What better age to instil dreams than into children as no boundaries or limitational thinking can prevent a child’s imagination from thinking and believing the imaginable? Here in the Dream Centre we believe not only are children precious to God,  but are pivotal to the future of today’s church and it’s because of this,  that we dedicate our time energy and resources into developing their thinking and developing them as  spiritual people.

 

The Armour of God – Little Dreamers

 

If you were to venture upstairs on a Sunday morning during the last six weeks and enter the room occupied by The Little Dreamers crèche, you would discover a veritable hive of activity. You may be showered with jewels, wrapped in tin foil, or – more likely with our cheeky monkeys – get your shins bashed with a foam sword!

 

What have we been up to? Studying the Armour of God (from Ephesians 6v13-18) of course! Week one saw us decorating our card,  Belts of Truth,  with beautiful gems and stickers and learning that the belt was the first thing a soldier put on and was used to carry all his equipment. It had to be fitted securely and stay in place to maximise efficiency in battle. We need to use the Word of God as our foundation to hold everything in place in our daily lives. Next we made Shields of Faith. These stand for the faith we have in God that protects us from what the enemy throws at us, and we had fun testing our card creations with small missiles to check they were up to the job! The Helmets of Salvation were a great teaching point as the children thought about what types of helmets we wear for work or leisure, and how we need to protect our minds from evil thoughts, as a helmet protects the physical skull. After making the Swords of the Spirit, which represent how our knowledge of God’s Word can be a mighty weapon against Satan, we moved on to the Breastplates of Righteousness, learning that we need to keep our hearts protected and right with God to stay ‘alive’ in our faith. We finished the series making shoes out of cereal boxes to represent the feet fitted with the Readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. The Roman soldiers’ greatest asset was their shoes, specially designed to stand firm on uneven terrain, and Paul was implying that the peace that comes from the Gospel can keep us steady no matter what we have to battle through.

 

We had a fantastic time dressing everyone up in what they had made and they looked fantastic! Hopefully they will understand the importance of the Armour of God and remember to clothe themselves in it everyday. This is achieved by prayer, which Paul says we need to do ‘always’ and for all God’s people. Well done Little Dreamers, or should I say Little Soldiers?!

 

 

Little Dreamers Newsletter - May 2010

We may be little but our dreams are big.

‘Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.’ 1 Timothy 4v12

Hello!

Welcome to another edition of the Little Dreamers newsletter! We are currently halfway through our series on parables. We have been specifically focusing on parables that illustrate God’s love for us. We have hunted for coins, made sheep and enjoyed Nick Butterworth’s child-friendly versions of these stories. 

Another ‘hello’ goes to Tracy Thresh, who we welcome as an invaluable member of the Little Dreamers team. We can’t wait to get to know her better and see how the team dynamics change as we plan to spend more time together in prayer and planning. 

 

Goodbye!

Yet again our update brings news of a goodbye. Katie has just left us to move up to Kids’ Church now she has turned four. We will miss her greatly as we have seen her really come out of her shell, and as the eldest she was our most vocal participant on a Sunday morning! We know she’ll be eager to get involved in everything Kids’ Church do, and we look forward to seeing our other Little Dreamers grow in confidence in the same way.

 

Teaching to Come

When our current series comes to an end we will be looking at a couple of really interesting Bible characters. Firstly Noah, who obeyed God even when those around him didn’t understand his faith and laughed at him. We look forward to learning about the promise of the rainbow and having some fun with the animals too! 

Next we will be learning about Esther, an amazing woman of God. As well as the fun our little girls will have with the princess aspect of the story, we will be teaching them about how God placed Esther in the right place at the right time to ensure His people were saved from destruction.

 

Prayer and Notebooks

Following our promise in the last newsletter we have written a prayer that we will say at the start of every Sunday morning session. We have written it in each child’s notebook so you, as parents or guardians, are able to read it and help your child get used to praying throughout the week. 

We would like to thank you all for making such an effort to ensure your child has their notebook with them each week. We hope that you have taken the opportunity to look through them to see in more detail what we have been doing.

 

Must like Colouring and Sticking!

As always we are on the lookout for team members. You may have a heart for working with the under-4s and feel you could prepare and lead regular sessions, or you may be willing to be an extra pair of hands once every few weeks or months. If this sounds like you, or someone you know, please let one of the team know. Our names can be found at the bottom of the page and we welcome as much, or as little, as you’re able to give!

We hope you enjoy these updates and are happy with what we are teaching your child. If, however, you have any ideas on how we could improve our sessions, or make them more relevant, please do not hesitate to let us know. 

Until next time…