What Kids are Learning

In the K6 Experience Studios in June we taught about the Holy Spirit. While playing with a parachute we talked about how Jesus said that the Spirit is kind of like the wind. Then I asked the kids, "In what ways are the wind and the Holy Spirit alike?"

A second grader said, "You know how the middle of a hurricane is really calm, but at the same time, the outside is really blowing hard and knocking down trees? Well, the Holy Spirit can do calm things and really big powerful things at the same time!"

And ALL of the groups came up with up "you can't see the wind, but it is still very powerful, and you can see what it does." The kids seem like they are starting to understand that our culture doesn't recognize the real-ness of the God they cannot see, but He is just as real as their friends and their favorite famous people.

AND...He is way more powerful than any of them! I think that they feel excited and secure when we talk about this. God bless them! They are so precious! What an honor to be one of the people who get to watch the kids begin to realize the best news they will ever hear!

Leader Quest Part 2:

During Leader Quest, the coach talked about Nehemiah who was first a servant and then a leader. Coach challenged the kids’ understanding of leadership. Leadership is not so much a position or title but rather an attitude that reflects respect, responsibility and discipline within themselves. Coach challenged the kids to think about ways that each of them could “serve” their family members.

Coach left the kids with five ideas that would change their lives:
1. Don’t think too highly of yourself or your importance
2. Don’t disrespect your parents
3. To be on time, is to be late
4. Give away your money freely
5. Dream and set goals. Each day pray, “Lord, want do you want from me today?”

I believe that each person who attended Leader Quest learned and experienced what they needed as the Holy Spirit tailors His work individually to our specific needs. Now as our kids move further into their leadership/faith journey, let us prayer together. . .“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1.6

Leader Quest - 5/6th grade Leadership Adventure

Bethany Timmons and I brought 9 kids – 2 girls and 7 boys to the Idea Factory in Troy, Ohio for 3 days of leadership development last week. Leader Quest is a 3-day of adventure, hands on learning experience where kids study hard, work hard, play hard and sleep hard. My friend Mike Nygren has done over 450 of these types of trainings and is brilliant. Everything he does looks nonchalant yet is very intentional.

For example, he took us all out to the local diner, divided the kids up into small groups of 3 with a team leader and observed how well they behaved in a public setting. There were some mixed results! He observed to see who would step up to clean up after a meal and who goes off to play. Mike knows that kids can do awesome things and make a difference in their homes and community.


It’s impossible to describe the process of “de-jerking.” I don’t say that disrespectfully. We all have the potential to be jerks at various times and we are. It is amazing to watch the kids step up and into the expectations that Mike laid out.


If you go to a basketball camp don’t you expect the coach to invest in you and help you become a better ball player? He’s going to build a team to win and he’s going to work you hard to get the best from you. That’s how Mike approaches leadership. You can trust him to tell you the truth – both positive and negative. He’ll tell you when you are missing the mark but he is quick to praise and encourage, so you can grow as a leader.

Leadership

Leadership is an attitude.

It's the way you handle yourself and treat others

showing respect,

responsibility

and discipline.

Immunization:

To everyone’s surprise the Master seemed unenthusiastic about religious education for the young. When asked why, he said, “Inoculate them when they are young and you prevent them from catching the real thing when they grow up.” – Anthony deMello

deMello’s quote might seem strange coming from a Kids' pastor. It’s a sad statement and one that brings me to prayer. I don’t want to create stumbling blocks for our kids to have faith. (Jesus has some very strong words to those who cause his little ones to stumble). I want to walk with our kids, guide our kids, learn with our kids and experience Jesus with the kids.

Grant us that serve our kids at Westwinds, wisdom and discernment. Keep our hearts open to hear and see how Your Spirit moves in our kids and therefore learn and grow along side them.

Children's Spirituality Conference

I'm at Children's Spirituality Conference,(www.childspirituality.org) not to be misinterpreted as a Children's Ministry Conference.

What's the difference you might ask?

One is about spiritual formation; one is about programs.

One is looking at how spiritual formation occurs in kids; one is looking at how to create programs to aid that process.

Both aspects are important but surprisingly the two areas don't seem to cross on the radar of many children's ministers/pastors. Could be that many kids pastors come from an educational background and have less background in theology or spirituality.

For me I come to kids’ spirituality from the development background and not the educational aspect. I am not a trained teacher, meaning I don't have a teaching degree. So I am very blessed to have great people who serve with me who are trained teachers. Together we seem to have created unique experiences that invite our kids into both "heart knowledge" and "head knowledge" of our Creator God, his son Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Westwinds is a great place to be.

K6 Music & Motion Studio

. . .is really a lot of fun. It's not like "school", if you know what I mean! The kids here really enjoy themselves and they are very respectful and curious.

Their ideas and questions floor me sometimes. During our May studio I asked the kids why the Bible said that God kept the disciples on the Emmaus road from recognizing Jesus, i.e. Why wouldn't God want them to know that it was Jesus right away?

One little first grader said, "Because maybe God wanted them to LISTEN to Jesus first. If they knew it was Him, they would be too excited, and He had a lot to teach them."

Wow! I am constantly learning and being challenged by these kids' profound insight into the heart of God. I used her answer to help inspire all the following classes.

Comments from K6 Studio Director: Janet Deaver

Little Kids with Big Hearts

The other day about 25-30 kids and parents got together to make t-shirts. These t-shirts are going to a Jamaican orphanage with our student journey team June 13. All this happened because a Westwinds’ 7 year old kid wanted to do something for the little kids in Jamaica.

This quick last minute Beyond 1000 outreach was a huge success. Not because we have beautiful shirts to send (some are kind of ugly, oh well) but because a little guy named Austin is learning that he can make a difference in his church and in the world. Little kids know that they don’t have to be grown up to serve God, they can do it right now!

Overheard in the parking lot...

Girl: Mom, the storytelling room was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cool today!!!!
Mom: Wow, sounds like you had a great time.
Girl (literally jumping up and down): I got to be a narrator, it was awesome.

Proving once again that WWKids is FUN :)

K6 Discovery Studio - May 31

I taught in the Discovery Studio this weekend @ 10a. Had a great time exploring why the couple on the Emmaus road did not recognize Jesus. The kids had a worksheet and went to 6 interactive stations that involved sight and seeing from different perspectives. The kids asked questions, made observations and documented their findings.

We watched movie clips from Prince Caspian, the part where Lucy saw Alsan but the other kids didn't. Why was she able to see Alsan but not her sister and brothers? Even though (our) kids didn't see Alsan in the movie, they believed Lucy did. We talked about the different ways of seeing or knowing. The couple on the road to Emmaus said their "hearts were burning" they knew there was something special about this man who was walking along the road with them.

The kids concluded that you can know Jesus with your heart even though you might not see or recognize Him with your eyes.

In June we move further into the story and introduce the Holy Spirit who teaches us and helps us to know Jesus. Great stuff in wwKiDs Journey.