THERE ARE CERTAIN ESSENTIALS TO RUNNING A REFORMERS UNANIMOUS KIDZ CLUB. Things that you need to know and products that you need to have. It is my desire to share with you, the reader, these essentials of running a Kidz Club along with some practical advice gained from experience.
KIDZ CLUB ESSENTIALS:
The Kidz Club Lesson Plan Book is the foundation of your Kidz Club program. It is the manual of how to run a Kidz Club. When this product was released, it made my job so much easier! It has many resources to help you with time – such as games, coloring pages, stories, and activities. And above all else, it has 52 weeks of lessons to keep you going throughout the year! It is the number one essential to have for your RU Kidz Club. You cannot do without it. It is the best investment you can make for the children you have under your care each Friday night.
The next thing you need to go with the Lesson Plan Book is the Fruit of the Spirit Storyboards. These boards are designed with large pictures to entertain the children’s imaginations while you read the story. You could hold these up yourself or have a worker or even an older child help with this. These storyboards are a vital part of the Lesson Plans…so they are a must have! (Note: RU has several other sets of storyboards that you can order for additional resources.)
Another resource needed when following the Kidz Club Lesson Plans are the RU Flash Cards. These include the Fruit of the Spirit vs. the Work of the Flesh flashcards, the 10 Principles flash cards, and the 10 Commandments. (Note: RU also has Beatitudes Flash Cards for additional resources, but they are not in the current Lesson Plan Book.) The purpose of these flash cards is to engage your students in learning through recitation and visual aids. These cards make it easy to learn as they associate pictures with words.
And, of course, the most important aspect of RU Kidz Club is the Kidz Club Curriculum. We also have a great Kidz Club Welcome Brochure, which actually introduces the children and parents to the program and the curriculum. This simple little brochure is a great way to promote the curriculum without costing a lot of money! If a child visits only once, they leave with only a small brochure…which also includes the gospel. After a student attends the second week, they can then begin the Overcomer Workbook, which will lead them to the Challenger and then on to the Fruit of the Spirit Workbooks. This great discipleship program has a complete line of RU Kidz Club Awards that children love to earn as they engage in the curriculum.
The lessons in the Lesson Plan Book are outlines, information, and ideas designed for you as the teacher to use in your classroom as a guide. It is imperative that you present the lesson to the children on their level. The lessons are not intended to be read directly from the book.
It is our desire to provide new curriculum very soon! Some of the current challenges are too “difficult” for some ages. We recommend you and your group leaders rework the challenges as needed for their age appropriate level.
- Kidz Club is “Vacation Bible School Every Week!” With that being said, it should be exciting every time. Please do not make it like school…or even like Sunday School. Make it exciting! Mr. Curington’s vision was for the kids to have so much fun that if the parent decided not to come the following week, that he/she came anyway because the kids didn’t want to miss! One thing that will help with this is the decor. Every week, I arrive early and set up our new Kidz Club Banners along with brightly decorated boxes for Box Mania on tables covered in colorful table cloths and just as much bright colorful decor I can acquire! It draws the attention and the excitement to the front where you are teaching and giving away prizes every week.
It takes a little time…it takes a lot of energy…but investing in the lives of these kids will possibly keep them from making the same mistakes that many of their parents made!! Your labor is not in vain…it is essentially priceless!
