WHERE
First Floor (ground level) of the education wing in the southwest corner of the church building:
Nursery, Toddlers, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds and kindergarten rooms
Nursery, Toddlers, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds and kindergarten rooms
Third Floor of the education wing in the southwest corner of the church building:
1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, Confirmation (7th and 8th grade) and Youth Room
WHEN
Sunday Morning Church School
First Sunday after Labor Day through the Sunday prior to Memorial Day weekend
9:15 a.m. to 10:10 a.m.
For 2-year-olds through 6th grade
Children attend 9:00 a.m. worship with their parents and then are excused to their classes at 9:15 a.m.
11:15 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.
For 2-year-olds through kindergarten
Young children attend 11:00 a.m. worship with their parents and then are excused to their classes at 11:15 a.m.
We ask that you wait until the teacher dismisses class before meeting your child. This allows students and teachers
to share important minutes in summary and closure.
Year-round Sunday Morning Child Care
Available from 8:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Nursery for infants through 14 months
Toddler Room for 15 months up to 24 months - and up to 36 months in the summer
In the Summer
(Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day)
Sunday Morning Christian Education
Summer Enrichment for 3 year olds through 6th grade
9:15 a.m. to10:10 a.m.
For more informtion
For more informtion
Coming this Summer!
Plymouth Creative Arts Camp
June 29 – July 3
- For kids who have completed kindergarten through 6th grade
- Sunday, June 29 - 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Intergenerational evening
- Monday-Thursday, June 30 through July 3 - 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Registration forms have been mailed to families of children through 6th grade
- For more information
- Contact Susan Waller or Barb Godwin at 515.255.3149
Our Christian Education staff, leaders and teachers look forward to being a partner with parents so that our children grow in faith. Our goal is to work alongside you to help your children develop a relationship with God that will be a firm foundation throughout their lives.
CURRICULUM
We follow the public schools’ cut-off date, September 15, to determine our age groupings. We offer church school on Sunday morning for children who are 3 years old through 6th grade.
Plymouth Church School classes use "Seasons of the Spirit," published by the United Church of Christ. Our Board of Christian Education selected this curriculum because it is based on the weekly lectionary, centered on worship and arts, and oriented toward the congregation.
The lectionary is a set of readings chosen from the Bible--the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Epistles (New Testament letters), Psalms and Hebrew (Old Testament) Scriptures. Over a three-year cycle, the lectionary provides an overview of the Bible, grounding us in our faith history and the example set for us by Christ. Many denominations use the same lectionary for their worship each week.
Worship and Arts
The arts—especially music and the visual arts—are essential ways of growing closer to God. Art helps unlock children’s imaginative capacities, opening them to discuss faith in new ways. We also integrate prayer, silence and instruction to reflect the flow of worship.
Congregation
Because our curriculum is lectionary-based, everyone at Plymouth learns about the same Scripture each week. The minister preaches from the same text that the children hear in Church School. This creates many opportunities for you to talk with your child through the week.
BIBLES
Each year, our third graders each receive the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible as a part of Faith Stepping Stones. Our Church School curriculum for third graders focuses specifically on the Bible and helps the children become comfortable using it. Our Church School classes also use the Good News Bible and Today’s English Version.
YOUR CHILD IN THE WORSHIP SERVICE
- Your participation and attitude help your child learn how to worship.
- Look around and acknowledge friends and visitors in the Plymouth family. Emphasize by words and actions how positive and important it is to be together in worship.
- Then get focused on worship. You might say: "Let’s be quiet and think about God now."
- Guide young eyes through the order of worship and along the lines of the hymns. Bring a Bible so you can locate the Scripture passage together.
- Encourage children to place an offering in the plate when it passes by them.
- Help them to appreciate the beauty of the flowers, stained glass and wood carvings in the sanctuary.
- Take home a Sunday bulletin and talk with your child about each part of the service. Ask about your children’s favorite parts of worship and which were harder to understand.
AFTER WORSHIP
Because children’s time in Sunday worship is brief during the school year, here are some suggestions for making worship part of your everyday life:
- Make honest, positive comments about what worship meant to you. Listen to your child's comments about the service. What children verbalize, they remember and come to understand.
- Talk together about what changes you would like to make in your lives as a result of what you learned and what you felt.
- Recognize God's love in daily events by giving thanks and expressing enthusiasm about anything you enjoy—other people, meals, birthdays, anniversaries, changing seasons, even good TV programs. Remember to talk about how God is at work in your own life and family.
- Take time to talk about what you think God is doing, the questions you have, and your awareness of God's presence.
- Sing songs from church at home. You are always welcome to check out a hymnal from the Church library.
- Say the Lord's Prayer and make up your own prayers together.
