Our Olivet Kids Program is for kids ages 4 through Grade 5.
There is no supervision for toddlers and infants at this time. The Toddler room is available for you to watch the service while your child plays. There is also parent’s room with change table at the back of the sanctuary.
Here is what you need to know:
- Your child will start off the morning in the Sanctuary with you, until the announcement before the sermon, inviting them to follow the Olivet Kids facilitator into the Olivet Kids room. Both age groups will stay together.
- If you have a Preschool or Kindergarten child, please accompany them to the Preschool room and sign them in; and come back when the service is over to pick them up and sign them out
- Gradeschool children (Grade 1 - 5) can sign themselves in, but please come after the service to sign them out.
- Please ensure your child wears a mask
- There will be hand washing and hand sanitizing, and we will ensure that the materials we use are cleaned
- We will watch a lesson from our Blog, participate in Worship, and do a related activity, and enjoy our time together
- If you have an older child (Grade 6-8) who is interested in participating or helping with our kids, they are welcome to join us.
- We will need you to complete a registration form (both sides of form) for EACH of your children. You can access one below, or pick up and complete one in the Preschool Room.
We look forward to partnering with you to help your child "discover and embrace a growing relationship with Jesus!"
OTHER SPECIAL EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
Here are some other ways we like to gather at Olivet, but as you can see, they have been cancelled for 2020. God willing, we will hold these fun events in 2021 -
- July & August Bi-weekly Drop-ins (currently underway!)
- August 16-20, 2021 One-week Vacation Bible Camp (scroll down to UPCOMING EVENTS below to register online for TREASURED)
- September Street Party - 2nd Sunday in September, 11am-1pm
- Fall Carnival - October 31 5:30-7:30pm
- Advent Fair - 1st Sunday of Advent; lunch immediately after the service, then crafts
RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES / PARENTS / CAREGIVERS
We at Olivet want to support and equip you parents as the primary faith nurturers of your children. Parents have the greatest influence on their children's faith formation more than any other person or institution in a child's life.
And it is actually Mom who has the number one influence (https://www.barna.com/research/moms-christians-households/). I tell you this not to put any unnecessary pressure on you, but to encourage you on the importance of your God ordained roles. Fortunately, not only did God make it this way, but He will equip you if you ask Him for help.
If I were to summarized what I personally think are the 3 main ways you can have a healthy influence in your child’s spiritual formation, they are these:
- Nurture and maintain a healthy relationship with your child by learning and applying effective parenting. There are many good books and advice available, and as an example see the PDF in the Downloads below for a list of THE PARENTS 10 COMPETENCIES that predict good overall parenting outcomes. If you have a healthy loving relationship with your child, they will more likely respect, believe and heed what you teach them about God and His love for them.
- Your child learns about God by observing the way that you the parent interact with the world and spend your time from day-to-day. I remember asking God what I needed to do to 'make' my kids love Him, and the answer I received was that I “needed to fall in love with Him” first! Yes, it is also a good idea to make scheduled times of formal Bible reading, with time for discussion, questions, or “teaching”, but the greatest influence will be what your child observes from your behaviour. For more details, read the LIVING FOR JESUS PDF in the Downloads below.
- Build a home library of resources for both informal times of cuddling and reading to your kids when they are small, or to stimulate family conversations at mealtime or other regular times in your week, and to have available for kids to access on their own. The library would of course grow and change as your kids age.
Here is a list of recommended resources:
TODDLER / PRESCHOOL AGE HOME LIBRARY RESOURCES
BIBLES AND OTHER STORY BOOKS ABOUT JESUS
There are many good quality hardcover Bibles and other story books about Jesus available in bookstores & online. I also love to scan second-hand stores and garage sales and often find lots of quality books and am able to stretch my spending dollars becasue the price of second-hand is often a fraction of new. I don't specifically recommend any particular book at this age - just go with what you think will engage your child, and ensure that the words are Biblically sound.
WORSHIP MUSIC
Children of all ages love to sing and move, especially these younger ones. See the Olivet Kids N&P song resources PDF below for some fun ideas to try at home.
KINDERGARTEN - GRADE 5 HOME LIBRARY RESOURCES
BIBLES
At Olivet Kids we chose to use the International Children’s Bible on Sunday mornings. We hand it out during most of our lessons for the kids to follow along in or find specific Scriptures, and the monthly Remember Verse is from this version. It has the advantage of shorter sentences and more familiar words, however, some of the “best” words are missing from it (ie. "Redeemed").
Illustrated Bibles - there are a large variety of Bibles with key Bible stories, and the pictures help keep the kids engaged and remember details. One of my favourites is the Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, by Sally Lloyd-Jones. I like how she links each story to the coming of Jesus, rather than focusing on Bible “heroes”.
CHRISTMAS & ADVENT - The Advent Storybook: 25 Bible Stories showing Why Jesus Came, by Laura Richie One idea is to read a story per day throughout the period of Advent.
LENT, PALM SUNDAY & EASTER - The Easter Storybook: 40 Bible Stories Showing Who Jesus Is, by Laura Richie. One idea is to read a story per day throughout the period of Lent.
NOTES FROM JESUS - What You New Best Friend Wants You to Know, by Mikal Keefer. A lovely little devotional book that reminds us that Jesus wants to have a relationship with us and a lifelong friendship that deepens with each conversation - and that conversation can be just about anything! Great conversation starters on each page, to be read as an adult, a family, or for kids alone. Even as an adult, I found this book very engaging and have read and enjoyed it by myself!
WORSHIP MUSIC
One of the greatest things you can instill in your child’s heart is to worship the Lord with song. Not only do the lyrics provide your child with the Truth of who our loving and mighty God is, and His positive declarations of love for them, but also declaring these faith-filled truths out loud is a powerful form of Spiritual Warfare against the attacks of the enemy Satan (yep - I’ll talk about this further in another posting). ·
The majority of our worship music is from various Group VBS’s (Vacation Bible School) programs that we have held each summer. You can download and purchase any of their music from their website to load onto your computer or mobile device, or go onto YouTube so your kids can watch, dance, and sing along in worship, or search web for other suppliers to buy a CD or DVD. I recommend you authentically join them and enjoy and model worshipping God together. Although most are written as children’s songs (although at least 2 each year are ‘adult’ Christian songs or hymns), the words are in accordance with scripture and are true ·
Here are the names of the VBS’s we have held over the last 7 years to aid you in your searches and purchases:
o 2019 Athens
o 2018 Shipwrecked
o 2017 Maker Fun Factory
o 2016 Cave Quest
o 2015 Everest
o 2014 Weird Animals
o 2013 Kingdom Rock
SALVATION
And of course, we are all concerned that our children are "Saved" and have a solid understanding of what it means to make Jesus their "Lord", "Saviour", and "Redeemer". The "Have You Asked Jesus to be Your Forever Friend" PDF below is a simple and great starting point to walk through with your child. In fact, the 4 main ideas laid out are applicable to people of all ages! Make sure you and your child understand this prayer, and pray through it. And even better, if they can memorize it and explain it to others!
MEMORIZING SCRIPTURE
A great lifelong habit to get into is to memorize Scripture. In order to live a successful victorious life of following Jesus we need to have the Word of God firmly planted in our hearts to guide us through life. Below is the "Why Memorize Bible Verses?" PDF that you can print off that gives 5 good reasons (and 5 supporting Scriptures). [International Children's Bible version].
At Olivet Kids the children are challenged to memorize approximately one Scripture per month, which ties into that month's lessons. Below is a PDF of the "Olivet Kids 12 Memory Verses 2019-2020" that we have been working on this year. Of course, your family can come up with your own verses that are important to you, or are your favourites, or emphasize a spiritual lesson in your home. Fill your heart and mind with Scripture and be blessed!