Volunteers are welcome to help with the children's Maundy Thursday program from 7 - 8 pm on April 1st.  Children ages 3 and 4 and in grades K - 2 will participate in a small service project, while children in grades 3 - 6 will take part in a Christian Seder (no nut products will be used, parents, please alert teachers to any other allergies). The nursery will also be available that night. Volunteers of all ages are welcome! Please contact Heather Miller at (612) 501-5583 or heather@good.org   Thanks!

Help support the Sunday School Children with their relief project for Haiti.  They will be collecting items needed to make Health kits that will be distributed by UMCOR in Haiti.  You can help support them by purchasing some needed items or making a monetary donation.

Items needed are:
- Hand towels (15”x25” up to 17”x27”,  No kitchen towels)
- Washcloths
- Combs (large and sturdy, not pocket size)
- Nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
- Bath size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
- Toothbrushes (single brushes only in original wrapper.  No child size brushes.
- Adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages

Donated items can be placed in a marked box on the Children’s display tables found in Samaritan Hall.
Money collected will help purchase toothpaste and shipping costs.
Monetary donations can be sent to the church office marked as Sunday School projectAll donations need to be at the church by March 28. Thank you!!

ATTENTION ALL PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS & GUARDIANS OF TOTS!
Are you in search of a cost-effective (a.k.a. FREE) alternative to peeling your kids off the living room ceiling this winter? If you answered “YES!”, then Good Sam’s Tumble Time is just what you need.
 
Once again the Early Childhood Council is offering open play time for children ages 0-5 years old with some structured games in the Samaritan Center. Join us from 9:30-11:30am in the Good Sam gym as we hop, skip, and jump our way to oodles of fun. 

Tumble Time Dates: March 27th
 
If you have questions, please contact kathy_willett@q.com or smoran@paddocklabs.com. Hope to see you there!

Sunday mornings, from 10:15-11:45, our gym is staffed to engage children ages 3 years – 6^th grade in structured play.  Parents MUST check in/out their child to this time of play.  The benefit – children have a great time and parents have peace of mind knowing where their kids are and what they are doing. 

The Early Childhood Room is staffed each Sunday morning, Wednesday evening, and several other days/evenings throughout the month based on church sponsored activities/events.  Please check the current Child Care calendar posted outside the room to see when child care is offered during the month.  If there is a time you would like to have child care offered that is not listed or to add a child care need for a coming month, please contact children@good.org by the 3^rd Sunday of each month. 

Good Samaritan UMC is committed to providing quality child care for its members to promote involvement in church-sponsored activities. Visit our church website to view the monthly child care schedule (www.good.org). Program and group leaders have the opportunity to schedule their meetings and gatherings per child care scheduled dates and times. Groups intending to use child care may call the church office or email children@good.org to indicate number and ages of children so adequate staffing will be provided. To schedule additional dates and times not indicated on the calendar, please call Deb Johnson to put in a request.

Although attendance in the nursery may vary from week to week, we strive to staff our Sunday nursery in order to meet the growing activity needs.  Each week, in addition to our paid staff, we need 2-4 additional volunteers for both the 9:00 and 10:30 service hours to rock, sing, play, and learn with our infants and toddler aged children.  This is a wonderful opportunity for adults to demonstrate how wonderful it is to have nursery aged kids involved at our church!  Sign up sheets are in the nursery.  Contact children@good.org for more information.

Are you ready for a Rock Solid Sunday School Year at Good Samaritan UMC this year?
There are Christian Education classes for all ages.  Identical classes are held at both 9:00 and 10:30 am and include:

Nursery:
Infant-18 month – Waddlers
18 month-2+ years – Toddlers and Twos

PreKindergarten:
3 year olds (age 3 by Dec. 1)
4 year olds (age 4 by Dec. 1)

Age 5 yrs.-Kindergarten
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th-6th Grade

At Good Samaritan UMC, we use United Methodist curriculum for children of all ages. In the Nursery we’ll use a brand new curriculum entitled Rock-a-bye which includes materials for both a babies and waddlers and a toddlers and twos program. This Fall, all PreKindergarten through Elementary aged children enter their second year of using a curriculum entitled Rock Solid: Building a Heart of Faith.  Check out this COLORFUL CARD giving more details!   You can also Enroll Your child(ren) NOW for Sunday School. We look forward to seeing everyone in September!

Some of the littlest of our Good Samaritans, our toddlers and two year olds, will be introduced to the Bible using Cokesbury's Toddlers and Twos curriculum. During their Sunday morning Nursery time, teachers will offer valuable lessons teaching children about God, God's love, and love for one another in a trusting, nurturing, and caring environment. Children will hear and read Bible stories and sing songs that talk about God, Jesus, and the church. Together they will learn how to pray and play, listen and create. To register your toddler/2 year old for Sunday School complete a registration form found in the Fellowship Hall, or Register Now on-line. If you have questions or need further information, please contact children@good.org.