February 21st & 22nd

"We love because God loved us first"1John 4:19

This weekend in Beginnings we learned:
1. I can love God's creation.
2. I can love God's creation because he gave it to me.

This weekend we told the story of Adam & Eve and how they both took care of the garden. They both worked hard to take care of God's creation. We had a great time talking about what we could do to help take care of God's creation. We played "hot potato" and everytime the classroom teacher yelled "STOP!" the child holding the bean bag talked about what they could do. We heard a lot of great ideas like picking up trash, taking care of flowers and taking care of our pets. We also played animal charades! The classroom teacher quietly whispered an animal into a child's ear, that child had to act like the animal (without using words) to get the other children to guess what animal they were. It was a lot of fun!

This week would be a wonderful week with the beautiful winter days to take a walk outside and talk with your child the wonderful gift of God's creation. Talk abuot the animals, the trees and plants. Then talk about how important it is to take care of His creation and talk about how you and your child can help. Perhaps this would be a good week just to take a bag and pick up some of the trash off the streets. Have a blessed week.

February 14th & 15th

"We love because God loved us first"
1John 4:19

This weekend in Beginnings we learned:
1. I can love my family and friends.
2. I can love my family and my friends because God gave them to me.

Happy Valentines Day! I hope you spent some special time with your loved ones as well as some time with God, the creator of love. This weekend we told the story of Zaccheus in the tree. In this story Zaccheus learned that sharing is better than being greedy. We talked about how we can share with our family and friends to show them that we love them. We had a big heart on a piece of butcher paper and we had the children write in the heart what we can share. We explained how just like Zaccheus, if we share, it shows that we love others. Our craft this week was a picture of Zaccheus in the tree! We put a picture of Zaccheus on a popsicle stick and put him in the tree. Then we told the story of Zaccheus again and used the craft as a prop.

This week as you talk about what we have learned, find out from your child how they can show love to others not only with their words, but by showing love in different ways like sharing. Discuss how happy it makes God to see you share during the day. Talk to your child about times throughout the day you showed love by sharing. Have a blessed week.

February 7th & 8th

"We love because God loved us first"

1John 4:19

This weekend in Beginnings we learned:

1. Love is a gift from God

2. I can show love because God shows love to me.

It's the start of a new episode of Lil'K, it is called I can love, perfect for February and I think the children will be able to find new meaning in Valentine's Day. This weekend we had the children sit in a circle and pass a present around with music. When the music stopped, each child described a way that s/he can show love to someone else. We talked about the special gift that Mary gave to Jesus, the perfume from the jar she poured on Jesus' feet. It was so much fund to listen as the children explored ideas on how they too, could show their love for others. Our craft this weekend was a perfume jar. We had the children decorate the jar with sequins and glitter, some even colored their pictures. Once that was complete we sprayed a little bit of perfume on each jar.

This week as you talk about what we have learned, find out from your child how they can show love to others not only with their actions, but their words. Perhaps each night as you come together for dinner you can show your child your love for others by giving an example from your day. Have a blessed week.

January 31st & February 1st

"I praise you because you made me wonderful!" Psalm 139:14

This weekend in Beginnings we learned:
1. You are special to God.
2. God wants to be your friend because you are special to Him.

What a fun weekend! It was beautiful outside and we learned about being friends and how God wants to be our friend. We sat in a large circle and discussed what we can do with our friends. Some of the ideas that were given were playing with toys, having fun, running, and playing outside. It was a great discussion and the children loved it. In addition we talked about how much God wants to be our friend. Jesus came to earth and died on the cross so we could be friends with God. I know that the children didn't completely grasp this concept, so take some time this week to discuss what this means and how wonderful it is to have such a loving God that he would sacrafice His son to have a deeper relationship with us all. Our craft this week was a "Jesus is my Special Friend" picture. The children colored a picture of Jesus on a heart and then decorated the heart with glue and glitter pieces. What a mess! And of course, the messier it was the more fun the children had. It is such a joy to help the children in their walk with the Lord, it is such an amazing experience to be a part of their growth as they move up in Beginnings. We are so blessed to have the oppertunity to share in this experience.

Next week: Be on the lookout for our new series! We will begin the "I Can Love" series on Saturday, just in time for Valentine's Day. Have a blessed week.