03/11/2021
Awana Happenings... (long but meant as encouragement)
We are drawing nearer to the end of our club year. We want to share images of the awards the children can earn by finishing their books.
Not all children want to finish their books and this is totally fine. It takes a lot of time and effort to complete an Awana handbook. For this reason, some children grow into it, some are not interested in finishing because memorizing and enjoying fellowship are satisfying enough, some have to focus on schoolwork, and others have other things they are pursuing at this time.
We do not want anyone to feel like they "failed" their Awana year because their book is unfinished. They have not failed in any way at all.
However, for those who set it as a goal and met it, we want them to receive awards of recognition and material keepsakes.
Below are pictures of all but one award our Sparks and T&Ts can receive upon completing their handbook by the 5th of May. (The egg carton is for scale.)
The Cubbies all win the Cubbie Award. I'm not showing it now because it's better seen for the first time on an actual Cubbie.
Awards are received according to previously completed books, not by the number of years a child has been in Awana or according to any number found on their books themselves.
A child wins a second book award because they finished one book previously and finished another this year. The first book award goes to anyone who has completed their current handbook but has not previously completed a book before.
The Timothy Award (not pictured) goes to those in T&T who have finished each of the previous three T&T handbooks and have now finished the fourth and last one.
The Sparks Plaque goes to children who have completed the last of three Sparks handbooks.
All children have done very well this year. Sometimes, upon seeing awards being earned by their clubmates, they decide to set a goal for themselves for next year of completing their books.
We applaud all the goal-setting. We know it often doesn't begin until a child is in T&T. We try to keep our children in-the-know regarding what it takes to complete a handbook and what you get when you do.
We applaud equally all the other things that children do during an Awana year--memorizing and reciting, making new friends, attending with enthusiasm, loving their Awana nights, etc.
As Awana leaders, our goal for each child is simple and two-fold: to know Jesus as their lovely precious Savior and to love Him with all their hearts, minds, souls, and strength.
For the win!
