During Lent, worship will be a little different. The children will draw pictures after hearing the story each morning. In order for this to happen well, there are a few things we need to ask.
First, we need for the children to be settled in their places before the singing starts. Worship starts at 8:30. Please plan to arrive upstairs by 8:25 every day so that your child will have hung up his or her coat and will be ready to gather for worship when we ring the chimes. And, of course, arriving a little earlier than 8:25 gives your child a moment to settle into being at school before we begin. When children arrive late and miss the story, they don’t know what to draw and have a hard time in that part of worship.
Probably most importantly, Lent is a season of quiet. Please help us provide this quiet in the following ways:
First, we need for the children to be settled in their places before the singing starts. Worship starts at 8:30. Please plan to arrive upstairs by 8:25 every day so that your child will have hung up his or her coat and will be ready to gather for worship when we ring the chimes. And, of course, arriving a little earlier than 8:25 gives your child a moment to settle into being at school before we begin. When children arrive late and miss the story, they don’t know what to draw and have a hard time in that part of worship.
Probably most importantly, Lent is a season of quiet. Please help us provide this quiet in the following ways:
We will ask for a quick, quiet good-bye time. This is a good season for another step toward independence. Many families move now to a simple wave to say good-bye. The children are ready and it will help us set a tone of quiet. Other classes will be doing their Lenten reflection on our floor at the same time. Parents should silently exit through the back stairwell so that all of the classes on our floor may have silence for drawing and thinking.
And if you have a young child who is in a wiggly stage or a baby who has a lot to say, we hope you will be prepared to leave worship as the singing ends. It is good to sneak out during the candle lighting song so that you have time to leave before the story begins. Please do leave the building. We really do not want to be unwelcoming, but we do want to protect a few minutes of silence for the preschool children. Parents and little ones in the hallways and the classrooms can still be heard in our space and make a quick transition from worship to being ready for park more difficult. Please pass this information along to anyone who brings your child to school.
Please let your preschool child know that you may leave before worship is over. Say good-bye before you go into worship, not during worship. If you would like ideas about how to do that or have any questions, please ask.
Save the date for Thursday, March 24 at 8:30 when the Sky Class will help tell part of the Holy Week story in worship and you are invited to a small reception afterwards (9-9:30). This is a community time. Every child should have a parent attending worship and the reception this day.
