Children's Programs

There are many opportunities for children at Emmanuel. Below are the programs offered through Christian Education.

Nursery

The nursery program on Sunday morning is for infants to children four years old. The goal of the Nursery program is to provide a safe, healthy and pleasant environment for this age child. Paid professional workers staff the Nursery. All nursery workers have completed the Safe Church training as required by the diocese.

Sunday School

Classes are offered during the academic year – September through May - for everyone from age 3 through adult. Classes are from 9:45 to 10:45. Prior to attending the class, each student should register with the Coordinator of Religious Formation. All class assignments are based on the age or current grade placement in school.

Preschool - Godly Play was developed and classroom tested for more than 20 years by Episcopal priest, author, and teacher Jerome Berryman. It is based on the Montessori approach to Early Childhood Education. In Godly Play, we tell Bible stories to children to encourage them to enter into the stories and relate them to their personal experience. For more on Godly Play...

Kindergarten - 5th Grades - The Workshop Rotation Model concentrates on the major stories of the Bible. The model's philosophy recognizes that children not only love repetition, but they need it to develop a lasting memory and understanding of content. Children will hear the same Bible story for several consecutive weeks. The multi-intelligences approach takes advantage of our student's God-given thirst for multi-modal learning. Children rotate by class into a different workshop each week for a five-week period. Workshops include Art, Cooking, Games/Science, Music/Drama and Video.

Stories for 2010 include:

People Who Made a Difference
Plagues and Passover
Seven Helpers

5th and 6th Grades - CLUB 56
We meet once each workshop rotation session for service activities and other outings
that will start our journey to Rite 13 next year. We also have outside the church activities once a quarter and possibly a lock-in each semester. Be on the lookout for special events DURING the Christian Formation Hour too. You never know when they may happen!

Children’s Liturgy of the Word

Offered During the 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM services.

Children begin their worship time with their family in the main sanctuary. After the reading of the Collect, we gather in front of the Altar in church to listen to a short message from Father John. We then leave the sanctuary to go to the Children’s Chapel where we read an age appropriate Gospel Lesson, have reflective discussion time about the Gospel, have 5 minutes or so of quiet play time, recite the Children’s Creed and pray together. Then we return to the main church during the passing of the peace.

Vacation Bible School

VBS is a highlight of summer for many children in our community. For 2010 Vacation Bible School will be July 26-30, Monday – Friday, from 9:00 – noon with a Family Celebration on Friday. Children from age 3 through Middle School are invited to participate. Besides being a wonderful time for the children – learning, singing, doing crafts, hearing stories, playing games – it’s also a fun experience for the adult and teen volunteers. It’s a great opportunity for our community to pull together and make something wonderful happen.