Fall Festival Posters

Our Family Fall Festival is tomorrow!  Since we needed to make signs for the event, it was the perfect opportunity for the Camp kids to help.  They are really creative and had a lot of fun decorating.  Here is one of the posters.

Isn't it cute!  It will definitely add some festivity to the festival!  Here is how we did the posters.  First, we (the adults) did some preparation.

1) Buy sheets of white posterboard.  We found ours at Target.
2) Decide on letters.  For the "FALL FESTIVAL" letters, we printed them out using Microsoft Word so we could choose a good font and make the letters big.  Then, we cut them out.  The red letters came from a bulletin board set.  For the black & orange headings on the other signs, we used stencils and markers.  Then, we used red paint for everything else on those signs.
3) Glue the letters to the posterboard.  I used a glue stick on the letters and then went back with regular Elmer's glue to touch up any edges that didn't adhere the first time.  (The one thing I learned about this is that the ink from the printed letters will rub off onto the posterboard if you get glue on your fingers, which I did a lot.  So, you may want to have a damp tissue handy!)
4) Print out pumpkins and leaves.  We searched for images and then printed them out, making sure we had a variety of sizes.  We printed the pumpkins on orange paper for the younger kids to color.  We chose white paper for the leaves so the older kids could decide what color they wanted them to be.
5) Let everything dry overnight.

Now, it's time for the kids to decorate!  About 12 of the Camp kids wanted to decorate.  Some of them were younger (K-2 grades), and some were older (3-5 grades); so it was perfect!

1) Pass out sheets of pumpkins to the younger kids and leaves to the older kids.  We gave the younger kids crayons and the older kids markers to use while decorating.  We also passed out kid-friendly scissors to each child.
2) Let the kids decorate as many items as they would like, using their imaginations and creativity.  Once everything was colored, the younger kids went back to their groups to play while the older kids stayed to do some special decorating.
3) Pick a few colors of paint, and pour onto a plate.  (We used orange, blue, and red paint.)  Use foam stamps to stamp images onto the posters.  (We found a set of these stamps in the craft section at a store.  You could also use stickers or stencils if you wanted.)
4) Glue the kids' decorated pumpkins and leaves to the posterboard.  (You could let the kids help with this step too.  One of our kids was especially skilled at picking good spots for the artwork.)

Here's how everything looks!

We used most of the stamps on this poster.  Some of them turned out well, while some are hard to recognize.  It seemed to help if you blotted the stamp to remove excess paint before using it on the posterboard.

The kids did great!  I'm sure they'll be excited to see their artwork when we hang the signs tomorrow.  I think it is so important to find ways for kids to be involved in events like this.  It makes them feel important and gives them a way to participate.  Plus, they get to put their minds to work in creative ways.

Do you have any Fall Festival decoration ideas?  Do you have ideas of other ways to get kids involved? Let us know!

Church + Family: The Perfect Duo

Last night, I watched my youngest brother sing with his children's choir at church.  I was pretty surprised at the size of the choirs.  His children's choir is made up of older elementary students, and over 50 of them sang last night!  Even more surprising was that there were more than 100 students in the youth choir!  A lot of the kids had parents in the audience encouraging their involvement in church and in the choir.

Scott Linscott posted a blog (you can read the whole post here), talking about how important it is for parents/guardians to encourage their children's faith.  He says, "There are no guarantees that your children will follow Christ even if you have a vibrant, purposeful relationship with Him. But, on the other hand, if we, as parents do not do all we can to help our children develop meaningful relationships in Jesus, we miss a major opportunity to lead them and show them the path worth walking."


As parents, you have a unique opportunity to influence your child in ways that no one else can.  By you valuing faith and church, you teach your children to value them as well.  Children take special notice of their parents' words and actions.  Even though I grew up in church and have quite a number of Sunday School teachers and other adults to look up to, some of my biggest spiritual lessons were taught to me by my parents.  They led us in family devotions every evening where we read the Bible and prayed together, and we made church a priority in our busy schedules.  My dad taught Sunday School for years, and I remember him sitting at his desk at our house each week and preparing his lessons.  My parents modeled to me that my relationship with God was important and that I should prioritize church and other activities that would grow my faith.  


In the midst of your crazily hectic schedules, please remember the amount of influence you have on your children and on how much they will make God and church a priority.  It's not enough to rely on others to teach these lessons to your children - it has to be done by you.  


If you aren't already, spend a few minutes before bedtime reading a Bible story as a family.  If you're new to the Bible, ask your kids for help choosing a story - they learn lots of them here at Camp!  And, as much as you can, attend church as a family; and praise your children for their involvement in church activities.  


What other suggestions do you have?  How do you teach your kids that God and church are important?  What family activities do you have that encourage your children's faith?

Camp Wieuca Enters the Blog Universe!

One of our goals this year has been to find more ways to connect with our AfterSchool and Summer Camp families.  Technology certainly seems to be a great way to do this.  Our hope is that this blog provides a way for families to feel connected to each other and to their children.

We have a lot of ideas about what to include in this blog, from parenting tips to family Bible time ideas to family activities.  We are excited to connect with you and get to know you better!

So, what ideas do you have about our blog?  What topics would you like us to address?