Parent Resource #2 - Media Consumption

The youth group watches movies once a month as part of the Wednesday Night Bible Study.  If you haven't been to Bible Study in a while come to room 10 at FUMCTR January 26th for The Secret of Kells. We may take a trip out to see a midnight showing of a movie in the spring and you should join us for that too.

Whether you do or don't its no secret that young people love movies and music.  This is a generation of media consumers.  So what is a parent to do? How can parents help their children watch good movies, and I don't just mean morally pure, but also artistically and cinematigraphically pleasing ones. Here's a resource: Common Sense Media. They not only evaluate the movie for its age appropriateness, but also tell you what's in the movie, the basic plot and how good of a movie it is.  They do the same thing for video games, music and books too! If you're tired of playing the roulette game with the media your child consumes, sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes appropriate, sometimes inappropriate, maybe you should try Common Sense Media first.  Young people are going to keep loving movies and music, so let's make sure its good for them!

Scholarships for College Students

If you are going to college and you want some money for it go to these links. United Methodist Higher Education Fund or the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. You probably won't be able to apply for many of these scholarships until the first week in January, but some of the deadlines are as early as January 15th! So take a look at the requirements and get yourself some money for college.

Parent Resource #1

Hi readers. So every once in a while I'm going to post resources for parents. You'll be able to spot them easily enough because they'll be labeled and titled with numbers. For our first entry I want to suggest a book that is a standard parenting book. Its called How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk. Its by Faber and Mazlish. * Here are a few thoughts derived from the book by another youth minister, Jeff:

Listen with full attention.
Put down your phone, turn your chair around, and quietly listen to the whole story.
Acknowledge their feelings.
Instead of jumping in with questions or advice, start with simple phrases that indicate you care: "Oh." "I see." "Tell me more." Coupled with caring attitude, these are invitations for a child to explore his or her own feelings, and possibly come up with their own solutions.
Give the feelings a name.
We deny a child's feelings by saying things like "Everything's okay," or "Don't freak out." But when we say, "That must have been frustrating," or "Sounds like you're pretty mad," then we convey an empathy and understanding that leads to constructive conversation.

For more thoughts and ideas on having meaningful conversation with your child get the book (you may even be able to borrow it from the local library). It could change the way you interact with your child so give it a try!

*Group Magazine Nov/Dec 2010

Parent Night 2010

Hey guys. Sunday, September 19th 2010 is Parent Night! We have our regularly scheduled youth meeting, but we ask that parents and volunteers join with our youth for this special night. There will not be a dinner served this year. We'll have a few activities just for the family and then the youth will stay in the gym for games and parents will head to thompson hall for an informational meeting. We come back together and end the night around the Christ Candle. Come and join us from 6pm to 8pm. Thanks!