The Very First Christmas

Hello everyone!  We are off to a great start with this year's play, The Very First Christmas.

We only have 2 Sunday rehearsals left, 12:30 - 2 pm, as well as a last rehearsal on Thursday, December 3rd at 6 pm.  There is a free dinner on Thursday night at 5:30, so feel free to come and eat before practice!
If it comes down to the end and we feel that we still need a bit more practice, we will meet again on the day of the play, December 6th, at the usual practice time of 12:30 - 2 pm.

We are still in great need of 2 more kiddos to take small speaking parts!  We would need them filled by this week so they won't be at a disadvantage.  If you know anyone who would like to have a part, feel free to invite them and let me know so I will be able to contact them about practices!  Thank you so much!  I will be asking around as well.

Since we don't have many more practices, I hope everyone will be able to make it to the rest of them!  Will you let me know if you have any schedule conflicts?  Thank you again - this will be a very special play.  The kids are encouraged to learn "Joy to the World" as best they can, to sing with the audience at the performance.  And as always, families are encouraged to bring cookies to share with the audience for after the play.

Any questions feel free to ask me!  Tia Austin elliesauntie96@yahoo.com

Thanks again and see you soon!
Tia

Camping trip!

Hello everyone!  Summer is sadly drawing to a close .... there's time for a few last adventures!  The "Green Room" (4th-6th graders) is having a camping trip next weekend, August 21-22.  I told the kids about it last Sunday and gave out permission slips.  The Permission slips and $3.00 per child need to be turned in this Sunday, Aug. 16th, so I can plan the trip - food etc.

So, if your kid(s) are able to come, don't forget to bring the filled-out permission slips and $3.00 in an envelope with the child's name(names) on it so I can keep track of who has paid.

Thank You!! Feel free to ask me any questions you have about the trip.
We will be camping in the "B" section of Washington Park.

If you can't get the permission slips to me Sunday, please let me know that your kids want to come and we can arrange a day that I can get the permission slip from you - absolute last day, August 19th.
Thanks again!

"Miss Tia"

Another Fundraiser!

The kids in the 4th-6th grade class are doing great, participating in their challenge to raise money for Christmas Child Shoe Boxes.  We had a fundraiser last weekend at Shipwreck Day,
and the kids now have $167!

The next fundraiser is this weekend, Friday and Saturday, from 8 am - 2 pm at the church, in the youth room.  The kids will be selling popcorn and lemonade, as well as the leftover kid-made items from last weekend.

Again, all 4th-6th grade kids as well as those moving up into 7th grade are welcome to attend, to help their teams and earn prize points for raising Christmas Child Shoe Box money.

If your kid(s) are able to attend, please let me know as soon as you can.

Thank you!

Fundraiser Event for Shoeboxes!

NOTE:  These fundraisers are also open for the kids who JUST moved up into soon-to-be 7th graders.  I would love it if they want to participate, as they can still earn team/individual prize points, and it's great to have them be part of these projects!! 

It's time again to raise money for Christmas Child Shoe Boxes!

Last year the "Green Room" (4th-6th grade kids) raised enough money to pack 80 shoe boxes!  We will have a booth at Shipwreck day again this year, on Saturday, July 18th from 8-4.  I sent the kids home with sign-up sheets, which I encourage them (and parents) to fill out and return to either myself or Dick Murray.  Or, parents can message me on Facebook or email me and let me know what time slots their kids would like to take to participate.  They can stay for an hour, three hours, or all day if they want to!  Anything is fine with me.

They will be earning participation points for their team for coming to help, and prize points for themselves, as well as making people aware of the Shoebox Project and drumming up donations.  Also, anything kids want to bring that they've made (bracelets, duct tape wallets, any little things) will be great to add to our small collection of things people can "buy" for making a donation.

We will probably make lemonade to sell by the cup as well, which is what we will be doing the FOLLOWING  FRIDAY and SATURDAY at our second fundraiser - the church garage sale.  So, they can sign up to do that as well.  I will not be at kids church on Sunday, the 12th, but Dick Murray will be heading up our class, so he will be able to take permission slips (if your kids want to be there for the garage sale, just go ahead and write a note on the slip somewhere, and I will let you know specific hours).

Thank you!  Also, I will be out of town Monday the 13th thru Thursday the 16th, but feel free to message me, text me, or email me, and I will write your kids name(s) on my fundraiser participation sheets.

Thanks again!  I hope you are all enjoying the summer!  See you soon!

Miss Tia
360-982-9170

Don't miss our upcoming events!

Hello again everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend,spent time  with family, and remembered our troops!
The"Green Room" has a few upcoming events that we don't want the kids to miss out on! The first is on Friday night, our last kid's night for the 4th-6th graders.  This is much like a youth group night, and the 6th grade graduates will be able to start attending the Junior high youth group as soon as school lets out for the summer!

Speaking of graduates, we have as many as nine 6th graders who we want to honor with a graduation party on Sunday. We will have a guest, Linh, showing us how to make origami birds, we will have certificates and gifts for the graduates, and ... cupcakes!  It will be a special day and we don't want anyone to miss it!

So- to sum up, that's Friday the 29th, kids night from 6 - 7:30 in the youth room, and graduation party in class Sunday the 31st.

At that point, I know there are a few 6th graders who have already been helping with the classes for the little kids, so I will consider them free to go, even though technically there are still two Sundays left before school ends.  The rest of the 6th graders of course are welcome to keep coming to "the green room" for the last two weeks of school, after which we will give them their wings to fly, and help where it's needed or attend second service with their family.  A few of the students have said they would like to help out In the green room's class, so I will put them on a rotating schedule if they would like to come in as helpers.

Whew!  Thanks for sticking with me through all of that information! I truly enjoy having your kids in my class, and I will miss all of the 6th graders when they are gone, just as much as I am looking forward to having the 3rd graders move up!

PS - we have started our Shoe boxes fundraiser, and the teams have been set, so I will keep the 6th graders informed about fundraising events they can paticipate in, as that will be going on strong over the summer.

Thanks again!
Tia Austin and Dick Murray

4th - 6th Graders' Kids Night

Hello again families!  I realize that the scheduled Kids' Night would have been yesterday!  But I think with spring here we're all busier than we were... so, what if we try for next Friday, the 8th of May, from 6-7:30?  Only one more month and all of your 6th graders will be moving up into Junior High Youth Group!! :)

Last time we met, the kids played some interactive games, had a little snack, and we talked about self-image, pride, and caring for others, looking up verses in the Bible to see what God says about all of those topics.  Any suggestions for next week's topic??

Thank you all for your support!  This has been fun, and I'm sure all of your 6th graders can't wait to move on to Middle School!  I will miss having them in my class!

Thanks again

Tia

Prince Caspian

Movie night again this week!  It's another of my all-time favorites, Prince Caspian (#2 in the Narnia series) so if the kids haven't yet seen The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, I heartily recommend that they watch that first!! :) It all makes so much more sense that way. (And please make sure it's the Disney/Walden version, not the cheesy 80's TV version.)  "smiley"

Please remind the kiddos that these movie nights are a privilege, and we only have 2 rules, so they need to be respectful of the rules if they want to enjoy the privilege of coming - you can play and be noisy before and after the movie, but not DURING.  Constantly talking during the movie is disrespectful of others who are trying to watch.  The only other rule is to clean up our mess before we leave, and we really haven't been having any trouble with rule #2.  Thank you kids!  As long as the rules are respected and followed, we can all keep on having fun times together!!

Hope to see you there!!

Tia

Success!

This was our second field trip as a class, and it turned out great! Thank you Janice and Brandi for being drivers, and thank you to the seven kids who participated! I hope that, in addition to earning extra prize coins for class, they all got a chance to know each other better and understand what a difference child sponsorship can make in the lives of others.  I hope they will look at our "world wall" a bit differently now as well.  This trip actually turned out better than I had hoped, and it pretty well made up for the unruly movie night we had the night before. :)

Thank you parents for having your kids participate!!  Hopefully we will get the chance to do something like this again soon!

Secondhand Lions

It's movie night week again! This week's movie is Secondhand Lions. Rated PG of course.  And we will be treated to something special this Friday.... pizza!! Thank you, Libby! And thank you again Kitchens family for the popcorn!! I hope to see you all there, and feel free to bring a friend!

Field Trip Revised :)

The Field Trip is still very much on!!

I am really looking forward to this event and I think the kids will really be impacted by it.  Please feel free to visit the link and see what it's all about:

http://changetour.compassion.com/bellingham/

I still need 1-2 other parents who are willing to come along with us, and I have slots for 5 more kids to go.  (6 total)
The event is FREE!  The only change is that the kids don't need to bring lunch money.  They should either eat lunch before they come or bring a lunch with them in the car.  Thank you!  As an added bonus, any kids attending the event will earn 5 class prize coins!  :)

Please let me know asap if you plan on having your kid(s) participate.
Thank you!

Field Trip??

There is a great FREE event happening in Bellingham March 7th (Saturday) and I would LOVE to take the kids to it!  It goes right along with our "world missions wall" and ongoing theme. I am available as a driver, but I might need another one, and I definitely need another adult to come along.  Brandi - I have you penciled in until we find out your surgery dates :)

Here is the website with the details:
http://changetour.compassion.com/bellingham/

The kids just need to bring $5 for lunch, we will stop somewhere.
Please let me know by Feb. 27th so I can reserve a spot for your kiddo(s) - the first six to sign up will be able to go, with the 2-3 adults. Our time slot is 1:40 pm, so let's meet at the church at 12:30.  This will be great!

See you soon!
Tia

The Water is Wide

It's Movie Night week again! :)
The kids really had a fun night last time, and we had a great little discussion time before the movie started.  It's time to do it again, this time watching The Water is Wide (based on a true story).  You can watch the trailer here: (I'm not sure what's up with the foreign language blurbs. Looks like the movie was aired on TV in the Middle East.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR5zFQeK1_I

The kids are free to bring a friend along!  It helps to RSVP at least 2 days in advance so we know how much pop/popcorn to bring.  Thank you!

5:30 - 8:00 pm in the youth room

Hello parents!!

Hello parents of FBC 4th-6th graders!  It's a new year, so I decided to create a new blog to help keep everyone updated on what's happening in "the green room" (so called due to the color of our door and curtains)  :)

We have a lot of GREAT kids in this class, and I will be sad to see HALF of them go in June, when they move up to middle school ... sigh .... But I know there are at least three other GREAT kiddos moving up into my class then as well....

SO  .... I am going to do my best to send you all a blog post every week to keep you informed of what the kids are learning in class so you can be a part of what's going on.

To kick things off, we are memorizing John 11:25-26 together as a class.  Dick and I encourage you moms and dads (Dick still would really love to see the dads come alongside their kids to help them memorize these verses!)  to get involved.

We are also doing a "Big Challenge" right now, to memorize the books of the Bible.  Three of our kids have already done this, so they will help the others until the whole class has learned them.  No one will get left behind!

Our new youth pastor, Todd, and I encourage you to ask your kids two questions going home from church each Sunday:  Did you have fun?  and What did you learn?  And I expect the kids will be able to answer the last question (If I'm doing my job well!)

One last thing - I would like to start a "movie night" with these kids as a sort of prelude for the ones who are moving up to middle school, as there will be a middle school youth group starting in June. For the movie nights, we would play a short interactive/bonding game, then have a question based on something addressed in the movie, then we would watch the film.  These nights would be the 1st and 3rd Fridays in Feb through May downstairs in the youth room from 5:30-8 pm.  

Will you please let me know if this is something you would like your kids to attend?  We will probably have chips or popcorn, some simple snack, and I don't mind if kids bring dinner-type food to eat.

Thank you and I will be keeping you posted!
Please let me know if you'd prefer to get the link to blog posts by email or Facebook.
Thanks again!!

"Miss Tia"