DSC_0008It's the beginning of the year and like many parents of Awana clubbers, your goal is for your child to get through his or her handbook/manual.

Parents can do a lot to help their kids.

1. Promise to work with your child/teen each week. (You could even memorize the verses along with him.)

2. Purchase the verse music CDs (for younger clubbers) and allow your children to hear the verses over and over.

3.Say the verse every night at the supper table. (If you have kids in more than one book - you could say a verse from each of their books.)

Then there is the ten-minute idea. Make a chart for the frig (or you could use index cards). Set up the chart so there are seven boxes per week. Each day your child spends at least 10 minutes on a verse, he puts his initials in the box. (You may want him to work at the kitchen table or in some other visitble spot. That way, you'll know he's not actually watching the game or texting his friend.)  Each box counts for a point. Determine in your family what the points stand for. Thirty points equals a mini-golf outing or lunch at a favorite restaurant or the privilege of staying up two hours later on Friday night.

The amazing result? Ten minutes a day adds up to a LOT of learned verses.