Splash!

Welcome to Trinity's Splash! Trinity will make available to you Splash! resources to support your central role in the faith formation of your infant. Your first Splash! newsletter will come to you when your baby is one month old and each month thereafter. If you are a new member of Trinity and have a child that is 0 - 3 your child will be started with newsletters at their appropriate month (age). If you have a child that is 0 -3 and you are not receiving Splash resources, please contact the church office or email Liz at liz@trinitycook.org.

At baptism, you commit to raising your child in the Christian faith. These Parent Pages and the Sleepy Time Tunes music CD are filled with practical and enjoyable ways to help you fulfill your baptismal promise.

Parent pages are filled with ideas to support your role as the most important people in your infant's faith formation. Each issue has the same clear format that will help you know what to expect in the midst of your busy life of caring for an infant.

Each month, the article on page 1 will stimulate your thinking by connecting faith to findings from diverse areas such as medicine, finance, theology, and psychology. "One Parent's Perspective" offers brief stories, insights and wit from other parents, both new and veteran.

On page 2 and 3, symbols help identify different types of activities.

* Begin passing along the stories of the faith while your child is still a baby. Look for the Bible story text in the circle. You'll find references to the month's Bible story in other activities, too.

* Doing devotions together while your child is an infant can start a valued tradition in your family. Plan time for a family devotion based on each month's Bible story.

* Use these suggestions to establish prayer times and practices in your family.

* When your family attends worship together, you are introducing your baby to a loving, intergenerational experience filled with music, images, stories, and rituals. These ideas can help!

* The music feature connects you with one of the songs of the Sleepy Time Tunes CD. As you listen to the gentle melodies and quiet lullabies, read about the musicians who write and perform the songs on the CD.

* Meal suggestions and ideas to introduce to your child and family at mealtimes.

* It's never too early to begin play time! Enjoy the ideas featured each month.

Also, the "Family Kin-nections" feature each month connects your child with grandparents or older siblings. Enjoy a different "Crib Notes" cartoon each month. Clip along the dotted line to post on the fridge or pass along to a friend.

Page 4 offers a few additional features. Try some of the "Baby Talk" words in the family. They are conveniently located on the back of the "Crib Notes" cartoon. Each month, an Augsburg Fortress book is recommended. Some are books to read to your child, while others will support your own faith.

Your child has been splashed in the love of Holy Baptism and welcomed into God's family. May God bless your family of faith!

Frequently asked quesitions:

How and when do you receive these newsletters?

At the beginning for each month ( around the first full week), your child's newsletter is placed in your family Splash! folder. Your family folder can be found in alphabetical order on the back table in the fellowship hall.

What if you can't pick up your newsletter from church each month?

If you miss a month of picking up, don't worry it will be there waiting for you. If for some reason you can not make it to church on Sunday's, you are welcome to pick it up on Tuesday - Friday while the church office is open. If requested, I can mail the newsletters out.

How do I let the church know that I am no longer interested in receiving the Splash newsletter?

All you have to do is send an email to Liz or give the church office a call and let us know. These resources are optional. Everyone is given a chance to try them, but if they are not beneficial or of interest, please let us know so we can use the resources for other families.