2009 - December Advent Brochure

Click here for the 2009 Advent Family Resource - some fun (and low cost) activities you can use with your children or grandchildren during the Christmas season. 

2009 - December Events

 Ride On The Church Christmas Float!
Children (of all ages) are invited to ride
on the church’s float in the

2009 Siloam Springs Christmas Parade, 
Saturday, Dec. 5.
Meet at the float. The line up begins at 4:30 p.m.

by the high school (near the intersection of Tulsa and Dogwood.)
Note: Students Pre-k and younger need to have an adult with them!

Late Breaking Note 11/29/09: We may need students there by 3:30 p.m. I'll keep ya posted!

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It’s A Church-Family Caroling Party
3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, sponsored by the Spiritual Formation Team.
We’ll meet at the church and carol at our shut-in’s homes.

At 5:30 p.m. we’ll meet at the church or a light snack supper (hot dogs/chips).
(Families with younger children are welcome to go to the nursing home, 
but this will give you a good "break" if you need to head home early after the snack supper!)

Then we’ll head to the nursing home by 6:30 p.m. to join the choir for a sing-along!
We should be back at the church shortly after 7 p.m.
See Miss Kaylea for additional details.

- - -

Children’s Christmas Experience
It’s A Veggie Tales Christmas Extravaganza!
Come learn about the
true meaning of Christmas!
3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13

In the Fellowship Hall
(Pst...the church-family Christmas party with a potluck 

& special visitor will follow at 5:30 p.m.)

It's A Girl Thing

http://fumcssphotos.blogspot.com/

Eighteen elementary girls took part in the first
"It's A Girl Thing" sleep over!

We had a lot of fun...made some crafts...giggled a bit...and even slept some.

More photos will be uploaded to the church photo gallery
within the next few days/week or so

(it may be after Thanksgiving!).

You'll be able to click on the link above to head over to the photo gallery.

It's A Girl Thing!

It’s a Girl Thing! - A Sleep-over Party for Girls!

Sponsored by the Children’s Ministry at First United Methodist Church - Siloam Springs.

Who: For first to fifth grade girls connected to First UMC (and their friends)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20 to 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at the home of Brandy Roebuck (Susan Bishop’s mom), 217 N. Wright St. Siloam Springs.

Why? Because girls just wanna have fun!

What To Bring: Sleep clothes, sleeping bag/pillows, a snack (or two) to share, board
games, clothes for the next day, crafty stuff (to make cards), and a great attitude!

What We’ll Do: Play games, watch a movie (or two), eat yummy snacks, make cards
(for a couple of special projects), and have LOTS & LOTS of fun!

 

Please RSVP to Kaylea Hutson by Wednesday, Nov. 18
by phone: 479.524.6111 or by e-mail: kaylea@fumcss.arcoxmail.com.

All students must have the following in order to participate in this event.
1) This event consent form filled out completely. (Download here)
2) A 2009/10 Student Ministries Participation/Health Form (Download here)

Note: the Children's Ministry Expectation Covenant will be in effect for this event. (Download a copy here).

Happy Halloween

Thanks to everyone who helped make our first "adventure" with the downtown trick or treat event a success. We passed out hundreds (literally) atomic fire balls, and made several connections with kids who have come to some of our events with friends during the past two years.

Miss Kaylea took "hundreds" (ok, really approx. 170) of pictures of kids and families. Those pics can be found on our church photo blog. 

Here's one of our favorites....dressing up was a family adventure for one Thomas the Train lover!

There's lots more fun pictures...Click here to see all of the pics!

We gathered together the pics featuring our game booth and a few of the First UMC kiddos for easy viewing...you can find them here (most are mixed into the big post...)

Internet Safety

More and more of our students are using the intent, texting and bing on social networking sites.

Do you know what your students are saying as they hang out on these sites, send instant messages, or text their friends?

Here's a list of common online abbreviations/acronyms from www.netsmartz411.org/

You may see a child or teenager typing furiously during an instant messaging (IM) session and when you peek over their shoulder – you see only short or fractured words. It almost looks like an entirely new language. What does it mean? These abbreviated words, known as acronyms or online lingo, are shorthand for common phrases used in spoken English. Below is a list of common acronyms:

 143: I love you      
AISI: as I see it
ASL: age/sex/location
BF: boyfriend
BRB: be right back
BTW: by the way
F2f: face to face
GF: girlfriend
IDK: I don’t know
IMO: in my opinion
INDB: it's no big deal
IRL: in real life
ISS: I said so
JK: just kidding
K: okay
KIT: keep in touch
LDR: long distance relationship
LMIRL: let’s meet in real life
LOL: laughing out loud
M/F: male or female
N/P: no problem
NTK: nice to know
OMFG: oh my f***** god
OMG: oh my god
OTP: on the phone
P911: my parents are coming
PAL: parents are listening
PAW: parents are watching
PDA: public display of affection
PIR: parent in room
POS: parent over shoulder
PPL: people
S2R: send to receive
STFU: shut the f*** up
ROFL: rolling on floor laughing
THX: thanks
TTYL: talk to you later
TY: thank you
WT? what the
WTG: way to go
WTGP: want to go private?

Parents and guardians should be aware of what your children are saying in their conversations and what types of people they are communicating with. NetSmartz411 recommends reviewing your child's buddy list periodically and making sure that the only people on the list are those that your and your children know and trust in real life. Download a list of even more, common online acronyms from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Additional online acronyms http://www.missingkids.com/adcouncil/pdf/lingo/onlinelingo.pdf

You can download the pef of the above list by clicking here.

You can also download the expanded list by clicking here.

Trick or Treat in Downtown Siloam Springs

When you are out "trick or treating" in downtown Siloam Springs on from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, make sure to swing through Twin Springs Park.

Several organizations - including First UMC's Children's Ministry - will have carnival game booths set up in the park. (I think we'll have a ball toss game...)

We'll also have candy - of course - to hand out, along with information about some upcoming events!

Who knows, Miss Kaylea might even snap your picture....we'll have a "rouges" gallery of costumed kids we "capture" on the church photo blog!