Shepherding the Children of Vineyard Central: September and October Summary
During the months of September and October, the children continued wondering about various narratives of the Old Testament including, Daniel, Ruth and Naomi, Esther, Jonah, and Job. Throughout these stories they memorized, “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end” (Daniel 6:26b) and “When his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!” (Job 29:3).
When learning about Daniel and the handwriting on the wall, the 5-7 year olds wrote messages with invisible ink and wondered what God would want to tell them. They also talked about Daniel in the lion’s den and how God watches over people who fear Him.
When learning about Ruth and Naomi, the 5-7 year olds acted out the story. (They also played charades with previous stories from class).
When learning about Job, the 0-4 year olds heard the dialogue between Satan and God depicted as sock puppets and then made their own puppets. The 5-7 year olds wondered when the happy ending would happen when they heard the story of Job and were invited to draw pictures imagining praising God in midst of things that did not seem to have a happy ending. They also drew pictures inspired by God’s response to Job and brainstormed “tough questions” that they do not know the answers to.
In the coming weeks up until Advent, the children will learn about Paul as another of the faithful imperfect followers of God. They will learn the memory verse, “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15).
Over the past several months, those who serve with the children met for a day of training and discussion of how to better meet the learning needs of all children in our congregation. As part of that conversation, the 5-7 and 8-11 year old classes now have sensory boxes that children can choose items from during the story time in order to help them listen better.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. If you are interested in joining those serving the children, please feel free to talk to one of the classroom leaders.
~ Laura