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Please give me some ideas of how to keep Cubbies busy for 2 hours of club.  I had 4 Cubbies last year and they were happy to spend 1/2 every week coloring.  This year I have 9 and they will spend a couple minutes on the coloring page.  I spend 1/2 hour with arrival and game time,  15 minutes on bathroom and snack time., 15 minutes singing and doing the puppets, 20 minutes on the story, and 10 minutes doing book time.  I need some ideas for the last 1/2 hour.  They are mostly 3 yr. old boys who can't sit for long and are not interesting in crafts.

Ok, where does snacks fit into all this?

Another idea is to have game time last, so they are ready to sleep and not hyped up on whatever the snack was on their way home.

Last year I had 2 3 year old boys in my cubbies class whom I thought wasn't ready for Cubbies at first, but settled into it. Until, the boys who cant sit still learn to settle down, how about a long period of Games to kill their energy before and after lesson (since I see you do games first). If the game area is rotated around, and that's the slot you get, you can always do the games suggested in the lesson plan later or get a beachball and play soccer, basketball, foot ball, etc.

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If possible, I highly recommend moving game time to later.  Running, playing, excersising gets your heart pumping, is what gets people, and kids hyped up.  The sugar high is mostly a myth.(and before anyone asks, it is the excitement of the party, not the cake and ice cream that gets the kids hyper at a birthday party)  Try to seperate bathroom time from snack time.  Spend ten to fifteen minutes at the bathroom, including of course washing hands really really well.  Then spend 15 minutes on snack.  f snacks are small and/or your group are all fast eaters, you can always use up time by letting at least one clubber say the prayer and enlist helpers(kids not leaders) to pass out snacks and drinks after everyone is seated.  Also, what do you do during arrival, do you have an Awana club circle?  Try to incorporate the cubbies song and reviewing the A and C verses and cubbies motto and key verse whenever possible if you are not already doing so.  Have you tried doing crafts?  They might surprise you and enjoy it, if you schedule it right.  Try to alternate sitting times with authorized moving times.  If they are already tired of being still after story and handbook, they won't want to keep sitting for craft, but if you do story and handbook, then play games or at least sing songs that involve a lot of movement, then you may be able to sit them down again for a craft.

Thanks for the tips.  I should say that my co-leader doesn't arrive until 7:00, so I do games first because she does the story and song time.  Also, she need to help with the bathroom/handwashing trip.  Unfortunately our game time is in the large entry-foyer so at the end of the evening, parents are arriving and use the room to talk, also the Sparks have their snack time in the room.

Possibly 2 hours is too much for this age group, if so, see if you are able to cut it to 90 minutes for this age group. We found it worked best for many club running Cubbies and Puggles...

Sample Nightly Club Schedule:  (90 minute Time-Frame)

• 6:15-6:30 Check-in & Table Activity Time
• 6:30-6:45 Flag Pledge & Song Time & Cubbies Puppet Skit
• 6:45-7:00 Story Time
• 7:00-7:25 Hanbook & Activity Sheet Time
• 7:25-7:50 Game Time
• 7:50-8:00 Snack Time and Going Home Time

We average 30+ Cubbies weeklyu and similar for Puggles...

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Our club lasts 2 hours.  Here is our schedule:

7:00 - 7:10:   Coming-In Time

7:10 - 7:20:   Bathroom Time

7:20 - 7:40:   Flag Ceremony/Gospel Story

7:40 - 8:15:   Handbook Time

8:15 - 8:30:   Play Time

8:30 - 9:00:   Cool Down/Going Home Time

However, we have averaged 25 Cubbies each week so far, so we need more time than you for book time.

 

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That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved - Romans 10:9

and everyone is fine with this?  we run 630 to 810, and many parents feel that is too late at night, although this is the frst year i know of that kids have had to leave because of the late hour.  there is no way we would have the turnout we do if we went any later.

Thank you.  I tried making the game time longer last night and that really helped to fill up the evening.  It also helped that we had raisins for snack and they took a much longer time to eat those than when we eat 2 cookies.   Our club ends at 8:30 and we have some parents who are always late  and don't pick up until 8:50.  I too would think parents would want kids home in bed.