It's halftime — or close to it!
Although Christmas break with its annual recess of club meetings seems to divide the Awana club season in half, it really doesn't. The middle to the end of January is the actual midpoint of the club year. Now is the perfect time for all Awana leaders to evaluate how the kids in your handbook group are doing.
By now, you know your clubbers pretty well. Some are obviously not going to be book finishers. Others are nearing completion. But others — who you know can do it — are lagging behind.
Sit down with individual clubbers (and maybe with their parents), and figure out how many sections need to be passed each of the remaining club nights in order to earn the book completion award for their level.
This will encourage the clubbers with an attainable goal. But do it now! Waiting until the fourth quarter (late March or early April) will make the task overwhelming. Encourage all of your clubbers now!
For the kids,
Dale & Jodi
P.S. To find out where Sparkies ought to be in their handbooks, check out page 165 of the Sparks LeaderSource. T&T leaders will find the pacing information on page 77 in T&T Basics & Beyond.
All-Wheel-Drive Night
Want to add instant energy and excitement to your game time? Use scooter boards (Awana Ministry Guide, p. 29). The six-wheeled Ladybug scooter boards are especially fast. Have kids bring their in-line skates and play regular Awana relays. Kids who don't have skates can use the scooter boards and hand off their batons to kids on skates. The possibilities for unique games are endless!
Shuffle the Teams
This is a great time to evaluate your game floor teams. Have teams become uneven? Are the fastest runners on one team? Are the kids who recite the most sections on another team? If this is the case in your club, re-pick teams in a leaders' meeting. Make the teams as even as possible according to clubbers' abilities — try to have each team with equal numbers of athletes and scholars.
Handbook Tip
For clubbers who probably won't make it to book completion — help them to press on:
- Encourage them to do just one section a week
- Tell your handbook group that everybody will get a (treat, share, etc.) if they all pass a section.
Large Group Time Tip
The weakest segment of most Awana Clubs is usually song time. One way to hold the interest of kids, especially in large groups, is to use PowerPoint®. Have someone in your club or church who enjoys working with technology make PowerPoint® slides of the words to your songs. Once song time is up and running, think about doing your announcements each week on PowerPoint® too. Kids will love it when their name pops up on a screen for earning an award.
Director's Tip: Outreach — Annual Spring Events
Have you had a parent outreach event yet this year? Use the annual spring events such as AwanaGames™, Bible Quizzing, or Grand Prix as a way to contact parents. The events aren't just to get parents to attend events.
They're a way for you to make contact with your clubber's parents. Contacts that may help you engage parents in comfortable conversations before and after club, invitations to church, and so on. A spring event could help you build personal relationships with the parents of your clubbers — which may ultimately lead to their salvation.
| Feature: February and March Fun |
February Fun
- February is National Bird Feeding Month. Have a contest to see who can identify the most local birds.
- February is also National Hot Breakfast Month — Invite clubbers who are current in their books to a Saturday morning breakfast and game party.
- February 1: Robinson Crusoe Day — Play Shipwreck. Have all clubbers stand in the center of the game floor. Call out commands. The last clubber to respond to each command is out. Port — clubbers run to left wall; Starboard — clubbers run to right wall; Bow — clubbers run to front of room; Stern — clubbers run to back of room; Shipwreck — clubbers fall down.
- February 2: Groundhog Day — Who can make the best shadow picture?
- February 5: Weather Forecaster's Day — The clubber who comes closest to predicting the temperature and weather at the start of next week's club meeting earns a prize.
- February 6, 1911: Ronald Reagan was born — Challenge your clubbers to learn some of the presidents in order. Tell them there will be two contests later in the month. On Reagan's birthday, pray for leaders in government.
- February 6: Compliment Day — Say something nice about your leader.
- February 12, 1809: Abraham Lincoln was born — Give awards to all clubbers who can list the presidents up to Mr. Lincoln.
- February 14: Valentine's Day. Tell your clubbers about God's love through Christ for them.
- February 18, 1930: Ollie became the first cow to fly in an airplane.
- February 22, 1732: George Washington was born — Give treats to clubbers who can list the presidents from WWII to the present.
March Moments
- March is Music in our Schools Month — make it Music in our Clubs Month. Make song time stronger in your club.
- Second week of March: Bubble Gum Week. Have a bubble-blowing contest.
- Third week of March: is American Chocolate Week. Give a couple of Hershey's Miniatures® and Philippians 1:6 on an index card (all in a Ziploc® bag) to your clubbers.
- March 3: World Prayer Day. Have your clubbers pray for world leaders.
- March 6: The day Oreo® Cookies were first sold in 1912. Have an Oreo® Stacking contest.
- March 14: Purim — a Jewish holiday based on the book of Esther — begins. You could watch the Veggie Tales® video Esther with your clubbers.
Awana Ideas
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© 2006 Awana Clubs International This newsletter may be reproduced without permission only by churches registered with Awana Clubs International.
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www.awana.org
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| Visit: Awana Leader Resources
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The MGO is the Ministry Guide Online—and it's the online place to find everything you need for your Awana club!
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Great Is the Lord — Ultimate Praise
These 12 original praise and worship music songs were made just for T&T kids. They are based on the themes from Book One: God, the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Christian life. You can really liven up your song time with this CD.
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Sing the Awana Way
Awana offers several ways for you to enliven your Sparks club with music! For example, check out the brand new bilingual theme song CD (Awana Ministry Guide, p. 17). Awana also offers memory verse CDs for Sparks handbooks. The songs are the perfect way to help your Sparkies learn the Sparks theme song or their memory verses!
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Use Awana clipart to promote your Awana ministry! You can use it as long as your church is registered with Awana. Here are links to clipart for: Cubbies, Sparks and T&T.
Memory Packets
Bronze, Silver and Gold. Eager clubbers can do some extra credit work with these memory packets. Each .pdf set is available in KJV, NIV and NKJV.
Memory Books
Do you have some clubbers (under the age of ten) who need some extra credit materials? These memory books will keep them engaged in God's Word.
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MGO
