I recently spent time with my youngest granddaughter, a busy, energetic, bright-eyed 18 month-old. Dakotah's legs may be small but they move her quickly from chalk-drawing to sand-play to chasing chickens without a pause. And while her words are yet developing, her facial expressions and body language more than covers any deficiencies in  verbal communication. She is full-on energy; learning in action!  
But it reminded me afresh of an important issue.

How often do we focus on the needs of primary-aged kids, the tweens and the teens, and neglect that vital ministry area- babies and toddlers? While it's been noted that 'investing in the education of three and four year-olds returns nine times the investment', the initial years, the babies and infants to 2-years, are also crucial periods of learning and discovery. 

So.. how are we supporting families with infants? What encouragement is offered to parents who often feel they lack any concept of initiating faith training with these little ones. How do we connect with the mums and dads who wonder why they make the effort to come to church when they spend most of the time in the mother's room or creche? How do we break the isolation many feel throughout the week? 

With this in mind, we are slowly developing an Ages & Stages area on the website that will list the developmental characteristics of various age-groups, including babies and infants, with a growing list of age-appropriate resources for families and ministries.

We have started with Infants, and if you know of additional resources to add to our list, please let us know. I have also included a downloadable Family Manual that you may find useful. Simply print the pages of the manual, which provides information for parents about monthly milestones for their new baby and some helpful faith-nurturing suggestions, and pop them into an attractive folder to hand to families with young babies. You can download the manual below.

In Australia, Father's Day is little over a week away. While some feel that the importance of Father's Day limps along behind the splash of Mother's Day, it remains a wonderful opportunity to encourage and thank fathers for their involvement in the lives of their children. And fathers certainly are an integral part of family life.
You have no doubt read many sources listing the positive impact involved fathers produce in their kids. Indeed, family scholars the world over have produced a large body of evidence from thousands of independent studies on the important contribution that fathers make to children and to the success of the family unit. Consider: Children with involved fathers are more confident, better able to deal with frustration, better able to gain independence and their own identity, more likely to mature into compassionate adults, more likely to have a high self esteem, more sociable, more secure as infants, less likely to show signs of depression, less likely to commit suicide, more empathetic, boys have been shown to be less aggressive and adolescent girls are less likely to engage in sex.

So.. what will you do in your area of children's ministry for dads, this Father's Day?
Check out this list of 26 Adorable Father's Day Gift Ideas from How Does She?

Our weekly kids club program is filled with excitement and activity. Following the large group opening celebration and lesson time, we break into smaller groups that rotate through six different activity stations: Music/Memory, Craft, Games, Snack, Journalling, & Science. Each activity station reinforces our Bible story and Bible point and lasts 10 minutes- just enough time to settle them down, complete the activity with some discussion time and on to the next activity centre. We have quite a number of kids with a limited attention span and it works well.

Following our closing session, we also provide a cooked meal for the kids. Some of these kids rarely experience a family meal time with everyone sitting down together at the table, so this is a great opportunity to pray & talk with the kids and quietly teach a few table manners. We've found puzzle and activity placemats are a great way to settle the kids for the meal, occupy those who have trouble sitting still and help to teach simple things like the placement and use of cutlery for the meal. You can make your own or use Blunders Manner Mats (38 tear-off placemats) with puzzles and activities as well as questions and discussion points about manners. (Find them here..)

The New Chapter website has undergone some significant changes in keeping with our focus on family ministry. We will continue to present news and information about children's ministry trends, resources and ideas but we have also included pages and blogs specifically for parents and families, and have also included grandparents.

The role of grandparents today has changed greatly and, through financial necessity or personal choice, now provides greater financial, emotional and practical support for many families, with childcare or household chores. So, in keeping with our focus on family ministry, we believe we should present and support a stronger intergenerational mix. 

Today's grandparents, the baby boomers, are now fitter and more active than ever before and often have the time, energy and means to step in and assist families. They also provide a valuable link with the past and enable children to appreciate and understand their own history and traditions. But they also need encouragement and support as they take on these additional responsibilities. They need to feel connected.

Our articles and blogs will now present information for families and ministry covering such areas as reviews of media, books and apps, craft projects, recipes, curricula, resources, research and trends, leadership materials and also, educational resources for home-schoolers. Take a few moments to explore our new, enlarged site and check back regularly as more content is added.

Pinterest is more than just sharing some pretty pictures. It can be a great source of inspiration and ideas. I've included a list of helpful ideas, posted on Pinterest, to encourage meaningful prayer for kids and families. Use some of these ideas yourself with your groups and include in your program resources or encourage families to incorporate these ideas themselves in their family routines.