Tonight's meeting - Cancelled

Tonight's meeting is cancelled.  Christmas shoeboxes can be dropped off to me or the church through Sunday.  I will e-mail the songs for Christmas caroling so everyone can get a start on practicing!  We will catch up at our next meeting, Friday, December 2, at the church.  God bless.

October 2011 - Fire Safety

This month we studied Fire Safety.  During our first meeting, we talked about how to make a home fire escape plan.  We discussed different issues and dangers that may arise if a fire breaks out in your home. 

The children also worked on coloring in Christmas cards which we will take to the nursing home in December to hand out to the residents.

Our second meeting was a field trip!  One of our club families have a dad and oldest brother who are both volunteers for their local fire company.  They were gracious enough to give us a tour of the fire station as well as demonstrate smoke alarm safety and answer all the questions we could come up with about being a fireman!

The children really enjoyed trying on all the gear!

But the best part, by far, was climbing in and out and all over those big red trucks!!!

A special thanks to Mr. B and Channing, our brave volunteers!

Thank you for all you do!

September 2011 - Rest Home

We decided to revisit the Rest Home badge this year for a few reasons.  First, I think it was a really great experience for the residents AND the children last year and I'd like to continue visiting there.  Also, we have some families who either didn't complete the badge or weren't in the Club last year and I want them to have the opportunity to earn it.  Even some of the parents were moved out of their comfort zone, I think, when we went and spoke to the residents and also sang Christmas carols and other songs for them.  I think that's a good thing.
At last evening's meeting, we did a Bible study/character lesson on "Compassion" that naturally led into talking about how we can show compassion and love to others, namely the residents at the nursing home.  The children then worked on coloring simple Christmas cards I had made up, printed with John 3:16.  We will hand these out to the folks when we go caroling there in December.  In the Keepers book, they mention that when you visit these people, it may be their first or last opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Wow.  So I wanted to be sure to include a simple Gospel message on the cards rather than the usual Merry Christmas or other "holiday" greeting. 

Our second year!

Tonight we had our first meeting of the new year!  Praise God for all He did through us and among us last year.  We are looking forward to another great one. 
For anyone who missed tonight's meeting, make sure to be there next time!  Our first skill of the year will be:  REST HOME, followed by FIRE SAFETY

Join us on Friday, September 16 @ 7:00 p.m.

Email if you have any questions!

June/July 2011 - Badminton

We met in June at Springettsbury Park to play badminton. We soon realized that the volleyball nets were a lot higher than badminton nets, but it's all we had to work with at the time! We focused on showing the kids how to properly serve with an underhand stroke. It was a real challenge and we decided we should continue badminton skills in July!

For our July meeting we used a real badminton net! It made a big difference. We gave the kids a lot of practice and were able to play one game from start to finish. Looks like we will continue this skill next summer! Everyone had a good time and learned a little bit about the sport.

May 2011 - Awards

We enjoyed our end-of-regular-year picnic in May at Rocky Ridge Park. We celebrated everyone's accomplishments and awarded the badges that everyone earned. Thanks to everyone for a successful first year!

April 2011 - Knots, Snacks & Drinks

Due to sickness in our household, both meetings in March had to be cancelled.

For the month of April, boys learned knot-tying. Thank you to Mr. M for helping teach them the second session while Mr. D was away. The boys were shown how to tie a variety of knots and learned about the uses for them.

Girls prepared snacks and drinks to serve to the Club. They learned how to make popcorn the old-fashioned way as well as present a fruit and veggie tray and prepare trail mix. They also learned how to make hot cocoa from scratch, fresh lemonade from real lemons as well as how to prepare iced tea and coffee.

February 2011 - Singing

For the month of February, we decided to visit the nursing home again.  This time we practiced our singing first!  Turns out there is a badge for Singing in the handbooks, so this will be a bonus badge. We sang a variety of hymns, contemporary Christian songs as well as old favorites and Sunday School songs.  Again, the residents were happy to see us.

January 2011 - Basket Weaving

For the month of January, we learned about basket weaving. We were blessed to have Maryann Gross come and give a talk about her hobby. She brought MANY beautiful baskets for us to look at! We learned a lot about the history and uses for baskets. Maryann was also gracious enough to come back for our second meeting of the month and help us complete our basket-weaving kits! Our meeting ran a bit long, but almost everyone was able to complete their project.

Here we are on the KOF website!  http://www.keepersofthefaith.com/category/BasketWeavingSharing

Some more of the finished products!

December 2010 - Rest Home, part 2

On December 4, we visited Misericordia Convalescent Home for the second time. This time we sang Christmas carols to the residents. Some of the residents remembered us and we had a nice time of fellowship after the singing. A blessed time was had by all!

November 2010 - Missionary

On November 5, the YHSA Missions Club came and spoke to our group about Missions - what it is, why it's important and how to get involved! They gave us information on some great agencies such as Child Evagelism Fellowship and Global Aid Network. We hope to volunteer with the the Club in the future!

On November 19, we collected shoebox gifts to be sent to our missionary family in Mexico, the Lockwoods.  

Our shoeboxes were sent off to the Lockwood family who in turn handed them out to children there in Mexico where they live and minister. They posted pictures on their website of many of the boxes being given, and I was able to locate almost all of our boxes in the pictures! What a neat way to see our giving in action.

Here we are on the KOF website: http://www.keepersofthefaith.com/category/MissionarySharing (4th one down)

October 2010 - Rest Home

For the month of October, we worked on our "Rest Home" badge. During our first meeting, we made a craft to take to the nursing home residents. For our second meeting, we visited a nursing home. We spoke with the residents, asked them questions about their lives and childhoods, and gave the gifts we brought. It was an enjoyable time for the children and the seniors.

September 2010 - First Aid, part 2

Wow! We were blessed with an awesome surprise last night at our meeting. Mr. Mike Barba (a former EMT and awesome teacher) came to teach the kids about First Aid, and he brought along some paramedics and a real ambulance! The guys were actually on duty at the time, but thankfully didn't get interrupted with a call during their Show & Tell time! They talked about different aspects of their job and gave a tour of the ambulance. Some of the children were excited and others nervous about climbing inside of the ambulance! 

 

Afterward, Mr. Mike gave a great, lively presentation on many aspects of First Aid, using the children as "victims" of things like unconsciousness, head injury, nose bleed, and other injuries. Everyone got a First Aid Coloring Book, Emergency Contact sheet and card to put by their home phone, and hopefully a memorable lesson in what to do in an emergency. The short answer? GET HELP!!!

UPDATE: Keepers of the Faith had a Club Sharing contest, in which we submitted what we did for different badges this year.  We didn't win a prize, but our info and pictures did get put on the KOF website!  www.keepersofthefaith.com/category/FirstAidSharing (3rd one down)

September 2010 - First Aid

Our first meeting was held Friday, September 3, 2010. We have a great group of 6 girls and 7 boys so far! The skills we are learning currently are Bible Reading, Bible Memory and First Aid. During our meeting, we reviewed the items in a First Aid kit and their uses, and each child made a mini First Aid kit to take home.