May 2015 Jonah and the Whale

4:30 Prep

4:45 Meet & Greet kids and check in with Parent/Guardians.

5:15 Gather for Circle Time

5:20 Music & Dance

5:30 Pass the Peace & Go Around

5:35 Solidarity Prayer

5:40 Snack, Reading & Dialogue

5:50 Craft, Game & Building Centers

Gathering Time suggestions: Think of a fun way to round up the kids (sing a song, clap your hands in a call and response, flash the lights). Show and tell kids how and where to gather.

Music Suggestions:  Consider adding a Christmas Carol each week. Check in with the music leader for this week to see if you can grab a few ideas from the. You can also find links to our new COH albums and COH music log to the right on this blog.

Pass the Peace & Go around suggestions: Take a moment to have kids pass the peace to each other. Maybe think of a fun way for kids to do that (high five, elbow bumps, etc.). Ask a simple, fun question to help them settle in.

Solidarity Prayer: This season lets find regions to pray for on the MCC website. Click HERE to find a topic. 

Reading & Dialogue Suggestions: 
April 28th Jonah 1
May 3rd Jonah 2
May 10th Jonah 3
May 17th Jonah 4

Remember that our job is simply to create a safe space for dialogue. Some fun ways to do this are by:

• having them take turns drawing parts of the story as you read the sections to them.
• having them act out the story, or creating a song about the story. 
• having or creating props or visual aides. 
• asking them what they think the characters were feeling in the story.
• asking them what they think happened before the story, or what may happen next.

Suggested dialogue questions: Can you think of a time when you ________? What are some ways we can remember to ________ this week?

Craft, Game & Building Centers:

You can find links to craft ideas on our sidebar under "Favorite Art Making Links", or you can pull up blog posts from past seasons for ideas.