Early Childhood area premieres with praise and play
All smiles, Jean Thomason, better known as
Miss PattyCake, greets a child arriving at the
Early Childhood area.
Through interactive songs, Miss PattyCake teaches
children how to use their two
hands to clap, their
hearts to love and their voices to sing praises to God.
Miss
PattyCake will minister each night in the
Early Childhood area.
By Kara Chase
One of several new family-focused additions to this year’s General Council is the Early Childhood area. Free childcare is available during each of the evening services this week and the area consists of four rooms: Room 1 for 0-17 months; Room 2 for 18-39 months; Room 3 for three- to four-year-olds; and Room 4 for pre-kindergarten.
The Early Childhood area is being offered so both parents have the option to attend General Council services without children.
“Mom and dad can go to services together and can sit together, knowing that their child is going to have the best care possible while they’re enjoying the service,” explains Brandon Diehl, Leadership and Development coordinator for the Children’s Ministry Agency (CMA), which oversees all child-related elements of General Council.
CMA is partnering with local churches to staff the Early Childhood area. Each night, 25-35 screened and professionally trained nursery volunteers are providing care. To maintain a ratio of three staff for every 10 children, availability is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Once each room has reached its capacity, no additional children will be admitted. According to Diehl, approximately 160 children were preregistered, so CMA coordinated the number of volunteers in anticipation of a somewhat higher number at Council. The nightly maximum capacity for the Early Childhood area is 223 children.
The Early Childhood Center opened Tuesday evening and approximately 124 children were cared for. As parents dropped their children off, many expressed appreciation for the added feature to this year’s General Council.
“I think it’s great that my son gets to feel like he’s a part of all of this, too,” said Tina Bailes, whose son Samuel, just one month shy of his third birthday, enjoyed an evening in the Early Childhood area. “He’s learning something and he’s getting to be with other kids in a Christian atmosphere.”
As Shannon Cloud pushed her daughter’s stroller through the entrance of the 18-39-months-old room, she commented, “It’s great that they’ve actually taken the time to think about not just a regular nursery, but they’re actually going to do something to help them too. It’s not just about the older kids and the adults, but they take the consideration to think about the babies, too. I like that.”
Jean Thomason, known by children as Miss PattyCake, is ministering each night to the three- and four-year-olds and pre-kindergarteners. On Tuesday, Miss PattyCake soon had the children on their feet, clapping energetically and singing praises to Jesus.
For the remaining evenings, Diehl encourages parents bringing their children to the Early Childhood area to, “Get there early to get a spot. You can start getting in line for the early childhood check-in at 6:30.”
For parents who have not yet used the Early Childhood area, but plan on doing so later this week, Diehl asks that they come to the Kids Council registration area (S230) earlier in the day to enter their child’s information. Completing registration during the day will help speed up the check-in process in the evenings. Once a child’s information is registered with Kids Council, parents will be able to quickly check their children in using a fingerprint identification system for the remainder of the week.