KristineIN Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Ok, two issues here. We are in a small church that recently joined forces with another small church and started having Bible study at the church (formerly we were just a congregation without a building and various people would host Bible study, so the kids would play quietly in bedrooms) Now we have dinner at 6:00 and pastor does a short study with the kids and then they have run of the place. (our church is also a daycare, so there's a big open area where chairs are put away during the week) The kids are loud and just basically run around and it's noisy. I know whomever does stuff with the kids would miss the adult study, but that's just what's going to have to happen. There are about 20-25 kids a week ages from 2-13 or so. It' just driving dh and I crazy and we feel there needs to be some structure to it. (it's mainly the noise level that gets out of control) Also, what about Heelies? I feel like we are constantly the bad guys but about 6 children wear them on a regular basis and it drives us crazy. Should we say something or just keep out mouths shut. I know it's only twice a week that we meet!! Any advice? Thanks, Kristine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIN Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 I would volunteer to start a children's program, and figure out how to rotate the families through to be in charge each week. I feel that when one has a gripe it is good to get in and say "I don't like this, but here is a solution and I'll be the first volunteer." And then work to get the solution going. I'm not sure what I would do about the heelies. Maybe bringing it up as a saftey issue would work. If there are very young or very old it could be dangerous espcially! Good luck trying to figure it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristineIN Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 Thanks, do you guys have any suggestions on childrens programs? Maybe curriculum, fun crafts, free stuff on the web? Thanks, Kristine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIN Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Do you think there would be any funds to start a program? In our small group we are reading Missionary Stories with the Miller's. We read a story together, talk a bit about it, find the country on a globe or map, and pray. You could pick a country and color a flag or picture to go with the story to make it last longer. We also sing songs, maybe you could have a CD to sing along with? Would you be able to have some free time play as well? If you have all the toys for a daycare, it would be nice to be able to use them! HTH a bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jail warden Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Start with a simple program and volunteer to help get it started. Maybe get another Mom who feels like you to help. I don't know about the heelys. I would think it would be along the lines of someone running in and out of adults in the hall, so do whatever you'd do in that instance. I'm not confrontational, so unless I saw them about to hurt someone because of being careless I'd probably let it go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mx5 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Ok, two issues here. We are in a small church that recently joined forces with another small church and started having Bible study at the church (formerly we were just a congregation without a building and various people would host Bible study, so the kids would play quietly in bedrooms) Now we have dinner at 6:00 and pastor does a short study with the kids and then they have run of the place. (our church is also a daycare, so there's a big open area where chairs are put away during the week) The kids are loud and just basically run around and it's noisy. I know whomever does stuff with the kids would miss the adult study, but that's just what's going to have to happen. There are about 20-25 kids a week ages from 2-13 or so. It' just driving dh and I crazy and we feel there needs to be some structure to it. (it's mainly the noise level that gets out of control) Also, what about Heelies? I feel like we are constantly the bad guys but about 6 children wear them on a regular basis and it drives us crazy. Should we say something or just keep out mouths shut. I know it's only twice a week that we meet!! Any advice? Thanks, Kristine I think it is of critical importance that the kiddos are not cut loose during the adult time. The plain fact of the matter is that more than likely every family there has kids there, right? There is no reason at all why 1 adult cannot oversee the kids, even if all the kids do is play. Talk to the pastor and get his advice. Then when he gives the OK, talk very calmly and cheerfully to everyone (even better, have your dh address the group... best of all, have the Pastor do it) and let them know that in the best interest of the group, an adult needs to be with the kids every week, and that families will be asked to rotate. With only 20 kids, I'm assuming not all are toddler age, so the older kids should help with the younger ones. I think it would be too ambitious to try to find something for all the kids to do due to their vast age span. However, we've found that kids of all ages love "102 Questions Kids Ask About God" when we pose the question then ask everyone to answer. It's amazing what we find out about the kids when they answer! As for the heelies, if the building doesn't have a policy on it, then I'd leave it alone and try my best to be cheerful to the kids wearing them. Not every parent will agree on whether or not heelies are an issue, so don't let it become one for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 personally, I could not participate in a Bible study where the children were left pretty much unattended. Of course there needs to be some structure. Of course there must be adults in charge. Surely there are adults whom God has gifted in working with children. This is part of the cost of growing a larger church body. You could check into having Contenders and Keepers clubs. There's also Homeschool Huskies and Ponies. Or, for something less homeschool oriented, there's Pioneer Clubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Each parent chipped in a little, and she and another girl played games and supervised the children in a different room, so the noise level was not an issue. I guess I'm out of the loop. What is a heely? ?? LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristineIN Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 Thanks, I'm enjoying the comments. Most of the daycare toys are too young for the main group of children. The majority of the kids are between about 7-13 with about three under that. Unfortunately the pastor tunes out the noise level of the children. Today a child was slamming doors during the service (I mean, not just once or twice, but every few minutes, I think the chairman is going to install something on the doors so they can't be slammed)and when something was said afterwards to our pastor about the doors, he said he didn't even realize it. The same goes for Wednesday night. Most people don't care that the children are noisy and just running around. We just have stricter rules in our house, so it's been a harder adjustment for us. I plan on letting dh lead things though, he needs to be the one to say stuff. It's all going to be a learning process and I'm going to try not to stress too much about it, maybe I can just have my kids take a few games to start with. There's really not a whole lot to do. The way the church is set up, it's a big rectangle building, small kitchen on one end, rooms along both sides and a big open area where chairs are set up and an alter at the front. It's the perfect building for our needs, just getting to the point where everyone is happy is going to interesting. Blessings, Kristine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 this neat curriculum that included ALL age groups in a sort of one-room Sunday School type atmosphere. Here is a link to it: http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/curriculum.aspx?sid=124 You can use it with ages 3 - middle school and it is easy to implement. I don't remember how much it cost, but it wasn't too much or we wouldn't have used it! HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I like the idea of maybe hiring some older teens to maybe do something with the kids........parents could chip in maybe?? If not, then parents rotating is what we've done in the past and its worked well. If you have several parents you only miss out on bible study once every couple of months. You could keep this as simple as structured play time with various games or as elaborate as AWANAS or Pioneers........it really depends on how much time and money you want to throw into a program. As for the heelies..........personally I only say something to the kids if someone is about to get hurt, otherwise I leave it alone.........and I wouldn't say anything to anyone in charge either. Frankly, the problem should be solved for some of this if you have a structured program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody in IL Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I would not allow Heelies in church. Period. Would you (and I'm not attacking YOU; I'm using "you" as in "one person.) allow bikes? Trikes? I don't think so. There has to be a certain amount of reverence--control--propriety, call it what you will, while in the building. I'm betting they aren't Heelie-ing" down the halls in school. Wait--I might be wrong there. :) I agree on having someone be with the kids while this is going on. When I was in a young moms' study, we shared childcare. Two moms would sign up to watch the kids each week; these moms would also bring snacks for the moms and the kids. Simple stuff for the kids; goldfish, pretzels, apple juice, etc. For the moms, a nice coffee cake; if this is evening, maybe pie or something. Those moms would have care of the kids during the actual study, which we tried to keep just under an hour. That gave us half an hour or a little more to all share snacks and socializing together. The moms didn't have a specific program for the kids; this was more like supervised play. It was in a school gym, so there would be large and small toys, circle games, etc. Granted, these kids were all under 6, but a similar style plan could work for older kids, too. And the oldest can help. As I think of this, we also did this with couples, back when we were much younger. At that time, sitters were hired from among the teens of the congregation. We paid $1 per child. I don't know why one or two couples couldn't volunteer to take care of the kids, using the same "plan" as our moms' group. I may suggest this at our church now.... I hope this makes sense. This really was a good system, and worked well for all involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I guess I'm out of the loop. What is a heely? ?? LOL! Heelys are those shoes that have little roller thingies in the heels so the kidlets can sort of skate on their heels. I'm sure you've seen them. You just didn't know what they were called :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Heelys are those shoes that have little roller thingies in the heels so the kidlets can sort of skate on their heels. I'm sure you've seen them. You just didn't know what they were called :-) Oh, yeah. I've seen kids wandering around on these. Seems like they should be considered a toy not a shoe! Thanks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I would encourage the parents to include their children in worship, and teach the parents how to do that. And I would start a study program for the children, maybe divided into 3 levels to start with. You can find great Sunday school programs or Wednesday midweek study programs all over the place. I like the ones from Concordia Publishing House, but there are lots of good ones out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 The kids are loud and just basically run around and it's noisy. I know whomever does stuff with the kids would miss the adult study, but that's just what's going to have to happen. There are about 20-25 kids a week ages from 2-13 or so. It' just driving dh and I crazy and we feel there needs to be some structure to it. (it's mainly the noise level that gets out of control) This would be a wonderful opportunity to teach them to serve. A couple teenagers could teach a Bible study to the children then have a structured play time. There may need to be a willing adult to hold the teens' hands for a bit early, but what better discipling opportunity could you ask for? As to the Heelies, could you designate a Heelie zone where the kids could skate to their hearts content while not causing much of a disruption? My dd have Heelies and there aren't too many places where she can use them (a lesson in buying something you have no adequate place to use them), so she will ask if she can use them in our Fellowship Hall if it is not crowded. She is allowed to, but knows that she may be asked to stop if it becomes too crowded. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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