Summertime Family-Fun in Baltimore

Hi City Kids Parents! There are lots of things to do in Baltimore over the summer, but my experience has been that living so close to the city, I never explore what options are available to me. Recently I spent some time looking up different activities and events in the city for young families. Here are just a few fun and inexpensive ideas that I found:

1. Port Discovery's Family Fun Nights -  On the 3rd Friday of every month Port Discovery has a Family Fun Night with tickets at $2 a person after 4PM. The museum is open until 8PM on these nights and families are free to explore any of the exhibits. In addition to the regular exhibits, there are special activities available at different times during the evening, including crafts and safety demonstrations. The next Family Fun Night is this Friday, July 17. For more information visit: http://www.portdiscovery.org/generalinfo/tickets  

2. Baltimore Museum of Art's Free Family Sundays - Every Sunday at the BMA, the museum provides families with the opportunity to create a piece of artwork modeled after a famous artist. This Sunday families have the opportunity to create a collage portrait like those of Van Gogh and other Impressionist painters. The event is free and takes place every Sunday from 2-5 PM. For more information visit: https://artbma.org/events/family.html

3. Carrie Murray Nature Center - The Carrie Murray Nature Center is located inside Gwynn Falls/Leakin Park and houses reptiles, amphibians and injured or orphaned wildlife. The Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30AM - 4:30PM and costs $2 per person. During the year, the Nature Center also hosts a series of programs and activities for families. The next two events are not until late August. The first is an “Owl Prowl” from 7PM-9PM on Friday, August 21 ($7 per person) and the second is a frog study on Saturday, August 29 from 12PM-2PM ($5 per person). For more information about both these events visit: http://www.carriemurraynaturecenter.org/events/

4. Maryland Science Center's Fridays After 5 - Every Friday after 5PM, the Science Center is open to families at a reduced rate of $9 per person. On these nights the permanent exhibit halls, the planetarium, and the IMAX theatre are open to visitors. Planetarium presentations take place at 6:00PM and IMAX shows are at 7:00PM (both are included in the $9 entrance fee).  For more information visit: http://www.mdsci.org/event/friday-after-5/2015-06-26/

5. Fort McHenry - Fort McHenry is a great place to explore with older children. Begin by stopping in at the Visitor’s Center for a brief orientation film and then explore the fort on your own. The park is free for children, but costs $7 for adults 16 years and older. If you go with your children, you may want to have them try out the Junior Ranger Program. The children are provided with an Activity Booklet at the Visitor Center that you can help them complete during your visit. Once the booklet is finished, the child can receive a Junior Ranger certificate and badge. The park is open everyday from 9AM - 5PM. For more information visit: http://www.nps.gov/fomc/planyourvisit/justforkids.htm

What We Learned about this Week

This summer in the City Kid’s program, we have been working our way through What’s in the Bible’s Wonder Blimp curriculum. Each week the kids learn about a major truth as Clive and Ian (two of the puppets from the WITB videos) search for the answer to a big question. This Sunday we studied the question, “what should I do when I am afraid?” In this week’s video, Clive and Ian discovered that God is more powerful than any of our fears and that he wants us to talk about our fears with him. After the video, we discussed some of our fears and talked about what we can do when we’re feeling afraid. The kids asked some challenging and valuable questions and offered helpful responses. We concluded the lesson with a scavenger hunt and each clue had a story about someone in the Bible who was protected by God in a scary situation.

At the end of every lesson, each child receives a Take Home Card with discussion questions for review and a verse to reflect on.  When I have the opportunity to teach in our City Kids program, I am amazed (and challenged) by the depth of your children’s questions and answers. The Take Home Card provides you as a parent with the opportunity to reflect on the truth for that day with your child(ren), hear about their learning, and perhaps learn something yourself! I know how easy it is for these little papers to get lost in route from Church to home, so I am attaching the Take Home Card below and I hope that you will enjoy listening to their responses as much as I do!

TAKE HOME CARD 7-5-15

Alissa Wilcox reflects on City Kids Evening Camp

Guest blogger here, Alissa!

This past week my evenings were filled with games, singing, crafts and learning about the Bible! We had City Kids Evening Camp and it was a blast! Our nights went something like this:

1. Kids entered and caught each other up on their first days of summer.

2. We did a minute-to-win-it game normally involving two volunteers and a crazy game of bouncing, throwing, sticking or catching an item within a minute!

3. We sat down and watched "Phil and friends" from What’s in the Bible.

4. We danced and learned a worship song.

5. We went outside, or stayed in depending on weather, and played games.

6. We came back all sweaty and tired for a snack.

7. We did an awesome craft.

8. We played a review game to answer questions about what we learned.

9. We said our “See ya laters” and went home.

Phew, that may not seem like too crazy of a week. It might even sound like some of your day-to-day schedules with children. But when you take 12 kids and three or four leaders and put them in a room all together, it can get a little wild. Keeping up with all of these kids was not easy, but at the end of the night we all looked at each other and said, “Great job, team. See you again tomorrow!” We knew that the role we played in the lives of these kids was way more than just teaching some silly songs, leading a crazy game and showing them a new craft; we were pouring into their lives with the words we used, the love we showed and the Bible lessons we taught each night.

The videos from What’s in the Bible taught the kids and the leaders a lot about the Bible itself. We learned about the Old Testament and New Testament. We learned about how sin entered the world and messed everything up, but how God made a rescue plan and sent his son Jesus so that we could be free from sin. We also learned how we can be forgiven because of Jesus and that we need to go tell others they are forgiven too. Each day the kids learned more as they enjoyed the puppets and the songs from the video. At the end of the week the kids were given a journal to complete with their families throughout the summer. This helped make what they learned last even longer, as they can now have conversations together with their families.

We also had a service project on the last day of camp. There is an organization we are partnering with this summer called the Christian Community Center. On the last day of camp we made backpacks for the kids that go to the center. Our kids loved picking what notebook and folder they thought the child would want to receive. They also decorated bookmarks with pictures and notes to put in the backpacks. The love that they showed for kids they didn’t even know amazed me! They may never meet the children who will receive the backpacks, but that didn’t matter to them; they just wanted to serve.

My favorite memory was from Wednesday. The kids started to become just a little too comfortable with each other, and were a little crazier than we’d seen earlier that week. Nonetheless, I had a job to do and they had songs they needed to learn. The one we learned the previous day was “One Way Jesus” by Hillsong Kids. We went over it again on Wednesday and I was taken aback as I watched them sing and dance. I was in awe as all of these kids were jumping up and down shouting/singing, “One way, Jesus! You’re the only one that I could live for.” They may be a crazy bunch, but in that moment they were crazy for Jesus.

What more can we ask as we pray for this generation, but that they would see God as the only way, and the only one they want to live for! At the end of the week, no matter how tired we were, we knew that God was with us there at camp. He was with every child and every volunteer that week, and that’s all we need. Thank you for your prayers for us and for the children! I hope the kids had just as much fun, and probably more, as I did last week!

What a great start to summer!

-Alissa Wilcox