Holy Cross Children's Education
St. Francis Way Activity Days
Frequently throughout the year, have special programming on the St. Francis Way. We will be learning about the wonders of God’s creation with a focus on water. Weather permitting, we will be spending part of each program outside in the woods (aka St. Francis Way). To help your child be a full participant, please remember to:
- dress your child for active and possibly messy play outdoors.
- apply bug spray and sunscreen.
- be sure he or she is wearing closed-toe shoes.
- drop him or her off at the Surf Rider classroom by 9:25 am.
- do a tick check after church
Be sure to ask your child about what we did in the woods and what he or she learned. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at Rene.
Our Classes
Sunday Morning Schedule
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Worship is at 10:30 am |
Epic Waves: We start at 9:30 am in the Epic Waves classroom. Youth will join their families at time of the Holy Eucharist. |
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Godly Play and Surf Rider classes: Drop-off is at 9:30 am in the Gathering Room next to the Children's Tables. Children will be brought into the Sanctuary, joining their families at the time of Holy Eucharist. |
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Sea Shells: Drop-off is 10 minutes before the start of Worship service. Children will be brought into the Sanctuary, joining their families at the time of Holy Eucharist, unless arrangements have been made for the children to remain in class during the entire service. |
The Sea Shells class is for our youngest children from infant care up to Pre-K. This class offers the best in child care and following the Godly Play lessons for three and four-year-olds. Interactive felt board and characters from Betty Luken’s “Bible in Felt” series is used for storytelling by our full-time teacher, as well as the “Spark” Bible and interactive Bible toys and books. This class follows the Godly Play concepts of playful worship, creativity, and community building. As with all of our Youth classes, the Tadpole class is held during the 10:15 worship service, with the children joining their families for the Eucharistic Feast in the Sanctuary. Small children can remain in the Tadpole class during Eucharist if needed.
Godly Play is the school-year curriculum for children from Kindergarten through 2nd grade that engage the whole child in creativity and community fellowship. It is a time of playful worship that invites a relationship with God.
At the heart of a Godly Play, the session is the telling of the story, experienced in the contexts of scripture and the church calendar. The storyteller uses simple, beautiful materials to illustrate the story and to engage the imagination. Both the structure of Godly Play and the classrooms themselves offer children a safe space to explore, wonder, and worship. Children have the opportunity to relate Biblical stories to their own experiences and to respond personally and creatively to God.
During the summer months, Godly Play is on hiatus as the Holy Cross family comes together across generations to worship as the family of God.
Epic Waves, our new program for grades 6-12 is about to make a big splash this fall! We have created an exciting program to mentor youth through an organic curriculum. We’ll tackle issues that are current and relevant to our group and tie biblical themes to them. Our primary goal is to create leaders within our community and empower them to be role models for others. They will be instrumental in helping to plan social events, fundraisers, bible studies, and service projects. Please encourage the Jr. High/High School students in your life to attend. This will be a powerful experience they won’t want to miss!
Resources for Teachers and Pre-Recorded Godly Play Lessons can be found here: https://www.hcew.org/tr.