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Last Login: 11/30/2007 6:41:56 PM
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| | We are still struggling with what we are going to do past this August with LIO not continuing but I am wondering atleast for the 4th-6th graders....Group does have a new program called Grapple. I am wondering if anyone is using this. I may be able to work some magic at our Church and get them to use that for that age group even if we don't stay with Group material for the lower elementary kids. Dave |
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| | I have the summer quarter LIO materials, but just today finalized some alternate plans for at least the rest of the year. To continue the themed feel, we are going to use the Bible lesson, song DVD and student books from two non-Group VBS programs that I think will translate nicely into the large group / small group format we have established, doing the same level of decorating that we've been doing for each LIO module. In addition, I also got a 13 - week program that is a spinoff of yet another non-Group VBS program, which will use some of the theme-related decor. Since these VBS materials are very "Summery", the Summer LIO may end up being done in the Fall. All I have to do now is figure out what to use for December, since that's Christmas. For our "real" VBS however, we are doing Avalanche Ranch. Grapple sounds interesting, but would take a dedicated teacher to make a go of it. I just don't have that, because my LIO small group leaders only take a month (module) at a time. |
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Last Login: 6/5/2007 9:50:11 AM
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| Checking in again to see if there's any update, but I had little hope of one, since Steve and I spoke yesterday. He continues to encourage me to substitute for LIO with a hodge podge of Kids Own Worship, Hands On Bible and Faithweaver Friends products. I promised him I'd sit down and look through them again, which I did today, to no avail. I think one of my biggest disappointments in the "solution" we're being offered is that it requires me once again to micro-manage my kids' program, whereas now I can just hand the curriculum to my team and let them run with LIO.
I sat down and made a list of non-negotiables; things I'm not willing to move backwards on in order to continue using Group products. Unfortunately, when I looked at it that way, I ruled out every option Group has for me. I want video based lessons available. I NEED dvd based worship sets to keep the kids engaged. I must have varying activities geared towards different age levels. I canNOT spend an inordinate amount of time planning and piecing together.
So I'm back to square one. I'm days away from ordering my replacement curriculum from another company, and keep holding off hoping by some miracle LIO will come through. Silly, I know, since it's clear it's not happening, but I can hope, huh? :-) So, I've got it in my cyber-cart and need to go order it, I suppose. Not happy about it, though. Suppose I should order it and get it here so I can get familiar with it and get myself excited before I have to sell it to the team.....ick. Fortunately it meets all my non-negotiables, so that's a relief.
Good luck to all of you still struggling with how to replace LIO. I am praying for your ministries and the children they touch!
Melissa Brown
Director, KidConnect
First Church of Christ
Painesville, OH
melissa@painesvillefirstchurch.org
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Last Login: 1/14/2008 1:50:25 PM
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| | Thanks, Melissa, for sharing your thought process and non-negotiables. Your continued feedback is helpful as we work on options for how and when to bring Living Inside Out back into production. We're continuing to work on that production schedule, and still are aiming to have an update for you yet this month (there are two weeks left). I'll post info here as soon as there any news, so thanks for checking. And let me know if there is any other way I can be of service. Blessings!
Deb Bernard
Curriculum Senior Marketing Manager |
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| Thanks for the update Deb. I know many of us are keeping an eye here.
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| | I've been watching my calendar. It's the end of May. I was hoping to have an update for you all here by today. So while I don't have official news yet on the schedule, I do want to let you know we are working dilegently on getting you a solution for large-group/small-group ministry. Some of you have been helpful at giving your feedback on Group's Bible Blitz, which is also in a large-group/small-group format. Our KidsOwn Worship and FaithWeaver Friends programs also can be done in this format (as can FaithWeaver by using KidsOwn Worship and/or Friends for the large-group opening), but you've shared about wanting more media/drama/skits in the opening. [NOTE-- any more feedback on what does and doesn't appeal to you with these options is still helpful!]. So we're still working on a couple of options. I think we're close, just not quite there yet. Any last feedback on what has to be there and what could change will still be considered! And as I think I expressed before, this schedule currently means nothing new for 2007. Thanks, all, for your help in shaping how we move forward. May God continue to bless your ministries!
Deb Bernard
Curriculum Senior Marketing Manager |
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| | Thanks for posting Deb. I appreciate that you are trying to keep us in the loop. I'm not sure what other input I can offer. I did consider combining KOW & FW to do a large group/small group format. The two things that are preventing me are simply:
1 - I really like the dvd clips. They have been very effective not only with our kids but with our staff too.
2 - We want to do the bible lesson in our large group time. While I really like the lesson content of FW and think activities could be pulled from that to do large group time, it still leaves pages of lesson for my small group leaders to sort through. LIO's one page (front/back) of small group activities plus bible content and a take home page are just right. They get a three page packet each time they lead and the format of the SG activities is just really simple to use. (I have not seen lesson formats that even come close to being as simple to read.) I like the themes but we don't really have time to do much with them because they only last 4-5 weeks. If they lasted two or three months, we might do more related to decorating. I think Group has much of the "content" needed for a successful LG/SG curriculum (even if you only consider the KOW/FW stuff) that would be effective in my church. It just would need some additional media clips and to be formatted in a way that I wouldn't have to work so hard to piece it together. I know God will provide all of us with a solution. Blessings!
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| | I will ditto what Cindy said, except my daughter and I don't mind redecorating monthly, her being an art teacher and all. I think it adds to the "WOW" factor we like so much in VBS, catching the kids off guard so that they pay attention. Video clips, countdowns, and having EVERY song in a video with words and motions (like VBS) are all very important to us. I strongly agree that it's not the content of the other programs that would make it difficult to go back to, but the format. I remember the ripping apart of teacher's manuals and piecing together I was doing was becoming more and more dreaded as time went on. And I couldn't get help until the "no-prep, easy to follow" LIO small group sheets came along. I am planned out until March 2008 (with the exception of December - still searching) by using the three remaining LIO modules (starting Music Camp this Sunday!) and three other publishers' VBS Bible, music, and craft/workbook pieces. I might add that one of those translates REALLY well into an LIO clone. So if Group can get LIO up and running again by Spring 2008, that will work for me. Sooner would be great, too. |
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