Children's Ministries, PTF, Nursery, and Christian Preschool

Vacation Bible School (VBS), summer camp, Sunday School, talent shows, and much, much more keep the children of First UMC of Gilbert active, entertained, and most importantly, develops their relationship with God.

Sunday School

New Students:  Please fill out a  registration form. This will ease the SIGNING IN & OUT procedure by adding the kids to the attendance roster. These can be returned to the Children's Ministry Office (Room 103) or to your child's teacher.

The children should be in the grade that they are in at their weekly school program.

Summer Camp

Summer Camp registration is now open.  Registration forms have been mailed to past campers and are also available in the church office.  You may register online at the Desert Southwest Conference website.The deadline for early registration is May 14th.
 
Mingus Mountain Camp is sponsored by the United Methodist Church  is located north of Prescott, about two hours from the Phoenix area.
 
6/16-6/19 Elementary 1 (3rd-6th graders)    
6/28-7/3 Camp Narnia (3rd-9th graders)
7/12-7/17 Super Camp (3rd-9th graders)

Vacation Bible School (VBS)

Details on summer VBS will be posted at a later date

PTF - Pre-Teen Fellowship

What a wonderful and wild time we all had at the annual lock-in with the PTF gang.  We literally ate our way through the night.  We played games, ate snacks, watched a (very long) movie, ate snacks, made s'mores at our back parking lot bonfire, ate pizza, did a wonderful new craft (ask  your child about it) ate some more.  And of course we got very little sleep, however we were all up on time   If you did not make it this time, hopefully you will join us next year!!!!!!
 
PTF will continue meeting on Wednesday nights at 6:45pm in room 221.  We only have about 7 more times we will be meeting, until we take our break for the summer.  Also if you have a 3rd grader, we always invite the current 3rd graders to join us for one of our last meetings so they can see what PTF is all about before we start up for the new year.  So mark your calendar, as we will be inviting all current 3rd graders to the May 19th get together.  More in the May Evangel.

Nursery/Childcare

Childcare is offered in the nursery to children under 3 years of age.

Our Nursery Coordinator is Lezlie Maurer

Please see our Nursery Brochure for detailed information about our Nursery here at First Gilbert UMC.

Did you know that the Nursery, along with the Children's Ministry program, offers a very special service to children with special needs? We provide one-on-one staff for these children in the Sunday School classes to enable them and their families to more fully participate in the life of the church.

Nursery Hours
The nursery is available for your use during the following times:

Sunday mornings: The 8:15 and 9:45 service times are for infants and toddlers, 0 months – 3 years of age. Children 6 years and younger are welcome during the 11:15 service. Choir members: Staff members arrive by 7:45 if you need care for your children.
Sunday afternoons: 1:00 – 3:00 for Divorce Care. There is no age restriction. Any committees or other groups that would like to use our services on Sundays are welcome to with a minimum of a 2 week notice.
Tuesday mornings: year-round, 9:00 – 11:00, for the Women’s Bible Study Group. Preschool volunteers are welcome to bring younger children for care during that time as well. There is no age restriction.
Wednesday nights: For Bell Choir and Chancel Choir rehearsals, September-May and for the Support Group for Parents of Children with Special Needs, the second Wednesday of each month, year-round. There is no age restriction. Any committees or other groups that would like to use our services on Wednesdays are welcome to with a minimum of a 2 week notice.
Thursday nights: year-round, 7:30 – 9:00, for Lifesong rehearsal. There is no age restriction. Any committees or other groups that would like to use our services on Thursdays are welcome to with a minimum of a 2 week notice.
We also provide care during the Administrative Council meetings on the third Tuesday of each month, as well as any special worship services (for example, during Holy Week). As noted above, if any group in the church needs child care for any reason, please give us at least a 2 week notice.

Christian Preschool

Our Christian preschool will encourage your child to develop spiritually, emotionally, socially, mentally, and physically.



Mission Statement

We are committed to providing a loving Christian learning enrichment program for preschool aged children. Our preschool will give them encouragement and confidence to transition successfully into kindergarten programs and will teach them how they can develop a life-long relationship with Jesus Christ.

God has created each child with unique abilities, special talents and individual needs. We believe that each child should be provided an opportunity to develop each of these areas in a Christian environment.

Our Teachers
Lezlie Maurer
Kim Figueroa
Kim Dare
Adrienne Mesa

Preschool Registration for 2010-2011

Church Members & Currently Enrolled Families
Monday, Feb. 1st - Friday, Feb. 5th from 9am-12pm in the preschool office

Open Enrollment
Beginning Monday, Feb. 8th from 9am-12pm in the preschool office

Class Schedules
3 year old class T/Th 9:00-11:30
3 year old class M/W/F 9:00-11:30
Children must be 3 years old by August 31st and completely toilet trained by the 1st day of class

Pre-K 4-5 year old class M/T/W/Th 9:00-12:00
Pre-K 4-5 year old class M/T/W/Th 9:00-12:00
Children must be 4 years old by August 31st and completely toilet trained by the 1st day of class

Parent/Tot Class - Registration in the late Spring

Pick up registration packets in the preschool office or church office beginning January 20th. Contact the Preschool Directors:   Lara Fink or Lora Norris in the preschool office 892-9166 with any questions.


"You shall teach these words to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house; when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." Deuteronomy 11:19

 
In April the preschoolers will BEE learning about several of God‘s amazing creatures, such as
caterpillars/butterflies, ladybugs and earthworms!  Also they will practice BEEing good sports as
we have our annual Preschool Olympics in mid- April.
 
Thank you for BEE ing involved in our preschool family:
* Dr. Bob for teaching us about caring for our bodies and being healthy.
* The Mook family for sharing their chicks with us as we learn about
changes in God‘s wonderful creatures.
* Molly Hahn for playing the harp for us and teaching us about the beautiful instrument.
* The Schroeder family for sharing some Little Gym activities with the preschoolers for the
Preschool Olympics.
 
Would you like to BEE involved in our church preschool?  Could you teach the children about
water safety? Gardening? Being a scholar/athlete? Do you have another hobby that you‘d like to
share with us?  Please contact Preschool Directors, Lora Norris or Lara Fink at 892-9166 or
preschool@gilbertumc.org.