For 11 years I've been blessed to be able to work in the AWANA program at Antioch Bible Baptist Church with 3rd through 5th graders. What is AWANA? Basically it's a Cub Scouts like program except with a Bible verse memorization emphasis. It starts with three year olds and ends with junior high kids with a curriculum set up for each grade level.
With the boys, we spend the first part of the night playing games. In the winter it's usually dodge ball and in the fall/spring, it's either kick ball or ultimate football.
A typical night starts at 6:30 at Antioch and is done by 8. We have a half hour of play, half hour where kids work on their books, and a half hour where one of the leaders shares a message.
I do it for a couple of reasons. First, because I can. Second, because I think that boys nowadays need to see men in leadership roles. Respect and discipline are becoming a lost social value and this is an opportunity to share and teach these boys how to be respectful towards others. Third, and it's really not a reason, because I am dropping the kids off anyways. I started doing this before we had kids.
For some reason, I have gotten a decent number of kids who have needed extra love and attention. What it has taught me is patience and every kid deserves a caring environment.
I bring this up because my third grader brought a classmate tonight and he loved it so much he wants to come back. If this seems like something you would be interested in, there are only a couple of weeks left so it would be a great chance to try it out before the end of the school year.
You can message me or send an email to Todd Slagle, Family Pastor at [email protected] if you have any questions or need directions. If it isn't something that you like, you are only out an hour and a half of free childcare and the gas to get there. Who knows. Your kids may love it and want to come back. I know quite a few that have.
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