Club Leaders Discuss: “How do you get started on time? How do you cope with late arrivers?” Gym Time Our club starts at 6:30 in the gym, with all age-groups together. The first 10 minutes is intended for the leaders to check up on the kids. At 6:40 the kids line up by age-group. If we start late, it is due to my not calling the kids to attention on time. Early arrivals play in the gym. At 6:25, the balls are collected and the children go to their specific spot to meet with their leaders until 6:40. With a 10-minute buffer zone, we haven’t had a problem with late arrivals. The first 10 minutes are unstructured, so whenever children come, they are not behind for the night. -Jon Glass, Fox River Christian Church, Waukesha, Wisconsin Random Rewards If the club members are on time or early, they may get a small treat. It is very random and they do not know when to expect it. -Deborah Young, Grand Bay Baptist Church, Grand Bay, New Brunswick Sharing Time I have had great success by starting with “Sunshine and Rainfall.” For Sunshine, kids share anything positive that happened to them the past week. For Rainfall, they can share something sad or negative. This is a great way to lead into group prayer. The group stays focused even as late arrivals show up. This is a great time to have snack (while they’re discussing) since they will show up for snack! -Roxanne Tutundjian, via www.pioneerclubs.org bulletin board Ticket Incentives When kids arrive, they can receive three tickets: We then have a “store” where club members can redeem tickets for prizes, many of which come from the Pioneer Clubs catalog. This works as an incentive for the kids to remind their parents that they need to be on time. We rarely have anyone arriving after the Opening. -Carol Abell, Chantilly Bible Church, Oak Hill, Virginia Arrive Early The key to getting started on time has been in getting there at least a half hour early to run off any announcement sheets and get equipment set up. -Dan Smith, Delano Evangelical Free Church, Delano, Minnesota Stick to Promised Time Our “Pioneer Clubs Family Survivor’s Handbook” for parents states that club begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. and ends promptly at 8:00. By keeping our promise to always begin and end on time, parents are inclined to bring and pick up their children on time. -Diane Crook, First Baptist Church of Pontiac, White Lake, Michigan Snack and Chat Our children come to club directly from school and arrive at much the same time. They get their snack and go to their individual club rooms, where at least one guide chats with them about their day while they eat. After 10 minutes a bell calls them to our large meeting room for singing. This way they all arrive at the same time. -Bev Penner, Consul Church of God, Consul, Saskatchewan Prevent Racing Around Club begins at 6:45. As the boys and girls arrive (anytime after 6:30) they take their books and Bibles to their club room and then meet in the lobby, where I lead a game to keep them from racing around. One of our leaders then begins Songfest, also in the lobby. As more children arrive, they slip into the circle to join the singing. Leaders join the circle once they’ve got their room ready. -Hilda Hildebrand, Devon Alliance Church, Devon, Alberta |
