In August, I became the Preschool Director and an assistant in the afternoon class. It is fun doing something new. One of the benefits of working more closely with both the church and the Preschool is being able to brainstorm ways our church and Preschool can become more integrated.
In September, we had Rally Day. As part of Rally Day, during our divine service pastor blessed the materials we gave to our church and Preschool families. We also changed the Preschool religion curriculum to follow the Bible we gave them at the beginning of the school year. This way, families can read the same materials we use in Preschool. It’s also fun to hear the Preschoolers say, “I have that book!”
In October, we had members of Concordia come to church while the children trick or treated around church. In previous year, we had the Preschoolers trick or treat at church, but we didn’t advertise it. Pastor, Carol or Becky, our church treasurer, and myself usually handed out candy. This year, we tried to get the word out and people were kind enough to donate items for the kids to pick up along our trick or treating trail. We also had some church members help pass out candy. It was great seeing our church members interact with our Preschoolers.
In November, we had our Preschool children make decorations to hang in the church hallway. There was a paper chain of what our Preschoolers are thankful for. They also created handprint turkeys to hang in the hallway. We kept these decorations up for Concordia’s 66th Anniversary Dinner. We also asked more volunteers than normal to come to our Preschool Thanksgiving Feast to help. They helped the children roll crescent rolls and to serve food to the families. It was awesome seeing over 70 children and adults in our Fellowship Hall to celebrate Thanksgiving.
In December, we’re combining our Preschool Christmas Program and Advent service. This idea came from a few conversations with Pastor Gaschler. Honestly, the conversations came down to: “Doesn’t it just make sense to try?” On Thursday, December 15th at 6:30pm we will have our Preschool Christmas Service. We would LOVE to see many members of our congregation and our Preschool community there. We would also love for everyone to attend a cookie reception in Fellowship Hall following the service.
It is fun having new challenges. I also enjoy seeing where we can bring the church and Preschool together more often. I would love to see many members of Concordia come to the service on Thursday, December 15th at 6:30pm so everyone can see the work God is doing through our Preschool ministry.