Hi ReCAST Kids Families,
Life sure has changed a lot over the last few weeks. I hope that you and your family have been able to settle in to a new rhythm. I sure do miss seeing you and loving on your kiddos. My focus these next few weeks will be serving you and your family from afar. I know Sunday mornings look incredibly different than they did 3 weeks ago. You may be feeling at a loss with what Sunday mornings should look like now for your family. Here are a few ideas that I hope will be helpful for you as we navigate this new “normal” together.
1. Lower your expectations, be flexible. It is OK!
* What we’re doing on Sunday morning is not church and so it’s not going to look like it normally does.
* Your kiddos (especially nursery-1st grade) are playing, interacting with friends, and up moving around discovering/learning on Sunday mornings at ReCAST. They aren’t used to sitting in the living room for 50 minutes listening to a sermon. They are movers and shakers at this age 🙂 You know your kids best, so acknowledge what they can and can not handle.
2. Pause it!
* If you get 20 minutes into the worship/sermon video and things start to unravel with your kiddos, pause it. You can address what needs to be addressed and start again or come back to it at a better time. The first Sunday at home with the video sermon, my family made it 20 minutes in and then my 4 year old had had enough. Tensions flared! But then my husband and I realized we were expecting too much of a little boy at 4 so we turned off the video, played with our kiddo and went back and finished after he went to bed. It was a much better time of worship! If there is a better time of day to worship and listen to the sermon than Sunday morning, go for it!
3. Have things ready for your kids before you start.
*You may find it helpful to print of coloring sheets and have your kiddos color while the sermon is on or find some quiet activities they can do while sitting together in the same room.
* Adventures in Odyssey has lots of great audio stories. Your kiddos can listen with headphones on.
* If your kiddo has a kids sermon notebook, have them bring that and their Bible to the living room and encourage them to take notes and write down questions they have or things they didn’t understand.
Please know that these are just suggestions. Every family is different with unique needs and uniquely created kids! You know your family best and what works for one family might not work for another.
My heart longs for the day we can gather together in person! If there is anything you need or would like me to pray for over the next handful of weeks please reach out.
Ginger
