Rotation.org Special Newsletter 
August 2016

www.rotation.org

In this special newsletter, we are pleased to introduce Heidi Weber, our newest Board member. This enews also has excerpts from the very helpful new article, "How to Adapt Creative Lessons to Short Lesson Times."

Introducing our Newest Board Member ~  Heidi Weber !

The Rotation.org Board of Directors is pleased to announce the election of Heidi Weber to the Board. A United Methodist Christian educator from Louisiana, many of you first became aware of her ministry through an article we posted last year about her church's rise from the flood waters of Hurricane Katrina.  

Highlights from Heidi's Personal Biography...

I am so grateful to be part of Rotation.org.  I have been a member for a number of years and used a lot of the lesson units at my church. Our church has loved every minute of it.  Thank you all for your work!

Before going into Christian Education, I was an event floral designer. In the 1990's I was asked to join the Children's Ministry at First United Methodist Church in Maumelle, AR. When we moved to the greater New Orleans area, I began helping Rev. Carolyn Foster at First United Methodist Church in Slidell.  

When Hurricane Katrina hit and she retired soon after, I took on her role as Children's Minister and enrolled at Columbia College's in South Carolina to begin a 3 year Christian Education certification process. Carolyn had taught Rotation Sunday school during the summers, and when I read the Workshop Rotation book, I knew using Rotation would help us rebuild our church after the storm.  Our team depended on Rotation.org to bring children and families back to church while we were rebuilding our campus from flooding and major destruction.  It was exhausting, but it made us all stronger.

I was raised in St. Petersburg, Florida at the Clearview United Methodist Church. My husband's career in the Navy took us to upstate New York, Millington, TN, Little Rock, AR and various duty stations in the Naval Reserve in New Orleans, LA and Meteorology and Oceanography Center at Stennis Space Center in MS.   Our daughter, Carrie, is a 3rd grade teacher near Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. After retiring from the Navy, my husband Bruce has been our church's "interim Youth Director" for the past ten years! ...and I often help him with that ministry as well. 

Loves of my life (besides family and church): dachshunds, reading, quilting, the beach, kayaking, gardening, contemporary Christian music (Crowder and Neon Steeple), and yes, VBS.  I love helping children and youth develop a heart for Jesus and follow Him.  

Heidi Weber
Pearl River, Louisiana, hweber@firstumcslidell.org

*When we asked Heidi for a photo, she sent us photos of her church kids -which tells you something about her. After some cajoling, she finally sent us a photo of herself, so we put the two together. 

In additional to being responsible for all of Rotation.org's content and finances, Board members help members, regularly post ideas, edit content, and do long-range planning. Read more about our Board of Directors

Adapting Creative Lessons to a Short Lesson Time

Excerpts from a Special Article from Board Member Cathy Walz

 Read the full article and list of tips here.

What do you do when your Sunday School is only 30 minutes long like Cathy's, but you still want to be creative?  ...Or when your class-time has suddenly been shortened due to disruptions or seasonal events?  Cathy's article addresses many situations and provides a lot of great advice ---even for those of us who don't have short class times.  

Article Highlights:

1. Get Help and Utilize Your Volunteers  .... (see article for more details on ALL these points)

2. Focus your lesson activities on the central point of the Bible lesson and cut any discussion and activities that don't focus on that point. ....

3. Shorten the Bible passage to its essential verses. ....

4. Do more advanced preparation that will save seconds and minutes during class. ....

5. Make your point at the beginning of the lesson, not the end, so that it is not rushed or lost. ....

6. Break into smaller groups (they work faster). ....

7. Use "arrival time" to put students to work getting ready for the lesson. ...

8. Look for lesson plans that have very memorable activities. ...

9. Do not take up too much time doing all the talking. ....

10. Examine issues and correct practices that are stealing vital minutes from your lesson time. ....

Dealing with Time-Stealers

Disruptive Students and Adults, late-arrivers, worship that runs long... etc.

How to recapture precious minutes and banish time-wasting habits.

Adaptations You Can Make for Specific Activities and Workshops

Time saving adjustments for lessons that use video, games, computer, art, drama, and more.

Highlights from the "All Workshop" Tips:

• Shorten the length and scope of your Bible story, where possible, to focus on a central point.
• Reduce movement and set up between activities, areas, and lesson steps.
• Rather than skip creative activities, prepare them in advance as much as you can. Pare them down to their essential ideas, and have helpers keep kids moving towards the goal.
• ...
• .....

 Read the full article here and respond with your own suggestions.