May 2015

---

May 2015 Family Swim Event at Natatorium May 16, 2015 at 6:30 p - 8:30 p 110 Rivercrest Blvd, Allen Join us for an evening of swimming! Creek Kids has reserved the leisure pool, slide, and play area at the Natatorium.

Camp Registration Dates:

Pre-School Play Date May 27, 2015 at 10a-12p Kid Mania 7252 Chase Oaks Plano, TX Cost: $3.00 Preschoolers: Come play with your friends and Frilly at Kid Mania! Lunch not included. No registration required.

Epic 2015 Regular Price Registration $355 thru 6/7 Mini Camp Regular Price Registration $215 thru 7/12 Epic 2015 Late Price Registration $375 thru 07/05 Mini Camp Late Price Registration $230 thru 07/22 Camp Epic July 17th-21st/MINI Camp July 31stAugust 2nd

May 24, 2015 VBS Online Registration June (Mon.)15th-(Thurs.)18th

Let Honor and Respect Reign POWERSOURCE ASK GOD: 1. To help your children honor God and other people through their thoughts, words, and actions. 2. To help you model honor and respect in all your interactions. 3. To show your family the joy of sacrificing for other people.

Upcoming holidays encourage us to honor other people—especially those who make sacrifices for us. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day offer reminders of God’s commandment to honor our parents. Memorial Day is an opportunity to remember people who’ve laid down their lives for our safety and freedom. Use those holidays as springboards for family discussions about honor, respect, and sacrifice—concepts that aren’t very popular in today’s society. These days, children may lack respect for adults, property, one another, and even themselves. Part of the blame for that falls on popular culture, which rarely fosters an attitude of respect. But you can build an atmosphere of honor and respect in your home.

Here are some tips for raising up “honor”able kids: • Offer praise when you notice displays of respect—at home or elsewhere. • Honor your kids by reminding them of their God-given value and worth. • Don’t let disrespect slide by without correction. • Talk to your kids in a kind tone, even when disciplining them. Instead of shaming them, communicate with grace. • Provide opportunities for children to honor others through service and acts of kindness.

Respect Begins at Home When it comes to teaching children to honor God and other people, it’s tempting to relegate that task to church and Sunday school. But like most qualities, respect begins at home. As parents, you have the greatest spiritual and emotional influence on your kids. The good news is that instilling honor and respect doesn’t take a lot of extra effort. In fact, the best “lessons” come through your everyday examples. Children notice how you treat them. They notice how you treat the other people you come into contact with, too. Below are a variety of ways to remind kids about the importance of honoring God and one another. Choose a few that are age-appropriate for your children.

TEACHABLE MOMENTS In With the Good Give each family member a card with Philippians 4:8 printed on it. Read the verse aloud. Say: Think about an activity you do a lot. It might be listening to music, watching TV, playing video games, reading, or something else. Ask: What are some good and honorable things about your activity? How can it honor God? How can it honor other people? Say: Take a minute to put your card on the object or in the area where you do that activity. (Allow time.) Whenever you see the card, remember to act with honor. Close in prayer: Dear God, thanks for all the opportunities we have to honor you and others. Help us stay focused on goodness and honor each day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Super Self-Sacrifice—Brainstorm one thing each of you can give up during the week in order to help someone else. For example, give up a TV program to help a sibling with homework, or sacrifice Xbox time to set the table without being asked. Then discuss the impact of making those small sacrifices. Instrument of Honor—Provide old jars or vases that kids can decorate with stickers, tissue paper, and other craft items. Read 2 Timothy 2:21, and discuss ways we can be available for “honorable use.” Encourage children to fill a vase with flowers and give it to someone as an act of honor. On the Mend—Go on a hunt throughout the house to find items that need to be mended. Talk about why each item needs repair. Then challenge family members to think of a relationship they need to mend and why they need to mend it. Read Matthew 5:2324, and discuss ways to bring forgiveness, peace, healing, and honor to your relationships. Lives of Honor—With older kids, visit and tend to the graves of loved ones. Discuss ways to honor people’s memories and follow their examples of sacrifice and heroism.

Start With Jesus—As a family, choose one morning a week to pray together or do one thing that honors Jesus before you do anything else. Talk about how those days are different from other days—and how honoring Jesus helps you remember to honor other people. Gradually extend the Jesus-honoring habit to other mornings in the week. Build-Up Buddies—Have one family member put on an extra-large men’s sweatshirt. Then have other family members take turns stuffing that shirt with filled balloons while saying one thing to honor the shirtwearer. Take turns being the stuffee.” Afterward, discuss what happens when we fill people up with kind, honoring words and actions. Cross Challenge—During the week, play an ongoing seek-and-find game. The objective is to find as many crosses hidden in everyday life as possible. (Think telephone poles, signposts, etc.) Whenever you see a cross, remember the sacrifice Jesus made for you (see Hebrews 12:2), and think about how you can make sacrifices for other people. Take turns sharing your findings each evening at dinner.

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. … Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. —Romans 12:9-10

MEDIA MADNESS

CULTURE & TRENDS MOVIE

MUSIC

Title: Tomorrowland Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi Rating: PG Cast: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Tim McGraw Synopsis: This film, which has been shrouded in secrecy, is directed by The Incredibles’ Brad Bird. A jaded, former boy-genius and a bright, optimistic teen embark on a dangerous mission to unlock secrets of a mysterious place. Our Take: With its futuristic look and a theme based on imagination, this movie will appeal to older kids. After seeing it together, use the film to discuss why imagination is important and what it can achieve. You can also use it to talk about different ways you can change the world, no matter your age or circumstances.

Title: Handwritten Artist: Shawn Mendes Synopsis: Mendes, a 16-year-old singer-songwriter from Canada, gained fame after posting cover videos on the social-media site Vine. His debut song “Life of the Party” (from his self-titled EP) has received a lot of acclaim and radio play. Mendes has also won a Teen Choice award for Web Star in Music. Our Take: Mendes’ good looks and emotion-filled lyrics have been making young fans swoon. But many reviewers agree he also exudes natural talent. Mendes’ fan base is sure to grow this year, with his first full-length album release. Plus, Taylor Swift selected him to sing on portions of her hot-ticket 1989 tour.

Games, Sites & Apps Splatoon

Kindness Counts

This Nintendo Wii U game is being described as the “ultimate mess-fest.” In online play, teams battle as squid-like Inklings, using various inkrelated “weapons.” An on-screen map displays the entire arena at a glance for the messy turf wars.

Sponsored by preschool TV network Sprout, www.sproutonline.com/ kindness-counts encourages kids to perform thoughtful actions for one another. It offers suggestions of kind acts and allows parents to add kids’ good deeds to a “kindness gallery.”

YouTube Kids Google recently released an app that plays only age-appropriate videos. The app is for watching only, so users can’t upload content, share videos, or make comments. It also has a design that non-readers can navigate by speaking in search terms rather than typing them.

This page is designed to help educate parents and isn’t meant to endorse any movie, music, or product. Our goal is to help you make informed decisions about what your children watch, read, listen to, and play.

Birthday Trends—To create the perfect big day, some parents are “crowd funding” their children’s birthday bashes. Others let their kids use gift registries for birthdays. Although some parents call that tacky, many partygoers say it makes shopping easier. (abcnews.go.com)

Me, Myself, and I—Researchers have found that kids whose parents overvalue them are more likely to develop narcissistic traits, such as a sense of superiority. The findings suggest that showing “parental warmth” and offering kids encouragement is better than simply telling kids they’re special. (theguardian.com)

QUICK STATS Grab a Hanky—Two-thirds of the 45 highest-grossing children’s animated movies in a single year featured a major character’s onscreen death. By comparison, only half of the top non-kid movies from that same time period had a main character that dies. (nymag.com) Do You Read Me?—In a recent UCLA study, sixth-graders who were away from electronic media for just five days were better able to read nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions, than those who continued to have access to digital devices. Kids went from 14.02 mistakes in identifying emotions at the beginning of the study, to 9.41 mistakes at the end—a significant improvement according to the study’s senior author. (newsroom.ucla.edu)

facebook: CreekKids

May 2015

May 2015 3 3 3 THOW 3 8 10 16 17 17 17 20 20 20,21 21 22 24 25 29 31

-VBS Registration for Workers Children opens -VBS T-shirt sales start - AWANA – All Clubs Award Night, 4:00p-6:00p Last Club Night - Class for Parent/Child Dedication (11:00p) Room A143 - Fresh Spirit 9:30-11:30a - Mother’s Day / Dedication Service - Children’s Ministry Event at Allen Natatorium –free for families 6:00p-8:00p - VBS Training Sessions, 11:00a, A234 EM - Kids Praise Musical, 6:15p THOW - Youth Sunday - One Way Class for Kids (6:30p) Room A202 - VBS Training Sessions, 6:30p-8:00p, A256 EM - Last Day Kid Care - Kid Care’s Graduation (9:30a & 12:30p) THOW - Fresh Spirit 9:30a-11:30a - VBS Online Registration opens to the public - Memorial Day - Lovejoy ISD Ends - 5th Grade 5th Sunday

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu

21 22 28 28

- Allen ISD, McKinney ISD End - Plano/Frisco ISD End - 6th-12th Grade Camp - Epic 2015 Late Registration $375, thru July 5 - Online VBS Registration Ends - VBS Setup All Day – Final Prep - VBS Entire Building 9:00a-12:00p - One Way Class for Kids (6:30p) Room A202 - VBS Hawaiian Falls Family Night -Naomi’s Village Mission Trip -VBS Come Back Sunday, Wear VBS Shirts (show highlights) would like kids entering kinder and older to attend worship service instead on class. Celebrate VBS in service. Food and bounce houses begin at 12:15p - Father’s Day - VBS Reach Night - Epic 2013 Parent Mtg. (5:00p-6:15p) A234 - Mandatory Camp Counselor Training (6:15p7:00p) A234

22 24 26 26 31 31

- Independence Day – 4th at The Creek - Epic 2015 Registration Deadline - DR Mission Trip - Epic 2015 Parent Mtg. (5:00p-6:15p) A234 - Mini Camp Late Registration $230, thru July 22 - One Way Class for Kids (6:30p) Room A202 - Epic 2015 at Riverbend in Glen Rose, TX – completed 3rd – 5th Grade - Mini Camp Registration Deadline -Pre-School Play Date: Race & Play Day (10a-12p) Cottonwood Gym - Kids Mini-Camp Counselor Training, 6:15p-7:00p-4:45p, A234 - Kids Mini-Camp Mandatory Parent Mtg. 5:00p-6:15p, A234 -Leadership Development Center benefit Banquet 7:00p - Mini-Camp, Camp Copass, Denton, TX – completed 1st-2nd Grade

1

2 9

4

5

6

7

8

12

11

12

13

14

15

19

18

19

20

21

22

23

26

27

26

28

29

30

Fri 5

Sat 6

31

June 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu 1 2 3 4 7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

Fri 3

Sat 4

July 2015

July 2015 2015 4 9 11-19 12 13 15 17-21

Sat

3

June 2015 4 5 7-12 8 10 14 15-18 17 18 18-29 21

Fri

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu 1 2 5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31