We brought the Gift of Music and Nutrition Expedition to Stepping Stones in Holland!

Miss Chantal heads to Stepping Stones Daycare for Gift of Music classes for the next three consecutive weeks! 

STEPPING STONES IN HOLLAND, MI

The Joyful Noise C-Fund is so excited to be working again this year with Stepping Stones Daycare of Holland, Michigan! Stepping Stones is a very special school that provides daycare for homeless and transient children who are currently residing at Holland Rescue Mission's homeless shelter.

Here is a little bit more about Stepping Stones from their website: 

"Stepping Stones Daycare provides childcare for residents with children. This area of ministry affords parents the assurance of knowing that their children are being well cared for while they actively seek employment or continue to work at their current job.Stepping Stones is more than a daycare, it is a program designed to ease the impact of homelessness on the lives of children residing at the Mission. This ministry provides after-school tutoring, Bible story time, playtime, and field trips.It is difficult for a child to understand why their family could not stay in their home any longer. It is our desire to make the Mission feel like home while it is necessary for their families to stay here. The Family Hope Ministry Center accommodates the needs of this ministry by allowing space for a nursery, two all-purpose rooms, and a youth activity room equipped with computers and games for the older children.The Stepping Stones Daycare represents stability not only for the children, but for the entire family. The staff at Holland Rescue Mission knows that many who enter our doors lack a good foundation for practical living. If we can provide a stable environment for these little ones, we can help build a foundation for their future."

Miss Kelli Brunette of Joyful Noise Christian Childcare's "Nutrition Expedition" program also prepared a wonderful lesson plan and fresh fruit and vegetable box for children to explore and eat. The lesson was based on Giuseppe Arcimboldo, a 16th century Italian artist who loved to create artistic portraits with fruits and vegetables! The children looked at some of his work and had fun recreating their very own fruit and vegetable portraits. They also tried some of the delicious items from the box--even the limes. =)

Miss Chantal, program coordinator and teacher for The Joyful Noise C-Fund's Gift of Music Class, brought lots of fun items for music class, including this butterfly wand! The children enjoyed singing songs about transportation and colors with the ukulele, and each child received a slide whistle and companion brochure to be used for next three weeks of class. The slide whistles are gifts to be kept by the children once classes have ended!

Check back with us soon--there is more in store for the C-Fund this summer, from continued music classes to parenting seminars!

Spring Updates--Feeling Fresh!

Spring Updates--Feeling Fresh!

We have been so pleased with the accomplishments from Joyful Noise's C-Fund so far in the new year. Here are some highlights!

Click here to see the entire photo album on Facebook!

Loutit Library Pizza+ Books

What an absolute success our early childhood literacy event was! Thank you so much to all who attended. We were so thrilled to successfully serve children from infancy to eight years of age with free quality reading materials and a yummy pizza dinner.

One million thanks to the support we recieved from:

Loutit District Library, Grand Haven Area Community Foundation,Domino's Pizza, Brilliance Audio, School Zone Publishing Company and all of the wonderful volunteers from Joyful Noise Childcare

Check out the Youtube video of special musical guest Brian Vander Ark (formerly of The Verve Pipe) performing at this awesome and free literary event!

With the hundreds of high quality books we had left over after the event, we were able to donate to other great programs such as Grand Haven Head Start and Holland Rescue Mission.

The Gift of Music Continues!

Our high quality, free early childhood music classes are continuing this year as planned! "Sing and Slide" (a fun multi-class session that includes a free gift of a slide whistle and companion materials) has been traveling to Grand Haven Head Start to target the students who attend there. The children are enjoying every moment of the fun singing, dancing and movement that is included for them in each week's lesson! This summer Miss Chantal will also be traveling back to Stepping Stones daycare in Holland to teach free classes. Stepping Stones is program of the Holland Rescue Mission, and a childcare center supporting the homeless and transient of Holland, Michigan.

Stay updated via our blog and Facebook page! Please don't forget to support our program with your generous donations. Options for giving are located at your left!

Gift of Music Classes June/July 2013

Click here to visit the official Facebook Event page, 

or visit our website here!

Summertime is here! That means a brand new round of A Gift of Music Classes. This year we've cooked up something so beneficial and fun for children in our community! Sing & Slide, for ages 2-5, is a free music class offering an instrument and take home materials for kids! Read all the details about the program in our Program Backrounder, here! Also check out the official press release.

That's not all we're doing for our early childhood community this year! Our instructor Chantal McDaniel is also traveling to Stepping Stones daycare (a service to the homeless and transient community and a part of Holland Rescue Mission) in Holland, Michigan! For three consecutive weeks, children will recieve on site early childhood music classes: fun songs, movement, and instrument exposure, along with send-home materials for parents and extenders for teachers at the daycare.

Check out the awesome instrument donation we were able to pass along to Stepping Stones due to a generous instrument donation from Kathleen McDonald, retired music and special education teacher from Mason, Michigan!