Most delightful were the songs--"In My Father's House" and the one we got from the Wototo Children's Choir, "Put Jesus Higher/What a Friend we Have in Jesus." All with hand and body motions throughout! The melody of the African song ran through my head all night. I'd wake up and the song would be running!
Another musical highlight was Barb's Bottle Band --I had pre-tuned the bottles, adding and subtracting water in them --and my 15 students played a scale up and back--and then had two chords to accompany the "Books of the Old Testament Song," sung by Chrissy Rohrs. Some of our other children should know this song from Junior Church but we didn't ask them to sing it as they might've been off pitch and drowned out the bottles or made it hard for the 3rd and 4th grade to keep their beat and accompany the song. It sounded really cool as it was, with one singer. Very cute, kids!
Then the students performed pledges and each group recited a memory verse together. Then they were honored for their accomplishments --memorizing one Bible verse per month and attending squad meetings on a theme for each badge and verse. As usual, the kids whose moms work in the program know what's expected and their kids earn their badges. But almost everyone earned at least one badge and got bright blue banners with their names stitched on. Some got their Performing Arts award just for preparing for our bottle band performance. All received gifts from their teachers.
New skills. I think we'll do a rhythm band next year! or learn to whistle a happy tune in a 2-part partner song or a round. I will retain most of my students who will be 4th graders next year.
Other events at CLC include Missions Taste of the Nations Night with tastes of foods from the countries we study during our Missions Month, and also the first annual Talent Show, the annual Harvest Party with games and candy galore, (like an Indoor carnival, actually) and Fun Nights which are physical games (the favorite), and Craft Nights.
The April Talent Show was great with impromptu skits --with Paula the dog in a starring role --a Lego demonstration, a brass and sax quartet (excellent --5th graders), an African song by the bus kids, a Love Round by them and the Trail Blazers, two electric guitar solos, 3 piano solos, one ballet dancer, one recorder solo, two hula hoopers and a skip roper and whatever it was that Lucy did --some kind of thing attached to her ankle--a dazzling physical feat. O, the minister's wife played two flutophones/recorders? --one on each nostril! (She has her clarinet degree from BGSU, after all!)
Our squad, The Trail Blazers, will still have a summer swim party to look forward to. The whole church will be invited to the CLC roller skating party and in June we have the all church potluck dinner to honor the graduates. One family is opening their home for an all church swim party, and we have a week of evening VBS coming up in July. The Teen group is going to a Beach Week Ministry in New Jersey and the Bible Quiz team will go to Spring Arbor College to compete at "nationals."
"God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and have eternal life."--the Bible
2 comments:
I think one of the biggest thrills in my life came today when I took both our local grandchildren to church with us.
Their parents go to a church that has a doctrine a bit more liberal than I like, even though it's the same denomination, so I was happy to expose them to some fundamental teaching.
Both loved it and I hope to be able to take them again soon.
We have a great privilege and responsibility as grandparents, don't we.
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