The Long Awaited Movie

I love good animation! I have been waiting for this movie to come out for months. I remember going to the movies with my family when they were putting together the huge cardboard display of Horton. It caused me to anticipate what was to come. I want that kind of anticipation in children’s ministry.

Today, Horton comes off the pages of the Dr. Seuss book and onto the big screen for me and my boys.

Unleash

WoW! What an amazing 30 hrs!

• Left the The ROCK at 5:30 pm on Wednesday with a bunch of ROCKERS!
• Had a great van ride arriving at 12:30 am
• On to Unleash bright and early Thursday morning.
• Great hospitality read about the Sundrop story on Helen’s blog.
• Perry brought two fun straightforward words.
• Tony Morgan’s breakout wasn’t flamboyant, but witty and informative.
• The children’s breakout allowed me the opportunity to speak with Pudge about some creative ideas.  I would like an ounce of his creativity.

The last session was truly amazing when senior pastors were honored. I know I cannot even begin to feel the weight that our senior pastor carries. My heart is that I will be a part of the staff he can lean on.

A bed on the playground?

I couldn’t resist taking this picture of the bed on the playground. It was on its way to my car. We had been using it in ROCK stars as a part of a child’s bedroom scene.

Children retain 30% of what they hear and 50% of what they see. If both auditory and visual stimulation are used then children retain 70% of what they hear and see. Props help us to engage children in what they are learning.

In Club ROCK, we use Elevate curriculum. At first, I was discouraged when I saw their props because I wasn’t sure how I could replicate them. They send you all the  graphics to print the designs on a wide format printer or plotter, but I do not have access to one. I looked at having the items printed and this was very expensive.

I wasn’t going to give up on props. I found someone who could take the images and paint them on plywood. She takes the images and makes a stencil on a vinyl plotter. We reuse the plywood and braces.

Not giving up on a plotter either, it is on my wish list. An HP 5500 or 5000 designjet refurbished would be just fine! The cool thing is the plotter can print on a special kind of sticker and put designs in the windows of my classrooms.

Everyday I am stretched creatively. How can we do this better?How do we make church the funnest place on earth? How do we help kids love God?