awanas-do you help? advice needed

[athomeontheprairie]

I help with our churches Awana program. In our T and T and Sparks clubs, the past several years, we've had very few students complete the books.less than 10%. is this normal?

any suggestions on how to increase that percentage? ( I don't want to rush kids through the books, so please don't suggest that. but I would like to see more kids succeed)

[Cinder]

Over the years at our Awana program about 10% *not* finishing has been the norm. I think at those ages most of the kids still need daily help and encouragement from their parents, especially with the Search Sites. I would aim my appeal at the parents to help their child for 5-10 mins each day, maybe at bedtime, reviewing their verses or going over answers to the Search questions. I was an Awana helper a couple years but most of my years were just as a parent to a clubber, and in all that time I've seen only a few kids who were self-motivated and disciplined enough to tackle the handbook work on their own.

[happi duck]

Our groups were very small so besides signing off on verses the leader could also help with learning.

 

Also we never let the "bring a friend" sections hold anyone up. (Eta: meaning that missing those sections did not keep you from moving up to the next book)

 

Lastly, giving the little things for the pins was done the same night with encouraging enthusiasm.

[FriedClams]

In our group 50% completion was pretty normal for t&t. The girls completed more than the boys. For "bring a friend", our leaders allowed "invite a friend" which I think is way more appropriate. The kids who finished had involved parents and a family culture of competing (lots of siblings completing, etc). The younger groups worked through books at class, so they usually all finished. We actually left one group because our kids were the only ones memorizing outside of class and finishing books, and it was really uncomfortable come prize nights. It wasn't that we were pushy, the culture of the program was that completion was the exception.

[LifeLovePassion]

Our kids earn sparky/t&t dollars to spend on prizes in the store.

 

If clubbers don't have a friend to bring, they can write a letter to a missionary the church supports for that section.

 

I am now sure of the percentage, but the majority finish. If not they pick up where they left off the next year.

[mom2samlibby]

That is surprisingly low. I think all (or close to all) finished their books at the AWANA group my kids attended. They had a rule of no games if you didn't do a section every two weeks.

 

They also earned tickets for completion, which were used at the end of the year carnival night.

[Cinder]

Also we never let the "bring a friend" sections hold anyone up.

 

Lastly, giving the little things for the pins was done the same night with encouraging enthusiasm.

 

Re: bring a friend. This section can be done anytime. What I like about our current club is that no one is pushed to bring a friend and the child can receive their book completion award without completing this section. If they bring a friend, great; if not, no big deal. Our club in the past has given credit for inviting but in the last few years I think the leaders have just let that requirement fall to the wayside. I really appreciate that attitude because the bring a friend has always been a problem for us. We'd like to bring friends who are truly interested in trying out Awana but most people we know either already have kids in Awana somewhere or just aren't interested. We're nopt interested in just "using" our friends to get points. It's one of those activities that is beyond the child's control and they shouldn't be penalized for it.

 

Our club is also pretty quick to give out awards as they're earned. The only ones they hold back on is the book completion awards that are given at the end of the year. If a child completes a book mid-year it might be announced but the award will be saved for the end-of-year ceremony.

[Evergreen State Sue]

My daughter completed her final year going from Cubbies (3 yrs. old) to Journey (high school) and received her Citation award I'm very much in favor of the Awana program.  I would agree that in the early years, it is a commitment the parents have to make along with the kids.  Do the parents see this as an opportunity for their children to grow spiritually, or do that see it as an opportunity to have a night off without the kids?  I have always been involved with my kids in Awana, and I am surprised how many parents just drop and go instead of helping with one of the groups.  I think when your child sees you are working in Awana too, they are encouraged to put in the work.  I agree that homeschoolers tend to do best because their parents make it part of their day instead of an after thought after school is out.  I also see the Awana program competing with youth groups when they get to the middle school age and beyond.  This is when our church will lose kids, especially the boys.  There are so many extra activities that compete with the kids' time.

 

I know my kids were encouraged with they received "Awana Bucks" when they completed sections.  Our church doesn't do an Awana store several times throughout the year, but instead holds an auction by group where the kids use the Awana money they have earned throughout the year on one special day near the end of the year.  I've also heard of churches rewarding with candy after sections are said.  I know some wouldn't agree with the extra sugar, but it does encourage some kids to do the work. 

[snickerplum]

For non-readers there is a musical CD available for each book (not the CD in the back of the book). It has each verse from the book set to music and it is SO helpful.

I help with Sparks and T&T, too! :-) The T&T lady I'm working with provides each girl (our boys and girls each have different rooms/leaders) a notebook. If you have (1) already said your sections for the night or (2) have no sections to say then you're supposed to be writing your next verses in your notebook.

In the past I've known of classes where the parental help at home is very minimal. I think that affects non-readers the most. It's not helpful to readers, but they *can* do it on their own when motivated.

Does your club have the Awana store? Many a child has been motivated to learn sections in order to be able to spend Awana bucks at the store.

I spend time with the girls in my groups and help them with verses when we have time. Now, they cannot say those sections the same night, I make them wait a week to say them since the real purpose of Awana is verse memorization.

[kbutton]

Much of it has to do with whether the kids work on verses at home--some clubs are in areas where the club is used as free or cheap babysitting. :-) Our church has a pretty hig rate, but it's one that has gone up rather than one that was always high. We do work with the kids on club night, but many have at least some help at home. If we have an especially big group of kids in one grade or SN kids concentrated in a group, it is harder to facilitate all the kids without them having help at home.

 

My older son did a great job with Sparks (he actually did almost all of the available material, including extras, in 2 years), but he kind of burned out in T and T. My second one is one track, but we'll see when he gets in T and T. The older club never has enough listeners, and my older son got behind from the beginning when they didn't have time to listen to his sections. :-(

 

I would try to get the kids to use the CDs. My older son learned most of his Sparks verses this way. My younger one cannot do this--the CDs are too fast for his auditory issues. Fortunately, he will study the verses some on his own anyway.

[kbutton]

Oh, you might consider having some time one club night for parents to learn how to help their kids memorize. It's kind of a lost art, honestly. And many parents believe it's hard for the kids--while that is the case for some, kids often have an easier time of it than the parents, but the parents don't readily realize this.

 

Our club does a store about three times per year, and when kids finish a book or review a book, they get bonus points for the store on top of what they get just for saying each section.

[athomeontheprairie]

Thank you for all the replies!

Re: bring a friend. Our club this can be done at anytime throughout the year, and many of our kids struggle with this because everyone close enough to our church is already there. Thisis never a cause of our students not finishing.

 

I like the idea of getting parents involved, and possibly explaining how to help the kids memorize.

 

we do not do am Awana store, so can someone explain this to me? I get the concept, say sections, earn points/fake money to be usedin a store at a given time to buy prizes. what is in your store? How do you get those things? how much money does a kid earn per section? Is it different based on level?

 

Kbutton, did your son join Sparks late? here kids are not allowed to move into the next book unless they've come to the program late (as in joining sparks in 1st grade not k). my Sparky last year finished all of her book, the review, the bonus book, and the bonus book review a month before Sparks ended last year. she was very frustrated, because there is nothing for her to do. she ended up helping in the nursery Or helping the younger Sparkys that could not read.

[kbutton]

Yes, my son joined Sparks late. 

 

I don't know how much money is awarded for sections, but they also earn it for being in uniform, bringing visitors, etc. Sometimes there is a short incentive time, and kids earn for those things. They usually have some kind of drive during the year for boxes sent to kids overseas (sometimes Samaritan's Purse, but our church works with other organizations that take such boxes to the areas where they are sending food aid). When kids bring items for those boxes, they can get extra money for the store. The people who run the store stock everything form Dollar Store trinkets to great clearance finds that they keep an eye out for all year long. At a different church, the store folks shop for gently used stuff at yard sales as well (stuff that's in fantastic shape). Our church has a donation bin for the Awana store as well. There is a man at church who makes and paints lightweight wooden swords, and the boys of all ages buy those as fast as he can make them, so you might want to think of tapping into the skills of the congregation.

 

The church I grew up in always held at least one store night shortly before Christmas and stocked it with gifts kids could get for their siblings and parents. They asked for extra volunteers that night, and they did gift wrapping for the kids. I've noticed that our low income kids, especially, use the Awana store to buy Christmas presents. It's very sweet, and they put serious effort into finding appropriate gifts for each family member.

[SebastianCat]

In addition to an Awana store, our program held contests a few times each year where kids earned extra money and/or got to participate in a FUN activity (like ice cream sundaes or throw a pie in the director's face) if they completed a certain # of sections in a given amount of time. The kids loved it.