Parental Involvement and Mother's Day

Teaching resource Internet sites are quickly gearing up for the next big holiday - Mother's Day. This week, you'll find all kinds of craft ideas that kids can make Inside the Classroom for their mother. Here are some suggestions:

Ministry to Children: http://ministry-to-children.com/video-mothers-projcets/
Family Fun: http://familyfun.go.com/mothers-day/mothers-day-ideas-854863/
Danielle's Place: http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/mothersday.html

One of my guiding principles in teaching is to make sure everything I do fits my overall mission in children's ministry and my specific learning goals. It's wonderful to get kids involved in making gifts for their moms - but ask yourself, why are you doing this other than to honor your moms? How can you help your students grow in their faith and knowledge about Jesus by making a Mother's Day craft? Better yet, how can you extend your ministry beyond the child to the entire family using Mother's Day as your implement?

Recently, my teaching partner and I have become separately convicted of our need to involve the parents. I've been reading the book, Building Faith at Home by Mark Holman. My partner was impressed one day by 1 Corinthians 3:6: "(Paul speaking) I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." Before church one Sunday, we shared our mutual convictions, that we need to work more in tandem with parents in helping children grow in their faith. Our ultimate goal should be to see families living out their faith daily in their home life. (Guess what passage of Scripture the minister mentioned later on that day in his sermon!!)

This year, we are using Mother's Day to involve our moms. We've planned a Mother's Day tea for them, inviting them to join us during our Children's church hour. We've spent the two weeks before Mother's Day making invitations, party favors, verse cards and gifts. Two days before The Day, the older boys will help me set up tables and chairs. As we work, we have asked the children how their families are helping them know about Jesus and we are helping them write thank you cards to Mom, specifically thanking their mothers for the role they have played in building their faith. (One is already done and it will make one certain mother cry!) At the tea, we'll take a moment to share I Corinthians 3:6, emphasizing to the moms that we consider our work to be a team effort in partnership with them and to encourage them to pray with their kids, read the Bible with them and to be bold in talking about faith issues with their children.

I've never done this before. I've never heard of anyone else doing it either. With any new venture, it might be rough the first year. Still, it's one step in our efforts to involve the parents, to show them what we are doing in our children's ministry and to encourage them to build on what we are doing throughout the week in their own homes.

How can you use Mother's Day to build the faith of the families you serve?

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find?Ntt=Building+Faith+At+Home&N=0&Ntk=keywords&action=Search&Ne=0&event=ESRCN&nav_search=1&cms=1&search=