eastown kids
Eastown Kids exists as a resource for all families in our community to be encouraged and equipped. Our desire is to engage with our kids and empower our parents as they navigate all that life offers. Each Sunday, Eastown Kids provides a safe and loving environment for babies and an interactive experience for all preschool - 5th-grade students. During this hour together, your kids will hear of the love Jesus has for them and how each and everyone of them was created for a special purpose.
Empowering parents
It is our desire to partner with you as you lead your child in discovering the incredible love that God has for them.The Parent Cue App is one of the best resources we encourage for parents. The app cues you to have simple and meaningful faith-moments with your kid, elevating important topics of conversation, that will fit seamlessly into the daily rhythms of your life. Download it now!
Sundays are sweet, but February 23 is going to be extra sweet. After service, we’re celebrating a little early for National Pancake Day with a Pancake Bar in the courtyard! It’s the perfect excuse to stick around, connect with others, and enjoy some delicious stacks (with all the toppings).
This is a great Sunday to invite a friend—because who doesn’t love pancakes and community? Bring your appetite, bring your people, and we’ll see you there!
5 Steps To Help Your Kids Navigate Their Emotions
Imagine being six years old and waking up with an uneasy feeling in your tummy and not really knowing what it’s all about. You don’t even know the word anxiety—much less the source of your discomfort.
That’s the situation some of our kids find themselves in—experiencing a wide range of emotions and not having the context, life-experience, or even the language to talk about them.
There are a few simple steps you can take as a parent to help them navigate their variety of emotions and process what they’re feeling.
1. First, Recognize the moment.
Whether or not your kid expresses their emotions openly, they’re definitely experiencing them. If you have a more reserved child, knowing when they’re feeling emotional may require you to observe changes in their behavior. Are they more quiet than normal? Have less of an appetite? Are they sleeping significantly more or less? Be a student of your kid and keep a pulse on when they’re not quite themselves.
2. Then, Remove them from the source.
Tell your kid that it’s okay to respectfully walk away from a situation or person before they take action on how they’re feeling. Give them permission to go into the other room and scream into a pillow. Walking away helps them take control of their emotions.
3. Next, Tell them to breathe.
It is scientifically proven that you will be incapable of thinking until you get blood and air back to certain parts of your brain once the adrenaline of a particularly emotional moment moves it elsewhere. Tell your kid to take deep breaths in and out until they seem calmer or more stable.
4. Then, Help them name it.
You can’t manage your emotions if you don’t know what you actually feel. Create a feelings chart so they can easily and visually determine what they’re feeling. Or, if they already know how they’re feeling, give them a sliding scale to rate it. For example, How angry are you? From “a little mad” to “ready to scream your head off”? Or, Are you more sad or less sad than that time it rained out your birthday party?
It may seem silly, but giving them context for what they’re feeling will help your kid weigh and process the levity of their current emotional state.
5. Finally, Refocus.
Give them a next step in addressing their emotion. If they’re bummed about failing their math test, suggest the two of you sit down and look at the incorrect responses to see where they went wrong. If they’re mad that their sister got a playdate and they didn’t, get out the family calendar and make a suggestion for the next time they get to have a friend over. Don’t solve their problem—just redirect their focus.
The most important thing you can do when it comes to helping kids navigate their emotions is to communicate that all emotions—even ones that make us uncomfortable are okay. There is no “bad” or “wrong” way to feel—only unwise or hurtful ways to respond.
Reassure them that what they’re feeling is temporary, but that the way you feel about them will never, ever change.
MENTAL HEALTH
healing despair and anxiety in kids through the power of connection
Whether you're a parent, youth leader, teacher, or caring adult, not knowing how to help those dealing with difficult emotions can leave you feeling intimidated, powerless, and discouraged. It can feel scary.
But we want you to know there is hope.
In this book, Will and Dr. Chinwé will help you understand how the brain works when someone is in despair, learn why some of the things you'd think would help sometimes make matters worse and discover simple yet powerful tools you can use every day to connect with a kid or teenager to help them heal.
A beautiful convergence of faith and psychology, Seen is a quick read that uses both clinical research and real life stories to give you--and the kids you love--hope.
A Kids Book About Anxiety and A Kids Book About Depression doesn’t shy away from both the complexities of depression and anxiety or what getting help might look like. It gives an honest perspective into what it feels like, what life looks like with depression or anxiety, and the hope that comes with being known and being loved through it.
build the village
We've all heard the saying "it takes a village." We believe that whole heartedly here at Eastown. One of the greatest impacts we have in the next generation comes when a team of leaders actively engage with kids and partner with parents. Through the KIDS team, we desire to create a village that supports parents as they guide their children in an everyday faith and ensures each kid is known and experiences the love of Jesus. We’re inviting YOU to be a part of that! If you are interested in shadowing our KIDS team and joining the village, tap the link below.
HOW YOUR KIDS CAN LOVE LOCAL
We believe that building relationships with our neighbors matters even at the youngest of ages. These little acts of kindness can help cultivate a heart in your kids for the community around them at an early age.
Invite Them Over: Find some kids in your neighborhood to enjoy crafts, a water balloon fight, or lawn games alongside you. Bring the fun to your neighborhood by making connections with other kids nearby in different ways.
Bake to Share: Grab your favorite dessert mix and bake it for others next door.
Drop Off Gifts: All you need is a vase and some beautiful flowers to make a woman smile. Drop off a bouquet on someone’s doorstep near you.
Write a Note or Draw a Picture: Our words of encouragement can be all someone needs to feel seen and loved that day. Write a card or draw an intentional picture for a neighbor near you.
Shop for Others: Invite your kids to join you in a grocery run to look for items to place in a care package for someone they know who is hurting.
HOME RESOURCES
Feelings Wheel: Sometimes it’s hard to identify what you are feeling. Maybe you’re mad, but you’re also afraid. Maybe you’re happy, but feel a little guilty. The Feelings Wheel is a great resource to print out and stick on the fridge, and the next time your kid or teen needs a little help identifying what they feel, use it to help put words to the emotions.
Work Kids Can Do: Want to prepare your kids for their future? Then give them something to do now that will let them feel a part of your house. Chores are a great way to introduce your kids to responsibility, show them what it means to be a part of a family, and prepare them for the future. Here’s a guide to some phase-appropriate tasks that kids of different ages can do. There is also a blank chore chart you can fill out for your kid or teen to let them know you see how hard they are working.
Kindness Family Challenge: The power of a kind word or deed is amazing, and it feels really great to be the recipient and the giver. The Kindness Family Challenge was created just for that—to give your family the opportunity to spread positivity and joy around your community and in your home together in one day (or one morning, one afternoon, one evening) or even all month long!