty!

Musical practice tonight!  We will begin at 5:30pm but please bring kids whenever you can!

Happy Monday to you all!  I am writing today with one VERY important things to talk about!  The kid's musical!  It is quickly approaching and we need YOUR help getting the kids ready!  I sent a note home yesterday (Sunday) but encase you did't get it here is the gist.

For those of you that have not heard this year, for the Celebration of Learning we will be putting on a musical called God of the City!  It will be during the service on Sunday May 20^th.  Miss Earlene has been working hard with the kids every Sunday to help them learn the songs but we need a few things from you to make this a success! 

1)    PLEASE encourage your kids to listen to the CD Miss Earlene gave them a few weeks ago.  

2)   Speaking parts have been assigned so if your student came home with lines please encourage them to work on memorizing them!  Solos will be assigned soon. 

3)   We will need a few extra practices outside of the Sunday School hour to be prepared.  We understand life is very busy so we appreciate you doing your best to have the kids there when you are able!  We would love to have them there whenever they are available, even if it is only for part of a practice!  Please mark your calendar for the following days and times:

Wednesday April 25^th from 5:30-7 pm (Miss Earlene is providing pizza J)

Wednesday May 2^nd from 5:30-7 pm (again pizza will be provided)

Saturday May 12^th from 9-noon (1^st dress rehearsal, snacks provided)

Saturday May 19^th from 9-noon (FINAL DRESS REHEARSAL!) It is VERY important that your child attends this practice! 

For this musical the kids are simply hanging out in the park so costumes will be everyday clothes!  However, Miss Earlene would like them to avoid wearing flip flops or loose sandals as they will be moving around a lot. 

That's the slightly abbreviated version!  I gave the kids one other challenge yesterday.  They should have brought home an individual record sheet.  I would like them to listen ALL FIVE SONGS each day this week.  Every day that they do this they should ask a parent to sign their sheet.  If they bring it back next week with 5 of the 7 days signed they will get a treat.  By listening to the songs at home we will be able to avoid adding more practice times so please help encourage them!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Hello everyone!  I am going to start out by being honest... for some reason it has been very tricky to remember to keep up this blog!  Not sure why...  Soooo since it's hard to keep it up I imagine it is hard to keep up with it as well... I apologize! I am going to consider putting it on hiatus for the summer but part of me is hesitant to do that because... let's face it... Blacktop usually comes with lots of great stories!   I really do love using it as a way to contact you all, tell stories, and give reminders so we will see...

For now there are 3 quick things I wanted to post while I was thinking about them...

1) HUUUUUGE thank you to everyone that helped with the AWANA Carnival last night!  I think it was a huge success!  Definitely think we should make that a regular thing.  It was great!

2) Reminder! There is another cross-all-whatever generational event coming up TWO weeks from this Sunday!  It's gonna be GREAT so don't miss it!  Here is the announcement as seen in the bulletin: "Sunday April 29th at 5:30pm!  Mark your calendars for our next cross-inter-all generational event! Come hungry because we are having a potluck!  We are asking each family to bring TWO dishes.  First dish is an item of your choice.  Second dish: if you last name begins with A-E please bring a salad (fruit or veggie), a side dish for F-L, main dish for M-S, and adessert for T-Z. It is going to be a fun night with our MC Rusty Sietsema!  There will be table activities, great food, and you won't want to miss the staff trivia!  We will also give these awesome events a name!  (Please submit any suggestions to Allison Nees.)"  


 3) Sunday May 20th is going to be the Celebration of Learning!  Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information to come about the awesome musical the kids will be putting on!

THANK YOU!

Spring? Summer?

The kids have been thoroughly confused as to what season it actually is!  One of the students at AWANA last night insisted that it was summer already!  And they all think Blacktop should be starting soon because it is just so nice out!

We had an AMAZING night at AWANA last night!  Started off the night a little rough!  There was so much energy in the house that I was sure we were in for it.  With 17 kids in the 2nd grade class (shout out to ALL the wonderful helpers in there last night!) we had nearly record numbers of kids!  YAY!  And then to get to listen to them work so hard to memorize God's word.... WOW!  I was just so blessed last night.  I would really love to thank each and every one of my leaders (because you are ALL truly amazing) but we would be here a very long time because Wednesday nights have truly been blessed with the best of the best!  So as we finish up the year I just want to give another blanket THANK YOU!!  I can't even put into words how much you all have meant to me and these kids.

As a reminder to everyone we have ONE more week of normal AWANA.  Then we will be taking a week off for Spring Break.  And the final night is the AWANA CARNIVAL which will take place Wednesday April 11th.  The schedule will start off like normal with dinner (pizza!) at 5:30pm.  We will then go to the sanctuary to sing.  The carnival will begin at 6:30pm with everyone in the Ministry Center!  We will wrap up at the normal time, 7:45.

Another big thing coming up... EASTER!  Reminder: Breakfast is at 8:30 am! With the service at 10!
The AWANA kids have also been invited to sing their version of "Great is the Lord" during the service!  Every AWANA student that comes and sings will receive 500 points!  

One final AWANA related announcement.  I am going to be collecting their books next week to hold on to them for next year.  So PLEASE help you students make sure they have their books with them!  They will get 200 points for turning them in.

I can't believe it but we are also planning things for the end of the year Celebration of Learning for Sunday School which will be held on Sunday, May 20th.  We are going to be doing the musical called "God of the City" for the celebration.  So please encourage your kids to listen the the CD of songs provided by Miss Earlene and to be there for children's singing time right at the beginning of Sunday School!

Yay!  Lots going on!  I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine!
Thanks for reading!

WOOHOO!! What a busy and beautiful time of year! It is growing a little cloudy today but yesterday was absolutely gorgeous!

I just wanted to give a little shout out to the AWANA crew!  We had a WONDERFUL night last night!  I was SOO proud of how hard the kids are working!  I will admit, sometimes lately I have felt a bit discouraged after Wednesday nights.  It is easy to become blinded by the things that go wrong.  Last night I was reminded that we need to focus on the things that go RIGHT!  These kids have touched my hear in so many ways and I can see Jesus touching theirs!  There is a lot of information they get during the night during things like book time.  But it is sticking!  From Kindergarten to 5th grade they are growing and it is just outstanding to watch!

So please, if you know anyone that volunteers on Wednesday nights, thank them for serving the kids of Calvary.  And if you are one of those people, I say THANK YOU!  It could not happen without you.  :o)

Hello everyone!  Don't forget, the kids are singing in church this Sunday!  Please have them meet in the lounge at 9:15!  Can't wait to hear their beautiful voices!

March!

Yay, March!  Can't quite believe how February flew by but March is here!  I love snow and winter but I am getting very excited for Spring!  Just a few notes for you all!

1) I am thankful for a wonderful energy packed night last night at AWANA!  I think we had our highest attendance yet!  Thank you to everyone that is praying for AWANA, AND please continue to pray. It is so powerful!

2) I know this is a long ways away but you are all so wonderfully organized I know you will want to get it on your calendars asap.  Easter Sunday, April 8th we will be having ONE service at 10am with breakfast before at 8:30 am.  So mark you calendars!

That's all for now.  Enjoy this gloomy March 1!

2 weeks?!

WOW!  This is a HUGE fail on my part!  I apologize for not posting for 2 weeks!  Terrible!  And there is so much to update you on!

First, THANK YOU!!! To everyone who helped out with and participated in our first cross-generational night this past Sunday!  I had SOOOOOO much fun!  It was such a huge blessing to worship with you all!  If you were there you already know this but we are looking for help in naming these events!  Please send any suggestions you have to me and we will create a pool to choose from!

Second, We had a GREAT week at AWANA last week!  Praise God!  Please keep praying!

Third, we are planning on the children's choir singing in church on Sunday March 11 so mark your calendars!

Finally, a personal note. (I was a bit hesitant to put this on my blog as it is not work related but I would really appreciate your prayers and encouragement so I decided I would.)  I believe most of you know but for those of you that don't I am seeing someone that is in the Navy and currently deployed.  It has been emotionally draining and to add to the challenge this last weekend I received word that his deployment is getting extended yet again.  It was already extended once before but this one in particular hit me really hard for some reason.  I am adjusting to the idea now but there is still so much uncertainty surrounding everything that it is very challenging at times.  Just pray for God's perfect timing and that we would be able to live with whatever that timing is (even though I probably won't like it)!

This is all for now!  I promise it won't be so long til the next post!

Yay! Monday!!

As a new week begins I have a very simple, but important, request for everyone!  Prayer!  Wednesday nights are such a blessing to me!  That being said the past few weeks have been a major struggle for a few of the classes.  Behavior is a constant battle and I was feeling like we had tried everything to encourage improvement.   Then it dawned on me.  We tried everything I could do in terms of behavior management.  Sadly I forgot a major tool, prayer.  So today I am coming to you simply asking you to pray for AWANA in the Heights.  Please pray that I and all the volunteers that give of themselves every week would be able to reach out to these kids, meet them wherever they are, and grow as we help them grow.  Please pray for courage, strength, patience, and love as sometimes all of these things are a challenge to find.

Thank you so much and I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

Hello everyone!  I can't believe January is already over!  How time flies.  There is a lot going on at Calvary! Through everything we do in Children's Ministries there is one nagging worry at the back of my mind, and that is the future struggles many children of Calvary will face.  Statistics say that a shocking percent of children that grow up in the church will struggle deeply with their faith and many will even leave the church following high school.  Mars Hill is holding an event THIS SUNDAY February 12 from 7-9pm entitled "Sticky Faith".  Kara Powell, author of the book Sticky Faith will be leading the session as she "offers both a compelling rationale and a powerful strategy to show parents how to actively encourage their children’s spiritual growth so that they might develop a living, lasting faith into adulthood."  It is $5 to attend and you can register in advance or at the door!  Find more information here: http://marshill.org/sticky-parenting/

Hello everyone!  What a crazy day yesterday!  The snow was absolutely gorgeous!  I can't quite believe how much there was of it!  Sadly, I missed most of the sermon yesterday but I heard there was even a wonderful plug for volunteering with Children's Ministries during the sermon!  Thanks to whoever gave it an "AMEN!"

It is going to be a busy month at Calvary!  I think we have something going on almost every weekend!  Here is the rundown of events!

THIS Saturday February 4th we are having the AWANA in the Heights parties!  Each child should have come home with a slip of paper outlining the party choices, times, and the number of points they have to 'spend'.  Please talk with them sometime this week about the part they would like to go to!  They will sign up on Wednesday night so that I have a rough estimate of how many people to expect. Party details are as follows:

AWANA in the Heights Parties!

-         Throughout the Fall semester each child worked to earn points!  Points allow them to ‘purchase’ different parties!

-         When: FEBRUARY 4^th, 2012

-         Where: Calvary Ministry Center! 

-         Who:  AWANA kids!  Based on the number of points they have collected. 

o   Game Party: 400 points: noon-1pm

o   Snowcone Party: 300 points: 1:15-1:45pm

o   Ice Cream Part: 500 points: 1:15-1:45pm

o   Movie Party: 600 points: 2-4pm (we will move down to the Youth room for the movie)

For the Movie Party: It is still a bit up in the air what we will be watching but right now I am thinking either Dolphin Tale or Cars 2.  (I will pre-watch Dolphin Tale but if anyone has seen it and can give feedback I would appreciate it!)

One more thing about the parties!  If you have a CUBBIE!  Stay tuned for their party!  The details are in progress but know that they will also have a celebration!

Then, in two weeks, there will be an all church event as we travel to support the Hope Women's Basketball team as they play against Adrian!  Sign up in advance to reserve your ticket!  Following the game there will be pizza in the Ministry Center at Calvary.

Finally, we are excited to announce Calvary's first CROSS-GENERATIONAL EVENT!  Stay tuned for more exciting details but mark your calendars for Sunday February 26th at 5:30pm!  We will have a wonderful night of love, laughter, and worship! (hint: there may even be a staff skit included in the order of events!)  

Phew!  That is a lot to keep straight but I think that's all for now!  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Greetings everyone!  What a wonderful first week of AWANA in the Heights!  It was such an amazing night!  Full of energy and joy!  I usually refrain from teaching the lesson because there are so many other things going on but last night since it was the first night back I taught the council time, and I had a blast!  We did a science experiment that symbolizes how our lives are dirty and clouded with sin (water and blue food coloring).  And the problem is when we die we want to go to Heaven.  But Heaven is a perfect place and we can't be their with our sinfulness.  Then we watched what happens when we ask Jesus to enter our lives and wash us clean!  (adding some bleach)  WOAH!  It became clear!  It was such a blessing to be able to share with the kids that Jesus would love to come into their lives and wash them clean of all their sins.  And what a good reminder for adults too!  So if you get a chance to talk to your kids, or any of the kids that came to AWANA last night, ask them what they learned and if they have asked Jesus to come into their hearts and wash away their sin.

This last week I spent a lot of time reflecting on the Children's programs, specifically AWANA.  It is not a perfect program, no program is.  There are lots of things I want to tweak for the future.  But every week I am blessed by these kids.  My heart melts as I watch everyone from preschoolers to 5th graders learn and memorize God's word.  Yes they are at all different places.  Yes some of them will memorize a verse faster and retain it longer than others.  But God brought them all here and they are ALL getting something out of it.  I am so honored to be one of the many vessels He chose to work in their lives.  And I am so thankful for all of you that play a part in the night as well.  I know it is exhausting, but in the scheme of eternity, what's a little exhaustion?  ;o)  We have children that come from all different places in life but for this one night they are all together.  And that is truly beautiful.  Thank you for making it possible!

Hello hello hello!  Happy Monday!  I just want to remind everyone that THIS WEDNESDAY we will be starting the spring session of AWANA in the Heights!  Come join us for dinner at 5:30pm in the Ministry Center!  It's going to be an awesome semester!

Wow!  It's been a whole week since I posted!  This is kind of last minute but if even one person sees it and is reminded that makes it worth it.  SO, here it is!  Reminder!  AWANA in the Heights Training in the Calvary Sanctuary at 6 pm tonight!

AWANA Parties

Yay 2012!  Happy New Year everyone!  And yay for all the snow!  What a fun way to bring in the New Year.    How beautiful!  God's creation never ceases to amaze me.  All those snow flakes and He made every single one of them different...

One announcement for the day.  I checked in with the office today and we will not be able to have the AWANA parties on the 28th as I had hoped.  I am hesitant to have them any sooner because I want to be able to discuss them with the kids for a few weeks in advance.   Therefore we are going to have to push them back one more week.  So as of right now we are going to officially mark calendars for Saturday February 4th!  Upon their return each child will be given their total number of points from last semester.  There will be 4 options for parties: 

Movie Party: 600 points

Ice Cream Party: 500 points

Game Party: 400 points

Snowcone Party: 300 points

Each child will get to pick which party they would like to attend.  (All kids that have come at least 3 times will be able to attend the snowcone party at the very least.  New comers will need to earn points toward the spring semester.) All parties will be held at various times on Saturday.  So following our AWANA start-up on January 18th ask your child how many points he or she has and which parties they would like to attend.  :o)  The ice cream and snowcone parties will be shorter 30 minute events, the game party will last an hour, and the movie party will be approximately 1 1/2 hours (depending on the movie chosen).

That's all for now.  Stay warm!

-Miss Allison