Happy New Year!!

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas everyone! 2011 is just around the corner and it promises to be a great year at Kids' Connection! In January we will learn about the 'fruit' of PATIENCE. Our Bible verse for PATIENCE is "...be patient with everyone." I Thessalonians 5:14. Jesus is our true example of patience. He had to explain things about His life over and over again to His disciples, but He stayed calm and focused on His mission to the world. Jesus showed so much patience with the disciples when they were confused and slow to understand. We need to learn from Jesus' example by giving others in our lives a second chance to know and understand something important.

Sometimes we have to 'wait' for a surprise. That's also when we need to be patient. You can tell how patient someone is by the way they 'act' while they're waiting. Are you patient? :)

January will be a fun month at Kids' Connection. If you signed up for sewing lessons, you've waited so patiently! We are having a sewing day on January 11!!! Sewing machines will be available for you to use. We're planning a Beach Party, outdoor games and some other surprises! We will be testing our patience this month by waiting for the fun at Kids' Connection!

Happy New Year everyone!! See you next year! :)

A Busy Afternoon!

Building, connecting, building, and connecting with the wrestlers from MOC-FV!
Thank you for coming to Kids' Connection!

Connecting and Investing!

We were blessed today to have the MOC-FV wrestling team and their coaches Lyle Lundgren, Andrew Lundgren and Chad Koedam. The young men on the wrestling team shared their stories of faith in Christ and their dependence on Him in order to do their sport to the best of their ability. The children listened in awe as the young athletes shared their testimonies. What a beautiful thing to witness!!

We watched a movie called "The Very First Noel" and then continued to share our Kids' Connection afternoon with the wrestlers by building wood projects, coloring candy cane holders, painting crafts and gluing ornaments together. The young men from the high school truly connected and invested in the lives of the children at Kids' Connection today. I was so proud of these fine athletes!!

Again, NO Kids' Connection until Tuesday, January 4 when school resumes. See you in 2011!

Have a wonderful and Christ-filled Christmas with family and friends!!

Angels We Have Heard on High...or at LTC

An angelic, glorious sound was heard at the Long Term Care Facility in Orange City on Thursday, Dec.16. 84 children and 16 volunteers walked the hallways at LTC singing 'Jingle Bells', 'Away in the Manger', 'Joy to the World',' Angels We Have Heard on High' and 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas!' We were greeted by smiles, hugs and Christmas LOVE!! Prior to arriving at LTC, Pastor Mark Haverdink told us how much God loves us. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son at Christmas! The children unwrapped pieces of the Nativity to reveal the beautiful Christmas story! Thank you Pastor Mark! We're so glad you came!

Pastor Tim Breen shared with us on Tuesday the message of HOPE during the Advent season, the season of expectation. Pastor Tim taught us the difference between a 'wish' and real HOPE in Jesus. A 'wish' is something you wish would happen and real HOPE is in knowing JESUS. He is our real HOPE for the future!! Thanks Pastor Tim for teaching us to have our HOPE in Jesus! We love it when you're with us!

The final Kids' Connection in December, 2010 is Tuesday, Dec.21, with a visit from the 35-member wrestling team and coaches from MOC-FV high school! They will be sharing with us about JESUS, a favorite Christmas memory and/or their experiences as team players. We look forward to meeting all of them and we thank them in advance for coming!!

Be sure to scroll down to see the video that follows this blog post. We sincerely do wish you and your 'kin' a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2011! Thank you again for your support of Kids' Connection and we are excited to witness what God has in store for us in 2011!!
We hope to see you all back on January 4 when Lisa Laird and her puppet friends teach us about PATIENCE!

PEACE and JOY!

PEACE: "Let the PEACE of Christ rule in your hearts." Colossians 3:15
Lisa Laird and her puppet ministry prepared us for the fruit of PEACE. She taught us that in order to have PEACE we need to have JESUS! Her puppet had quite a 'piece' collection: a puzzle piece, a piece of ribbon, etc. The children quickly learned the difference between 'piece' and real PEACE. Thank you Lisa!

JOY: "The JOY of the Lord is my strength." Nehemiah 8:10
Mr. Gale Tien, the Principal at Orange City Christian School, brought us a message on JOY! He spoke about J-Jesus, O-Others, Y-You! He also taught us that the word JOY is part of the word REJOICE. We need to rejoice always!!

HOPE: Pastor Tim Breen, Pastor at First Reformed Church, Orange City, will share with us on Tuesday, December 14, about HOPE.

LOVE: On Thursday, the 16th, Pastor Mark Haverdink, Pastor at Maurice Reformed Church, continues the December Advent theme by teaching us about LOVE. Following his message, Kids' Connection plans to walk next door to the Long Term Care Nursing Home Facility and sing some Christmas carols. What a marvelous way to show LOVE to the residents!

JESUS: The MOC-FV Wrestling team and coaches are planning a visit on the 21st of December to share their testimonies about JESUS. JESUS is the focus of our Advent theme at Kids' Connection. What would Christmas be without our Savior, JESUS Christ?

Thank you to all of the many volunteers and leaders who share their lives and daily testimonies with the precious children at Kids' Connection! I am SO incredibly blessed to share this ministry with ALL of you!

Thank you, parents, for entrusting your precious children to us at Kids' Connection. We sincerely hope and pray that their lives are being touched in a positive way for Christ! Enjoy this holiday season with your children and families!!

GINGERBREAD HOUSES

Gingerbread Houses...

20 round tables, five excited children and three equally excited helpers at each table, a bucket of frosting 'glue' in the middle of each table, five rectangular tables filled with candies and cereal, children and volunteers conspiring to make the best creation possible using a juice carton...what am I talking about? Well, gingerbread houses, of course! 100 children came to Kids' Connection today to make a gingerbread house for the Christmas season. 66 volunteers were on hand to give guidance and encouragement to the children. It was truly an amazing sight!! Thank you to everyone for participating in this ministry by connecting and investing in the lives of children. You are a blessing to Kids' Connection!

This is the month of PEACE. We will combine this next Fruit of the Spirit with Advent. We are excited to announce that five local leaders will be sharing Advent with us. On Tuesday, the 7th, Lisa Laird will teach us about PEACE, Gale Tien, the Principal at the Christian School, will teach us about JOY on the 9th, Pastor Tim will talk with us about HOPE on the 14th, Pastor Mark Haverdink from Maurice Reformed Church, is planning a message on LOVE on the 16th, and finally, the MOC-FV Wrestling team is visiting Kids' Connection to share their testimonies about Jesus Christ on the 21st. Thank you, in advance, for your commitment to our children!

Just a note for parents of Kids' Connection children: There will be no Kids' Connection during the Christmas and New Year school holiday. Our last day will be December 21 and we'll resume Kids' Connection on Tuesday, January 4!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

A Day of Service

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We have so much to be thankful for! I'm truly thankful for each child that steps through the doors of our church every Tuesday and Thursday. What an incredible blessing they are to all of us at Kids' Connection! I'm also truly thankful for each volunteer that helps with the precious children at Kids' Connection. What an incredible blessing each volunteer is to this program! I'm also truly thankful for the bus drivers. They take time out of their work day to pick up the children and get them here safely!

Yesterday was spent doing service projects. The 5th grade children made 'turkey' cookies for all of the children at Kids' Connection to take home. Winova headed up that project-thanks Winova!! The 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade children we busy making snowmen out of tube socks for the Heritage House and Long Term Care Nursing Homes to use as winter decorations for their dining tables. Lylis headed up this cute project with incredible patience and creativity-thanks Lylis!! The younger children made 'Give Thanks' pillows and turkey pins to share with family and friends. It was very encouraging to witness the children serving others.
J-Jesus
O-Others
Y-Yourself
We certainly put this acronym into action yesterday at Kids' Connection!

Next week Tuesday we will begin working on our advent wreaths and advent themes for the month of December. On Thursday we will be celebrating a Culture Connection day. Ingrid May will be sharing about Germany. Following her lesson we will be making gingerbread houses. What a fun day that'll be, too!

I sincerely hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. May God's goodness, grace and joy fill your homes this holiday season!

Culture Connection

What a celebration of JOY at Kids' Connection! Yesterday Nola Aalberts kindly shared her stories of growing up in Winnebago, Nebraska. She displayed artifacts, pictures and toys used by Native American children. Thank you so much, Nola, for coming to Kids' Connection to teach us more about the JOY of sharing our cultures.

JOY:
J-Jesus first
O-Others second
Y- You last

November has gone by quickly! We have enJOYed playing shuffleboard with Jay from Northwestern College, BINGO with Clark and Rachel from Iowa State Bank, a flag folding demonstration with Office Pete De Beer and Arlyn Kleinwolterink on Veteran's Day, Pockets Full of Fun, the 4 corners game, making Thanksgiving cards with Velma and best of all, learning that 'the JOY of the LORD is our STRENGTH!'

This week Tuesday is the November birthday celebration with Northwestern Bank. YEAH!!

We are also in the process of designing Kids' Connection t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts. Look for the order forms and samples on the sign out table.

There will be NO Kids' Connection on Thursday, November 25. It's Thanksgiving Day! We, at Kids' Connection, hope you have a very blessed Thanksgiving Day with family and friends. We are SO thankful to our great God for His blessings and for His wonderful gift of salvation! Thank you to all of volunteers, parents, and especially the children, who make Kids' Connection a fun and JOYful place to be every Tuesday and Thursday! God bless you!

Joy in Culture

The JOY of the Lord is our strength!

What a joy-filled week we had at Kids' Connection! Lisa Laird introduced the fruit of JOY to us with her puppet, Jemima, a two year old dragon who was having a bad day! Jemima had found a penny on the sidewalk and everyone at 'daycare' laughed at her because it was only a penny. Lisa and Jemima reminded us that a penny is valuable and it reminds us to trust in Jesus. The children at Kids' Connection went home with a penny as a reminder! Then we were surprised by Ron De Jong and his team of BIG horses. Ron hitched up his team to a hay wagon and loaded 35 children and volunteers at a time for a ride downtown. It was like being in the Tulip Festival Parade in November!!

On Thursday, we learned about a 'Bag of Joy.' The children were encouraged to write down things that made them feel joyful and put them into the 'Bag of Joy.' We decorated the bags with glitter, glitter and more glitter!

Many thanks to our faithful bus drivers. I had the privilege of riding the BIG bus to the elementary school on Thursday. What fun it was to see the children running to the bus with big smiles and hugs! Without these dedicated men, we would not be able to provide this convenient and safe service to our children. So...thanks John, Brian, Pastor Mark, Pastor Stan, Bob, Roger and Dale!!!

In the week ahead, we will be making Thanksgiving crafts and celebrating America on Veteran's Day. Two Veterans are coming to Kids' Connection to fold the flag and talk to us more about what it means to be a Veteran! God bless America!!

We've Got the JOY!

PUMPKINLAND!

Pumpkins Galore!

Pumpkins and more pumpkins! With nasty weather predicted for Tuesday, our field trip to Pumpkinland was postponed to Thursday. Despite the wind on Thursday, the children had a wonderful time out at Pumpkinland. The only complaint heard was, "We didn't get to stay long enough!" The Huitinks graciously let us roam their acreage as we hunted for puzzle pieces on our Scavenger Hunt, enjoyed the animals, schoolhouse and a snack. Thank you to each volunteer, leader, snack queen or helper who managed their group of children extremely well! Thank you to the bus drivers for getting us to Pumpkinland safely, too.

Thank you to Northwestern Bank for hosting a birthday party for the children with birthdays in October. It was kind of a small group of children this month. We thank the bank employees for their efforts in preparing treats, presents and fun for the children at Kids' Connection! It means so much to have you 'partner' with us!

Next week marks the beginning of November. The fruit of the Spirit is JOY! No problem there! The children will be listening to Lisa Laird and her Pockets Full of Fun puppets. We are so priveledged to be introduced to the 'new' fruit of the Spirit by her famous puppets. We look forward to the first Tuesday of each month for a puppet show by Lisa Laird!

Each fruit of the Spirit is associated with a real fruit that God created for us to enJOY. This month the real fruit for JOY is the pineapple. Thursday marks the once a month 'fruit party' along with other fruity activities!

Parents, look for new ways to donate items for the children at Kids' Connection! Donation tickets will be available in the sign out area during the month of November. We are so thankful for the generosity shown to us by your gifts to Kids' Connection! Thank you!!

BINGO, LINE DANCING, and more!

B 12, I 23, N 41, G 55, O 72- No, I'm not giving you a list of vitamins, instead I'm calling out BINGO numbers. Iowa State Bank came to Kids' Connection on Tuesday to play BINGO complete with prizes and tons of FUN!! Thanks to Clark, Nora and Connie!

Kelly Van Gelder joined us Thursday afternoon to teach us how to line dance. We found out that its very important to know our right foot from our left foot. Thanks, Kelly, for sharing your music, dancing skills and kindness! The weather was absolutely beautiful! It was a perfect day for outdoor activities. Indoor activities included a visit by Mayor Douma and Principal Landhuis to the manners class, baking cookies with Shelby and Angel, wooden car puzzles and pumpkin crafts. Thanks to ALL of our volunteers! We are blessed to have each one of you!!

Tuesday, October 26, marks the day for a trip to Pumpkinland. Pray for good weather, safety and fun! Parents, be sure to fill out a form so your child can attend this special event. Forms are available at the First Reformed Church office. Also, if you normally pick up your child before 5:00, we won't be back from Pumpkinland until around 5:00.

Kindergartners will be baking on Thursday and children with October birthdays will be celebrating with Northwestern Bank on Thursday as well.

God has blessed Kids' Connection with precious children, valued volunteers, and generous donations! Thank you for the worthwhile part you 'play' at Kids' Connection!

'Sail the Seas' Day at Kids' Connection!!

After blue Jello with fish and fishy fruit snacks, and a rousing skit about Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea, Kids' Connection moved upstairs to the Fellowship Hall for a 'Sail the Seas' party. The children enjoyed painting whales, hula hoop races, a beach ball toss, a ping pong ball toss with prizes, crafts, coloring and finding seashells in the 'ocean'. Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers who helped make the party a huge success!

Next week Tuesday we will be playing BINGO with the employees from Iowa State Bank. We are so thankful for their partnership with Kids' Connection! On Thursday Anita is back with her final lesson on 'How to be a Kind Kid' and we will kick up our heels and learn some line dancing with Kelly Van Gelder. There's lots of fun ahead in the next week!

On Monday, October 26, a trip to Pumpkinland is scheduled for the children at Kids' Connection. Parents, a permission slip needs to be signed in order for your child to join in on the fun. The forms are available at the registration table as you sign your child in or out. Thanks so much!

Then on Thursday, October 28, we end the month of October with a birthday party hosted by Northwestern Bank for all of the Kids' Connection children with birthdays in October. Thanks Northwestern Bank for your commitment to partnering with Kids' Connection!

Continue to pray for Kids' Connection as we strive to provide a fun and nurturing environment for the precious children in our community!

Strawberries...yum!

Did you know that strawberries are the fruit of LOVE? Well, at Kids' Connection it's all about LOVE and strawberries! Our wonderful snack ladies treated us to real strawberries, strawberry wafer cookies and strawberry 'jigglers.' We are excited to see what they will come up with for us to eat during the month of October. Thanks to the snack ladies for all of your creativity, kindness and yummy food! Yesterday we learned about how much God LOVES His children. Grandma Jane read the story from the Bible about the time Jesus blessed the children. God is so good!

Do you know that we can say and 'sign' all of the Fruits of the Spirit? We learned the signs in sign language for each fruit. Children are amazing learners!!

Some highlights of the fun coming to Kids' Connection in October:
* Velma Boonstra makes cards with children
* Sail the Seas party in commemoration of Christopher Columbus
* Bingo with Iowa State Bank
* October birthday party with Northwestern Bank
* A trip to Pumpkinland (permission forms available at the KC sign out table)

Thanks again for your support of Kids' Connection. As of Thursday, we have 102 precious children enrolled in Kids' Connection!! How exciting!!

LOVE, strawberries, games, LOVE, crafts, painting, LOVE, Legos, Volunteers, LOVE...GOD!!!

You've got to 'LOVE' October!

After learning about the 'fruit' of self-control and crafting, eating, and making pies with apples, we move on to the 'fruit' of love. Lisa Laird and her puppet ministry introduced us to the 'fruit' of love by teaching us about friendship and kindness. Thank you Lisa for your enthusiasm and for sharing your gifts with us! Every child received a smile ring to remind them to show love to their family and friends.

Did you know that the fruit of love is a strawberry? Do you like strawberries? We are planning a 'strawberry' party for Kids' Connection on Thursday. Come and join us for all of the fun!

Be sure to check the October calendar posted on the Kids' Connection blog. We are planning a trip to Pumpkinland on the 26th of October. Watch the sign-out table for permission slips for that fun activity!

Also, did you know that Iowa State Bank is coming once a month to play BINGO with us? Look for them on October 19!!

We are so glad that you are attending Kids' Connection! We love having you there!

Learning to make an apple pie

Staying Connected

Linked together for one month already!

Kids' Connection opened nearly a month ago praying that children would find a fun and nurturing place to go after school. And here we are, one month later, enjoying approximately 70 children every Tuesday and Thursday. We will finish out the month of September with organized games on Tuesday and on Thursday, Apple Pie baking with Jo Hop and 'How to be a Kind Kid' with Anita Bomgaars. Your child will be able to sign up for baking cookies again in October.

Last week Northwestern Bank hosted a birthday party for the children born in August and September complete with treats, candles, games and gifts. Thank you Northwestern Bank! Anita Bomgaars began her 4-part series on "How to be a Kind Kid'. The children learned good manners at a tail-gate party and how to greet someone new. Also, Shelby Baker and Angel Andersen baked cookies with 5 Kindergarten and first grade children. I sampled one and they tasted delicious. Thanks Anita, Angel and Shelby for your dedication to the kids at Kids' Connection.

Parents, please check our Kids' Connection calendar posted right here on the blog for October activities, the October Bible verse and 'fruit' and a list of the other Fruits of the Spirit. Also, look for a bulletin board at the registration table with 'donation tickets' posted. Feel free to take one or two tickets as a contribution to our program. Thanks so much!!!