This Little Light of Mine

This month, our topic at Mustard Seeds is This Little Light of Mine.  You may remember the song from olden Sunday school days or just in our song culture - I've heard it so many places, I don't always remember where.  Each one of us is a bright light, lit by the Holy Spirit and capable of lighting up all the dark places in this world.  It is obvious to us parents in our adorable, kind, wonderful children, but sometimes we don't take the time to see it in ourselves.  We as parents are giving, nurturing, intelligent and loving.  Even if we aren't always perfect.  You are a light in this world as well.  Lit by the Holy Spirit and capable of great things. 

This last Sunday was our first 'official' meeting and let me say, it was so great to see all the kids all together!  They were so busy exploring and playing and the parents were able to talk about what qualities they want to inspire to their kids: curiosity, love of music, tenacity, etc. as well as our 'highs & lows' of the week.

Here are some pictures of the kids playing with our light table, in celebration of 'this little light of mine'

It's made of a storage box (obviously : )  with Christmas lights inside and kiddie 'take n toss' lids on the top.

The "stained glass window" blocks were a big hit too!

The story we read today was about how God asked the animals for advice on what humans should be like and the animals offered all kinds of advice (the Lion wants them to be brave, the lamb wants them to be gentle and the shark advises they should have good appetites : )  This book was called, "How Did the Animals Help God?" by Nancy Sohn Swartz. 

The Craft we did was to celebrate our little ones by writing what qualities we see in them on foam handprints (and their name).  We made one to keep at Sunday School to put on the wall so that the kids can see their picture when they come to the room and one to take home.  I look so serious because I'm trying to do my *best* handwriting - My handwriting is pretty sloppy ; )

I can't wait to see you - "old" and new faces next week!  We will be talking about family and what that means and how special it is that we have people around us that love us very much!

Mustard Seeds Open House

Our open house was great – thanks to all of you who stopped by to see the classroom and meet everyone!  For those of you that didn’t get a chance to stop in, here are some pictures of our room!

When the kids first come in, they will get some playtime - they can play with our 'play church' area, which, fortuitously had a small altar that we can use each week!

There are felt communion wafers (my 2 year old has already powdered her face with them), a "chalice" (fancy wooden egg cup), a stole, cross,  a*flameless* candle, a kids Bible and a bowl with a wet cloth in it.  They can feel free to touch and feel and play with anything on it!   You can take items down and show it to your infants as well. 

Also, we have the letters MUSTARD SEED in tactile materials, which you can play with, mix up and let your little one crawl over and feel the different textures

 

We also have stained-glass blocks (wooden frames with colored plastic inserts, so they can be chewed on, etc.) and a sensory bin - I am hoping to have a light table up this Sunday.

Then, after we gather and play and the parents have time to talk about a parent-topic, we'll gather in the middle of the room for songs and stories.  September's theme is "This Little Light of Mine" and we'll be introducing ourselves, our families and finding out who and what a church family is.

 

Lastly, we will do a craft - It will be simple enough that you can do it with your toddler or that you can do it for your infant and then show it to them and/or interact with them with it.

 

Then we'll close with prayer and a hand-stamp (always a favorite!)

Can't wait to see you this Sunday at 9:00am!

Here are some more pictures of our room:

Posters: "God's world is a playground" "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed..." "The Lord is my strength and my song"

Prayer Request Board: If you have a prayer request, you can post it here.  if you want to add others to your prayer list, check here. 

 

There's lots more, so come and check us out!  I'll post more after our first Mustard Seeds class.  See you then!

Blessings,
Ruth Hanley

Welcome to another year of Mustard Seeds!

The nights are getting darker earlier and all the school-aged kids are boarding busses and heading off to school.  The night air wafts of pencil shavings, apples and lawns that are browning in the sun’s last efforts to make an significant impact.  At this time, parents can be overwhelmed by too many activities starting up.  Stay-at-home parents and paid-workforce parents alike may feel isolated.  Mustard Seeds Family Sunday School (and this blog) is a way to reach out and make create a community of parents of the youngest children among us.  The time of infancy and toddlerhood is one of angelic nap tableaus as well as shockingly powerful meltdowns.  It may be a time for you of no sleep, falling asleep or insomnia while you wait for them to wake up in the middle of the night (in which case they never do).  Such varied experiences and so much work for anticipating the needs of these pre-verbal , barely-verbal or ‘how did (s)he get so darn verbal all of a sudden’ infants and toddlers.  However, one thing we do know is that the ages of 0-3 are some of the most impactful times for brain-developmental in a child’s life.  This just means that some of your rituals and traditions that you have established or will establish are becoming a part of their fabric of who your little one is: church, snuggle time, reading time, bathtime, vacations, visiting family…the list is endless.  There are so many great ways to reach out and speak to your little one in a language that resonates with them.  The mere sound of your voice is the most powerful influence.  Also, there are sensory activities where they can feel, smell, taste, see and hear.   In Mustard Seeds this year, we will have many activities that speak to this sensory language and give you ideas for developing faith rituals in your family, but only you and your family know what works best for your little unit.

I will post some pictures of our Open House this Sunday and I hope to see you there!