Parkview Kids Team

Author Archives: Stephanie McDonald

• 3 Things To Make the Backyard FUN! ….

  Posted at 12:22 pm by Stephanie McDonald

  Jun 6th

  

  3  Things To Make The Backyard Fun!

  1. Make sure you incite laughter in your classroom.

  2. Make sure you don’t take yourself so seriously.

  3. Make sure when parents pick up their children and ask, “Did you have fun today?” that the answer is “yes!”

  We are starting a new memory verse this month!  Check out all the fun activities Lisa Dorman put together and worship songs here:  https://parkviewec.wordpress.com/category/curriculum/

  Speaking of fun, we will have our Early Childhood Team Summer Celebration this Thursday, June 12th from 6:00pm-8:00pm at the Orland Campus.  If you did not respond to the email invite please do so by Monday. THANK YOU!

  Let’s Celebrate!  Meet our Volunteers of the Week….Diana, Caleb and Crista Harmon!

  

  The Harmons started serving in December 2009 and now serve every Sunday at 9am in our purple and yellow rooms. The Harmons are great at making sure everyone feels welcomed and loved.  They are incredibly dependable, thoughtful and create an unforgettable experience for the children.  They are great leaders!  Thank you, Diana, Caleb & Crista, the best is yet to come!

  Did you know our Early Childhood Team is made up of over 400 people and  three different types of teams;

  1. Team Members/Team Leaders/Coaches

  2. Substitutes

  3. Standby (people who are only available to serve during the holidays and summer).

  Praise God for ALL of you!!!!

  To keep everything running smoothly we have put Service Coaches in place within the last year.  Our service coaches oversee the entire ministry during a service hour and are there to help YOU.  Please save their cell number in your phone.  I have very limited access to email, phone and texts on the weekends.  If you have a last-minute emergency and you are unable to fill your important role for the weekend and cannot request a sub using our on-line scheduler (it doesn’t work if it’s 48 hours before your serve date) PLEASE contact your Service Coach below, it’s extremely helpful.

  Saturdays 5:00pm and 3:45pm (We have two coaches for Saturday, they currently rotate every other week)

  Jen Christensen 815-534-0947 (Jen is ON for tomorrow, June 7th)

  

  OR

  Carrie Lyons 630-306-8861 

  

  Sundays 9:00am Lorie Creedon 708-280-4368

  (Lorie coaches every other Sunday morning, she is off this Sunday, June 8th, so in her absence contact  Jill 708-257-8868)

  

  Sundays 11:00am – Tonya Hoots 815-955-5035 

  

  Sunday Nights 5:45pm  – Adrienne Trent 815-302-1163 

  

  The next time you serve make sure you, as the leader, have fun!  You set the tone.   Fun is good!

  My prayer is that we will be a a source of strength and encouragement to everyone we meet along the way.  Especially those we meet in our Backyard hallways and classrooms.  :  )

  Make it a great day and I look forward to seeing YOU soon!  THANK YOU for being a part of what God is doing at Parkview.

  Love Wins!

  Jill Shea

  

  Posted in Early Childhood Curriculum

• Did you see this FB post? + Summer Dress Attire

  Posted at 12:18 pm by Stephanie McDonald

  May 29th

  

  This inspired me today!  What inspires you?

  1. Did you see this facebook post on Parkview Christian Church’s Facebook page yesterday?  What YOU do matters and the visitor postcards are working!  Thank you Diana Harmon for writing such a thoughtful and sweet note to Hope.   As you can see, she was THRILLED to receive your postcard in the mail.  How cool is it that her mom also took the time to take this picture and post on Facebook.  This will reach out to not only their family and friends but also make others aware of the awesome work you do in our Children’s Ministry.  Praise God!

  Children’s ministry matters because we do not know if  the children in our ministry this weekend will be back next week.  They could move away. Their parent’s work schedules could change so they may not be at church again.  We have no guarantee the children we have in our church this weekend, will be back again in two weeks, two months or two years. It matters TODAY what we do in our children’s ministry.

  What inspires you to be involved in Children’s Ministry?   Reply and let me know, I LOVE to hear from you!!!

  2. Let’s Celebrate!  Meet our Volunteer of the Week, Ann Brown!

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Ann joined our team at the beginning of this year and faithfully serves every Sunday at 11:00am in our blue room with the 3s.  She’s always willing to lend a hand and has a servant’s heart.  Ann recently stepped up to the plate and also helps lead the children in large group worship.  Ann’s love and compassion is evident to all who are around her and she sets a great example for others to follow.  We are thrilled to have her on our team.  Thank you, Ann, the best is yet to come!

  3. Summer Dress Attire – Of course we are very casual at Parkview. We do want to be careful in our attire though due to the nature of how we are frequently bending over, getting down on the floor, picking things up, etc…  The best thing to wear when you serve are pants and your kidz connection t-shirt.  If you don’t have a kidz connection t-shirt, please make sure your shirt is high enough to keep you modest.  Some clothes to stay away from are short shorts, dresses/skirts, spaghetti strap shirts and high heels.  If you haven’t had a chance to see our awesome new Parkview Kids Training Video click here.

   

  Please help us continue to spread the word about our new and FREE resource for parents www.parkviewparents.com !  Learn, worship and grow as a family available for all families with children birth – High School.   Parents can find the videos and music that we use every weekend at this site as well.  Awesome!!!

  THANK YOU for being a part of what God is doing at Parkview.  May you learn to rest in His care, trust in His Word, and embrace a joy-filled life.  I look forward to seeing YOU soon.

  Love Wins!

  Jill Shea

  

   

   

  Posted in Testimonials

• Backyard eNews – May 22, 2014

  Posted at 4:20 pm by Stephanie McDonald

  May 22nd

  

  Let’s Celebrate!  Meet our Volunteer of the Week, Anna Pospisil!

  Anna has been serving in Kidz Connection for almost three years.  She serves every other Sunday at 9:00am.  Anna does an amazing job leading the way and showing every child love and encouragement.  She has a passion for the kids and people around her and it shows as she serves with her whole heart. THANK YOU Anna, the best is yet to come!

  We are having another S.O.S. Recruitment this weekend!  This is where we ask people to volunteer over the summer so our weekly team members can have some time to rest and recharge their batteries over the summer.  If you know of a weekend you need off in June, July or August PLEASE put in your sub request now.  Our schedule is live online through the end of August.    This will be extremely helpful when I am speaking with summer volunteers next week to tell them where we have the biggest needs.

  Do you have children in your classroom that are easily distracted?  Welcome to the distracted generation. 

  Last week we talked about how encouraging dialogue with the children, building relationships and giving them clear expectations helps immensely.

  Here are  3 more ways we can engage the distracted generation and effectively communicate God’s Word to them.   (From Relevant Children’s Ministry blog post 5/13/14)

  1.  Use cooperative learning.

  • give them projects and activities that require them to work together

  2. Use peer-to-peer learning.

  • allow them to teach each other what you taught them
  • retention rate goes up to 90% when kids teach each other

  3. Use different learning styles.  This allows all the kids to learn in a way that is comfortable to them.

  May God’s love overwhelm you and fill you with joy. May His passion for the lost overtake you and change how you view people. May His endless resources and promise to provide change how you give and live.  

  I look forward to seeing YOU soon.  THANK YOU for being a part of what God is doing at Parkview, you are more than you know.

  Love wins!

  Jill Shea

  

  Posted in Early Childhood Curriculum

• Backyard eNews – May 16, 2014

  Posted at 12:32 pm by Stephanie McDonald

  May 16th

   

   

   

   

  

  Let’s Celebrate!  Meet our Volunteers of the Week, Alexa and Olivia Kacerovskis!

  Alexa and Olivia are sisters and jumped right in to help when we launched our Sunday night service last year in February.  Alexa and Olivia are incredibly committed to the team.  They faithfully serve every Sunday night, have a huge heart for the children and bring in friends to serve with them.  Thank you, Alexa and Olivia, the best is yet to come!

  Please remember!  This is the weekend we start having ONE Saturday service at 5:00pm through Labor Day except for Father’s Day weekend we will go back to the 3:45pm and 5:45pm.

  We are kicking off our SOS Recruitment this weekend!  This is where we ask people to volunteer over the summer so our weekly team members can have some time to rest and recharge their batteries over the summer.  If you know of a weekend you need off in June PLEASE put in your sub requests now, if it’s in July let me know asap since that schedule is not live yet.  This will be extremely helpful when I am speaking with summer volunteers next week to tell them where we have the biggest needs.

  Do you have children in your classroom that are easily distracted?  Welcome to the distracted generation. 

  I recently read, from the time children are toddling around, today’s kids are immersed in a digital world.  From being entertained by mom’s iPad to watching countless TV shows on networks designed just for them, they are constantly distracted.  And they can bring those very short, easily distracted attention spans to our classrooms.

  So how can we engage the distracted generation and effectively communicate God’s Word to them?  Here’s three of the seven ways we’ll look at these next two weeks…
  (From Relevant Children’s Ministry blog post 5/13/14)

  1. Encourage dialogue.

  • ask open-ended questions and follow-up questions
  • listen to their responses

  2.  Build relationships.  The way to capture a child’s attention is through their heart.

  • show them you care
  • invest in them

  3. Give them clear expectations. 

  • tell them up front when you want them to talk and when you want them to listen

  Friendly reminder, if you ever see the letters “EC” posted in the main worship area this means we have lots of children, praise God!, and not enough team members.    If you would be willing to come out of service to help us in the backyard we really, really need you.

  Lastly, we are in need of more team members for the Sunday services, if you can help at any time on Sunday (9am, 11am or 5:45pm) please let one of the below service coaches know and/or just print your name tag and come on down to our Backyard.

  I will be out this weekend, if you need immediate assistance Saturday or Sunday please contact one of our awesome service coaches:

  Saturday 5:00pm Jen Christensen 815-534-0947

  Sunday 9am Lorie Creedon 708-280-4368

  Sunday 11am Tonya Hoots 815-955-5035

  Sunday 5:45pm Adrienne Trent 815-302-1163

  THANK YOU for being an incredible team who faithfully serve so that children have the opportunity to hear about Jesus and their parents can attend church.  YOU are making a difference in the lives of so many!!!

  Make it a great day.

  Love wins!

  Jill Shea

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Psalm 37:3

  Posted in Early Childhood Curriculum

• Backyard eNews – May 7, 2014

  Posted at 2:53 pm by Stephanie McDonald

  May 7th

  

   

  Let’s Celebrate!  Meet Volunteer of the Week…Diana Pell!  

  Diana joined our team in December 2012.  She serves every other Sunday at 9:00am and you will usually find her in Clubhouse B.  Diana has a huge heart for the kids and goes out of her way to make sure the children feel welcome the minute they walk through the door.  She’s a team player and sets a great example for others to follow.   Thank you Diana, the best is yet to come!

  Feedback from Diana:  “I just wanted to share how God used the songs we do with the children to help me this week. As you know I was helping with my dad and there were initially some difficult things that I had to deal with, and many nights the song, “I can do all things, my God will help me…” played over and over in my head and God did help me! These songs are so powerful and I believe that even when our precious ones get older, and they find themselves in difficult situations, the Holy Spirit will bring these songs and lessons to their remembrance! I just wanted to share this and to thank you and Lisa (and all the others involved) in the Kid’s ministry that you not only bless our precious little ones, but those of us who are blessed to serve them!”  Diana Pell

  THANK YOU for sharing Diana!  I LOVE to hear feedback from our team.   Your feedback is vital in helping us move the ministry forward and celebrate what God is doing.  We use your input to plan, pray and share with our senior leadership.

  Thought for the day:  “Nobody cares if you can’t dance well.  Just get up and dance” (Unknown)

  Overcome your fear of failing.  Many people stay off the dance floor (or out of the classroom) because they feel they can’t perform with grace and skill.  But God is the Master Teacher.  He’s full of  grace–and he has a purpose that transcends any plans you might have for the children.  It doesn’t matter if you think you can teach well–God thinks you can.  He put you in this position to fulfill his purpose.    So get up and dance!

  “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  Proverbs 19:21

  Thank you for sharing your time, talent and energy.  YOU are loved!

  Jill Shea

  

   

   

   

  Posted in Early Childhood Curriculum

• Backyard eNews – May 1, 2014

  Posted at 5:02 pm by Stephanie McDonald

  May 1st

  

   

  Let’s Celebrate!  

  Meet Volunteer of the Week…Joey Storer!  

  Joey has been serving in Early Childhood for almost two years.  He is a huge help in our purple and blue rooms assisting the 3 year olds.  He serves every Sunday at 9:00am and is always ready to make our preschoolers feel welcomed.  He is easy to work with, dependable and willing to do whatever it takes to help. We are so grateful to have him on our team.  Thank you, Joey, the best is yet to come!

  Here are three things I need you to know this week:

  1. We need two more adults THIS SATURDAY, May 3rd, at 5:45pm.  If you are available please let me know or even better go online to plug yourself in for a very important role or just come on in.  We really need more adults Saturday night.  Click here
  2. Goals and Methods for guiding young children…“Let me know what is coming next”  Young children thrive on the security that comes from knowing the routine.  “After we clean up the blocks, we will have our story.”  Keeping the same order during every class helps make children feel calm and secure.  Variety is the spice of life but it is best used sparingly with young children.  One surprise a day is plenty!
  3. I LOVE to hear from you!  If you served last weekend please take one minute to drop me a note with your feedback to these questions.

                            #1 – What is one thing that went well in your area this past weekend?

                           # 2 – What is one thing you saw that you can improve in your area?

                           #3 – Is there a story about a child or family life that was impacted this past weekend?

                 Your answers are vital in helping us move the ministry forward and celebrate what God is doing.  We use your input to plan, pray and share with our senior leadership.

  May you cast your cares on Jesus. May your load feel instantly lighter as you trust in Him.  YOU are loved!

  BIG hugs and much love,

  Jill Shea

  

   

  Posted in Early Childhood Curriculum

• Backyard eNews – April 24, 2014

  Posted at 10:55 am by Stephanie McDonald

  Apr 24th

   

  

  Hi Team!

  I apologize for not communicating with you sooner, I ended up being out sick for a few days this week.   Volunteer of the week will resume next week.

  THANK YOU for making this year’s Easter services a huge success!  We had 29 new families visit our Parkview Kids area during Easter services, a total of 648 children visited our classrooms during 10 services and over 16,000 people attend Parkview Easter services. WOOHOO Praise God!!!

  I’m following up with all our Easter helpers and looking forward to seeing many of you this weekend!

  Here are three things I need you to know this week:

  1. We have a BIG need for more team members this Saturday.  If you are available to help at either the 3:45 or 5:45 service please let me know or just go online to plug yourself in for a very important role.  Click here
  2. We launched a new parent blog!  Check out  www.parkviewparents.com , this is an excellent new resource for parents.   If you are a Facebook or twitter person, please help us get the word out.
  3. Our May and June schedule is now available online.  PLEASE check your scheduled dates and if you need to request a sub please do your best to give us at least a week’s notice.  It’s extremely helpful to give us advance notice so we can make sure we are prepared for the weekends.

  I LOVE to hear from you!  If you served during Easter can you please take one minute to answer the below questions.

  #1 – What is one thing that went well in your area this past weekend?

  # 2 – What is one thing you saw that you can improve in your area?

  #3 – Is there a story about a child or family life that was impacted this past weekend?

  Your answers are vital in helping us move the ministry forward and celebrate what God is doing.  We use your input to plan, pray and share with our senior leadership.

  May the peace of God fill you this Easter in a fresh new way!

  BIG hugs and much love,

  Jill Shea

  

  Posted in Early Childhood Curriculum

• Backyard eNews – April 9, 2014

  Posted at 4:17 pm by Stephanie McDonald

  Apr 9th

  

  24 NEW families last weekend!

  I know I sound like a broken record buuuuuuuuuut we hit another record last weekend by having 24 new families on a regular weekend service.  How awesome is that, God blows my mind!  THANK YOU!!!  You are a gift to every family who walks through our doors each weekend.  

  Here’s three things you need to know this week:

  1.  We are unable to hand candy out to children at any of our services.  There was some confusion a few weeks ago so we want to make sure everyone is aware that we cannot bring in candy to hand out in any of the classrooms.  Thank you for understanding.

  2.  New visitor postcards are a huge success!  Thank you for taking the time to write a postcard to the new children or a standout student each week in your class.  Please try and always write the first AND last name of the child on the right side of the postcard.  Next put in our dropbox on our EC desk after service.  Then we will collect them all after the weekend, put their address underneath their name and mail it.  We’ve had several with no last name and then it can be time consuming going back to try and find the right person you were writing to, feel free to reply or ask your coach any questions. We are here to help YOU.

  3. EASTER services kick off in 7 days! Our biggest need is on Easter Sunday at 12:30pm and the 7pm services on Friday and Saturday.  If you are available to help please let me know.  Thank you.  Click here to review the fun-filled Easter activities Lisa has planned.

  Let’s celebrate!!!!  Meet our volunteer of the week…Sherrie Carter! 

  

  Sherrie jumped on board and joined our team almost a year ago. She faithfully serves every Saturday at 5:45pm in the Yellow Room as a Team Leader.  Because of Sherrie’s commitment to serve at Parkview, preschoolers are receiving the love of Christ at a very young age.  Sherrie is a joy to be around.  Thank you, Sherrie, the best is yet to come!

  I say it every day, I love our team!  THANK YOU for being a part of what God is doing at Parkview and serving so children have the opportunity to hear about Jesus.  YOU are making a difference in the lives of so many!!!  Make it a great week.

  Love wins!

  Jill Shea

  

  Posted in Early Childhood Curriculum

• Breaking Records-YOU are making a HUGE difference

  Posted at 3:31 pm by Stephanie McDonald

  Apr 3rd

  Let’s Celebrate! 

  Meet our volunteer of the week…Erin Creedon!  Erin is a Team Leader in the blue room every other Sunday at 9am and has been serving for almost two years.  In addition to leading a team for our three year olds she goes above and beyond to help with our large group activities.  Erin’s energy is contagious and she is a great example of a dedicated leader.  Thank you Erin, the best is yet to come!

  We are BREAKING RECORDS!  On the weekend of March 8th and 9th we had 1,111 children in Kidz Connection.  WOWSER!  On that note, we are in need of at least two more adults this Saturday, April th at 5:45pm and Sunday, April 6th at 11am. If you can help please fill yourself in or let me know. Thanks!

  Your dedication to the children is making a HUGE difference.  We must be RELATIONAL.  Kids and families want to be known, loved, and cared for.  Relationships are the glue that will help them be faithful.  They’ll be consistent when they know they’ll be missed by someone if they’re absent.  THANK YOU for your dedication to our Parkview families!

  YAHOO!!!  Our ten Easter services will kick off in 14 days!  Easter services are listed online, feel free to plug yourself in to any service.  If you normally serve on a Saturday or Sunday the system automatically moved you to the closest service time.

  We do need some team members to move over to a different Easter service. We need at least one team member in a room for each service and then we can try and fill the other spots with extra Easter helpers.  Our biggest need is for some people to move over the Sunday, April 20th 12:30pm service.

  Easter Recruiting will happen again this weekend.  If you have a friend or family member that is interested, they DO NOT have to fill out the volunteer form that will be in the Parkview bulletin this weekend.  Simply email me their information and let me know they want to join you. This is the PERFECT time to reach out and personally ask someone to serve  with you. The more the merrier.

  Love Wins!

  Jill Shea

  

   

  Posted in Early Childhood Curriculum

• Easter Updates

  Posted at 2:18 pm by Stephanie McDonald

  Mar 26th

  

  Happy Spring!

  YAHOO!!!  Our ten Easter services will kick off in 22 days!

  Easter services are listed online, feel free to plug yourself in to any service.  If you normally serve on a Saturday or Sunday the system automatically moved you to the closest service.  For example all team members who serve at 11am are now on for the 10:30am service Easter Sunday, etc.

  We do need some team members to move over to a different Easter service.  We need at least one team member in a room for each service and then we can try and fill the other spots with extra Easter helpers.  Our biggest need is for some people to move over the 7:00pm service on Saturday, April 19th and the Sunday, April 20th 12:30pm service.

  I will send an email today with everyone’s April schedule.  Please do your best to give us at least a week’s notice if you need a sub and then consider being a sub for someone so it all balances out.  We cannot do this without YOU.

  Easter Recruiting starts this weekend and next weekend.  If you have a friend or family member that is interested, they DO NOT have to fill out the volunteer form that will be in the Parkview bulletin this weekend and next weekend.  Simply email me their information and let me know they want to serve with you. This is the PERFECT time to reach out and personally ask someone to serve at Parkview with you. The more the merrier!

  Here’s 10 more reasons people should serve in Children’s Ministry:

  1. Serving is a key component of spiritual growth.  Growing Christians are serving Christians.

  2. Kids need godly role models.

  3. Kids can serve God for a lifetime when we disciple them.

  4. We are called to pass on the faith to the next generation. (Psalm 78)

  5. Serving helps kids and families discover new life in Christ.

  6. Serving kids brings glory to God. (Matthew 5:14-16)

  7. When you serve kids, you are serving Jesus. (Matthew 25:40)

  8. God has given you gifts to be used for the furtherance of His kingdom.

  9.  It keeps you young at heart.

  10. It’s a blast!

  *From Relevant Children’s Ministry blog post 3/5/14

  I will be out of the office Thursday, March 27 through Monday, March 31st.  Volunteer of the Week is on hold, thanks for understanding.

  I love our team!  THANK YOU for serving faithfully so that children have the opportunity to hear about Jesus.  YOU are making a difference in the lives of so many!!!

  Make it a great week.

  Love wins!

  Jill Shea

  

   

  Posted in Early Childhood Curriculum

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