The beautiful Sanctuary on our campus is an enchanting place for students, outside of the typical areas of their daily routine. Once a month, children walk up to the sanctuary for Little Lambs with Hillary Mackowski. Ms. Hillary, as the children lovingly call her, joined Pinnacle church as the Director of Children’s and Family Ministries in 2017 and has been an incredible resource to our preschool program as a mission of the church. With a background in both ministry and teaching, she has a special way of teaching Christian values through playful and engaging stories and songs from the Bible.
During one Little Lambs, Hillary shared with the children how God made the world. After singing the song, “I’ve got the whole world in my hand” she asked the children if they could imagine what it would be like to hold the whole world in their hands. One three-year-old sweetly replied “I can’t even imagine.” Together, the children and Hillary wondered how we can help take care of the world:
“We can clean up the trash.”
“Play with Mama.”
“Pray for the world.”
“Put the soil back.”
A child shared her prayer for the world: “Thank you God for the beautiful world and I hope everyone has a beautiful life.”
All of the children prayed together, “God made the sun, God made the sea, God made the fisheys, and God made me! Thank you for the sun, thank you for the sea, thank you for the fisheys, and thank you for me!”
For another Little Lambs, Hillary read a story from the Bible about Moses. The Sanctuary floor was transformed into an ocean with shiny blue cloths set on the stage. She shared, “God gave Moses ten rules – four of the rules are how to love God and six of the rules are about how to love others. These are God’s Ten Commandments. The one big rule that encompasses all ten rules is: Love One Another.”
Hillary asked the children what rules they know about:
“You can’t always get what you want… or do what you want.”
“Stay safe.”
“Be patience.”
“Please don’t cut in line.”
“I have to clean up my room and my toys.”
“You have to chew when you are eating.”
This month, we began a new extended day class, “Jump on the Ark” taught by Hillary on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Students explore Christian values through hands-on activities, which include storytelling, imaginary play, music, art, and games.
Hillary has fostered meaningful relationships with students through Little Lambs and Jump on the Ark. She often welcomes children at the preschool gate on Little Lamb days and the children are always ecstatic to see her, looking forward to their time in the Sanctuary together. They proudly bring home their work or handouts from the Little Lamb lesson and look forward to sharing with their parents. We are so grateful for the love and support Hillary has brought to our preschool and children!
