Teaching our Children

“Let the little children come to me: do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” –Mark 10: 13-16

WELCOME TO SUNDAY PRESCHOOL!

9:30am and 11:15 am

St. John Sunday Preschool with Mary Rownd as coordinator. The 3-yr-olds begin their morning in room 105. The 4-yr-olds gather in room 200, and the 5-yr-olds gather in the library (2nd floor). When the children arrive, they go to their assigned locker on the 1st floor where they put on their color coded t-shirt that has their name on it. The 3’s wear blue; the 4’s wear yellow; and the 5’s wear red. A parent is assigned each to each classroom, while another parent is assigned to travel with an age group. Every 20 minutes the children head to a different room for the assigned activity of the morning:

Room 105 Crafts

Room 200 Story & snack

Library Music & movement

At the end of the morning, each child goes home with a craft related to the Bible story of the day, along with a beautiful Bible page that parents can read throughout the week as well as do the suggested prayer activities. The program has become so popular that enrollment we added pre-school during 11:15 Mass too! Registration is required for this program during the school year. Contact the parish or e-mail Mary Rownd for more information.
Registrations forms and calendars of each program are available here.

Children's Liturgy of the Word

Children in grades K-3 are invited to participate in the Children’s Liturgy of the Word during the 9:30 a.m. Liturgy. No registration is required. Children will be invited to join the facilitators after the opening prayer and will return to join their families in church after the Prayer of the Faithful. Registrations forms and calendars of each program are available here.

Child Care During Sunday Liturgy 9:30 Mass

In addition to Sunday Preschool and CLW (Children’s Liturgy of the Word), St. John’s is pleased that we are able to also offer child care. Parents of children up to age 5 may drop of their child(ren) off before 9:30 Mass in Room 104 of the school.
No pre-registration is required.
Parents simply sign in and go on to Mass.

Religious Education (Grades 1-8)

Children who attend public school participate in our faith formation program on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Registration is required.

Our curriculum is from Pflaum’s Gospel Weeklies.

1.) The focus of the curriculum is the Sunday Gospel. Children read the gospel of the coming Sunday and discuss how it relates to their lives today. Questions, stories, and activities are all related to that story. 2.) Gospel Weeklies have been around for years. But the thing that has made them so exciting is the fact that, this year, they added doctrine to the lesson each week. 3.) And this doctrine is in total conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

So, our children receive a colorful updated pamphlet each week with Scripture and doctrine that has been put together just for that week. It’s fun, exciting, and best of all, educational. It is our hope that this change will help bring our children into closer relationship with Jesus Christ in a more contemporary setting.

Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School (VBS) for Pre-K and Kindergarten through fourth grade runs for a full week in during the Summer.

The purpose of this group is to give children a fun-filled week aimed at celebrating God's love. Activities include scripture plays, music, crafts, snacks, free-time and special events.

VBS is directed by volunteers of the Church of St. John the Evangelist. The areas where volunteers are needed are: Teachers, Arts and Crafts, Nursery, Group Leaders, Games, Decorations and overall Coordinators. Please contact Maggie DeStazio for more information.

PANDAMANIA was the theme of the 2011 Bible School. We heard how God is wild about us through passages of Psalm 139. Contact Monica Zobitz at mzobitz@charter.net, or Maggie DeStazio at mdestazio@sj.org if you are interested in helping out. This could be the most fun week you’ve had in a long time!!