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Kids love boxes,
at least most of the time. They love them when they can play with and in
them — when the boxes provide a creative outlet for their active
imaginations. But as they grow older, kids love boxes less, especially
when they are no longer places to play in but instead are places they
have been put in, normally without their consent. What compounds their
dislike for these boxes is that they feel they have no way out. As
campers arrive each week throughout the summer we hear this story over
and over again: Kids love coming to SpringHill because they can leave the
boxes at home and truly be themselves.
Read entire letter from Michael Perry
Discuss the letter on Michael Perry's blog
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newsletters for
kids
Did you know that SpringHill has three
different newsletters for students? Is your child receiving one? If not, subscribe to one today!
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family
matters
 Shared
experiences with your child can help you stay on top of your child’s
interests and preferences as well as help you to bond and connect with your
child. The following articles provide insights on why shared experiences
are so important and practical suggestions on how to create these
opportunities:
Quality Time with Your Teen by
Rachel Paxton – Find ideas for ways to connect with your teen,
without totally intruding into his/her life.
Are
Today’s Movies and TV a Parent’s Enemy or Friend? by
Dan Rutledge – A filmmaker explains how film and television can be a
positive parenting tool, how you can connect with your child by proactively
guiding his/her media experiences.
Christian
Parenting 101: Can Teenagers be Parented with Christian Principles? by
Sylvia Cochran — Unconditional love, absence of hypocrisy and
constant involvement (aka “shared experiences”) top the list as
factors that assist in successfully parenting a teen.
Connecting with Your Preteen from
the U.S. Office on Women’s Health — Learn some of the small,
simple things you can do to reinforce connection with your child.
Do you have ideas for ways to
create shared experiences with your child(ren)?
Email us! We'd
love to hear from you.
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what you said
In the last issue of The Source, we
looked at ways to create family bonding time and serve God together during
the summer. Here's how you responded:
· When thinking about the summer, more than half said
you felt most excited about family time and vacation; and 25% admitted to
feeling anxious about what your kids would do each day.
· As a family, the number one thing the majority of you
look forward to in the summer is a more relaxing/slower pace. In second
place is time spent at SpringHill!
In addition to our survey results, our parent readers offered some great
advice and tips on how to bond as a family and serve God together during
the summer. Here are a few of the things you suggested:
· In the heat of the afternoon, we all come inside to
the A/C and spend 45-60 minutes having quiet time in God's word or just
resting and reading. It rejuvenates us during long summer days.
· Every day throughout the summer I read to my girls on
the screened porch while they are eating breakfast.
· While my kids are playing with Legos or drawing, I
read to them. I try to get good historical fiction and suspenseful books.
Each of us loves this bonding time and I know their reading skills are
better for it!
· Bonding occurs on our car rides to soccer or
baseball/softball practices and games. It’s the best time to reach
out and talk.
· We all serve our faith family by volunteering our
time and talents to our parish through out the year. The children help with
vacation bible school, my husband serves as an usher for Sunday service and
I teach vacation bible school and religious education classes.
· We serve with Meals on Wheels once a month and have
picnics and go to the pool.
· In the absence of homework and school sports, we
spend more time together in the evenings, as well as take vacations and
family mission trips.
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what kids are
saying
·
Kids in all age groups say that if they could add one thing to their
summers, it would be more time with friends. In second place (for every age
group) is a week at SpringHill!
·
The main reason kids in every age group get bored or idle during the summer
is because they don’t know what to do. Too much free time was also
cited as a main reason in every age group.
·
Elementary age students said they’d be most willing to try talking to
God and asking him to show them what they could do if they were bored.
Junior high and high school students said they’d be most willing to
get outside and do something active.
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turn kids onto the
good stuff
 In
an age of iPods, there's not a lot of yelling to "turn that thing
down!" anymore. The drawback is that our kids' music selections often
slip by us. Do you know your child's favorite band? Have you been to a
concert with your child lately? How about ever? In this issue of The Source, we
look at ways to share the music experience with your child and turn them
onto bands that share the good news of Jesus in a way that's cool, relevant
and stylistically in tune with your child's preferences. This issue is also
full of great reviews, useful links, insightful comments from our
readers, and important SpringHill news, like all the details on Labor Day Family Camp and the first annual SpringHill Music Festival. Read on!
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what's
happening at springhill michigan
Have an
out-of-this-world bonding experience with your family at SpringHill Family Camp over Labor Day weekend, August
31–September 3! Spend quality time with your kids playing, learning,
talking, growing and worshipping. There’s no better way to end the
summer together!
Share an incredible music experience with your child that the two of you
will never forget! The SpringHill Music Festival on September 22 and 23
features an amazing lineup of Christian bands from every genre! Bring your
whole family to this uplifting, fun-filled event that includes everyone's
favorite SpringHill activities and three stages rocking with music all
weekend long. Check out the Festival webpageand the Festival myspace page for more details, music
samples and an exciting promo video —
and, of course, to register!!
Ladies, mark your calendars now for the SpringHill Fall 2007 Women's Retreat. Let go of
your busyness, your schedule, your worries and your responsibilities for
one blissful weekend at SpringHill, October 12-14!
If your child will be entering 4th, 5th or
6th grade this fall, be sure to tell your child's Sunday school teacher or
youth leader about the SpringHill Juniors Retreat November
16-18 or November 30-December 2. Get all the details online!
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do
you know
what your child is listening to?
What’s
coming through your child’s headphones? What music is penetrating
your child’s heart? Every generation has its soundtrack. Do you
remember the soundtrack to your teenage years? How did your parents feel
about the music you liked? Did they even know what bands you listened to
(or wanted to listen to)? Could you have told your parents you liked KISS,
for example? We have the opportunity to parent differently, to experience
music with our kids.
For example, if you want your child to discover songs and bands that move
them closer to God, you need to get involved and find out what your child
is listening to and why he or she likes it. Here are some ways to share the
music experience and really connect with your child in a language they know
so well:
·
Listen to music with your kids. Ask
them to share some of the songs that they like best and ask what they like
about them. If the songs are secular, look at the lyrics together and talk
about them. Ask your child, “Is this really what you want to be
putting into your mind and heart?”
·
Turn your kids onto Christian artists. There
are a lot of great Christian bands that have a similar sound and style to
today’s hot secular bands:
» If your kids like 3 Doors Down and U2, they'll like
Starfield, Dakona, Delirious, Tree63 or The Benjamin Gate.
» If your kids like Slipknot, Linkin Park, they'll like
Project 86, Family Force 5, Disciple, Red, 38th Parallel, Justifide, PAX217
or Day of Fire.
» If your kids like Evanescence, they'll like Plumb or
Flyleaf.
» If your kids like Moby, they'll like Andy Hunter or
Echoing Green.
» If your kids like Coldplay, they'll like Sleeping at
Last, Telecast or Ten Shekel Shirt.
» If your kids like The Fray, they'll like Building 429
or The Turning.
» If your kids like Fall Out Boy, they'll like Run Kid
Run, Spoken or Last Tuesday.
For more secular/Christian music comparisons, visit echoessms.com. Echoes
Student Music Service provides a great way to turn your kids onto some of
today’s hottest Christian music. On the website you (or your child!)
can get leads on cool, relevant Christian bands that sound like popular
secular bands (in every genre). You’ll also be able to download the
latest Christian music videos, find articles, interviews and reviews of
Christian bands and artists, and purchase any of the albums you discover.
· Take your child to a Christian concert or music
festival. Today’s generation of teens hates to be told
what to do. They want to experience truth. Take the opportunity to
experience it with them! When you go with your kids (even young children)
to hear live music you connect with them on their terms and engage in a way
that opens the door to discussions about God, peers, choices, etc., later.
(Check out the roster of bands coming to the SpringHill Music Festival with your kids and consider
attending this massive music jam together!)
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on our radar
 Worship,
Vol. 1: I Stand for You
from Tree63
This isn't your parents'
worship music and your kids won't believe that it's yours! Now on their
fourth release, Tree63 breaks through with passion and a prophetic edge yet
again, revisiting its revered muses (The Police, U2, Crowded House,
Coldplay) without sounding like any of these bands. Cuts like the anthemic
"King" tower with blood-pumping aggression, "You Only"
saunters with guitar-driven purpose and rhythmic attitude, while "Over
& Over" capitalizes on frontman John Ellis' distinct wail and a
series of inviting instrumental flourishes. Lyrically, however, the band
remains steadfast in proclaiming Christ. As Ellis puts it, "We'd love
to see this music excite people who didn't know that being a Christian is
actually the most exciting thing you can do with your life." Visit the Tree63 website to learn more about this South
African-bred band, then come to the SpringHill Music Festival to
hear them live. It'll be an awesome opportunity to turn your kids onto some
modern worship music that really rocks!
 RELEVANT Magazine
Thought-provoking reviews, essays and commentaries on everything from music
and movies to career and health to deepening your walk with God fill the
pages of RELEVANT magazine and
its online counterpart RELEVANTmagazine.com. A leading voice informing
today’s progressive Chrisitan culture, RELEVANT appeals to young
adults and helps keep parents up to date about things that are, well,
relevant to their kids. New features are being continually added to the
website, including RELEVANT.tv, a groundbreaking broadband music video
channel and the weekly RELEVANT Podcast, a behind-the-scenes look at news,
issues and entertainment. But to get the full RELEVANT experience (and the
really good articles and interviews) you’ll have to subscribe to the magazine. (The website and the magazine
have entirely different content.) Other members of the RELEVANT family
include RELEVANT Books, publishing 20 titles each year; the brand new sister
magazine, Radiant;
The RELEVANT Network, the ministry resource branch; and RELEVANTstore.com, the best place online to buy all things RELEVANT.
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