Trinity United Church of Christ : Ministries : Children's Programs

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Children's Programs

“Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” – Mark 10:15

Nursery
We provide nursery care year-round during the 10:15 worship service and during 9:00 Sunday School on an as-needed basis. Nursery care is also provided for most evening programs, and will always be provided if one person asks. Call the church office ahead of time (610) 326-2243.

Pre-School
It is important to teach our children of God’s love from their earliest years. Join our fastest growing age group! Sundays we have class beginning with three year olds. Pre-schoolers meet in the same room with the same teacher every week, but frequently take “field trips” to the Faith Odyssey computer lab, movie theater, or kitchen. On Wednesday evening, three to five year olds participate in Faith Odyssey

Faith Odyssey (Elementary)
Trinity’s Christian Education program is called “Faith Odyssey,” which is a different approach to Sunday School. Over a 4-6 week period, children will repeat the same story from scripture, learning through a different workshop each week.

Because they repeat the same story several weeks in a row, and because the emphasis is on active learning, children have better recall of the story and a deeper understanding of its meaning. What’s more, children love coming to church – no struggling with your child to bring them to Sunday School.

All rotations include looking up and reading a passage from scripture, and work on a memory verse. Children go to one of the following stations each week:

Creation Station – Art
Children work in diverse media to help them interpret the Bible story. Our emphasis is on encouraging children to create their own artwork using most of the hour, rather than copying a pre-fabricated craft in a few minutes.
Fisherman’s.Net -- Computers
Children love computers and are accustomed to learning through them. Children look up scripture on the computer, interact with animated Bible teaching tools, and play learning directed games.
Loaves and Fishes Café – Cooking
Studies have shown that taste and smell are the two senses most closely linked to long-term memory. We cook up Bible learning by making foods mentioned in the story, that symbolize parts of the story, or where the cooking method emphasizes a Biblical truth.
Make a Joyful Noise – Music
This is more than learning songs for performance! Children are co-creators as they write lyrics or melody, experiment with different instruments, or develop simple choreography.
Mountaintop Movies – Cinema
Our 21 seat, stadium style, movie theater is a favorite place for children (and adults!) to learn. Children munch on popcorn and watch a movie projected on a 8 foot screen with surround sound speakers -- giving them the feel of a real theater! We show movies of the actual Bible story or children’s movies that lift up a theme covered in the scripture lesson.
Moved by the Spirit – Drama, Dance and Puppets
A great variety of activities take place here – all with a flair for the dramatic. Children use puppets or put on Bible costumes and act out the story; don body sox and scarves to interpret a story to music; or create modern situations to bring out teachings from scripture.
Temple Courtyard – Storytelling and Games
Children listen to an actor telling about “their” story in the Bible; or play games to remember story details, story sequence, or a memory verse.