Sparks Transition FAQs 

What are the main differences between the new existing programs?
How long will it take for the entire Sparks program to come out? 
How do we transition our club into the new materials?
Will we be able to get original books during the transition time?
Will we be able to get all the Sparks awards that go along with the Skipper, Hiker and Climber books?
Can we start all of our Sparkies in the new HangGlider books or only the first-year Sparkies?
Can we still get Skipper books? 
What handbooks will 1st and 2nd graders move into after they finish HangGlider?
Do students finish their Skipper handbook before starting a HangGlider handbook? 
How do we handle a mixed Large Group Time? 
What will the new awards look like?
What are your recommendations for larger clubs?
My pastor won’t let me order anything new until we have used all of our old books and awards...
Won’t the older kids be jealous of their kindergarten brothers and sisters who have the cool new stuff?
Will the new Sparks Basic Training (BT) role books refer to the Hiker or Climber books?
Can we still purchase the former role books?
How should we train new leaders who will be leading 1st and 2nd graders in Hiker and Climber?
How many sections are there in the Flight 3:16 Entrance Booklet? Why aren't they numbered?

What are the main differences between the new existing programs?
See the comparison chart for a listing of the differences. 

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How long will it take for the entire Sparks program to come out?  
The new program will roll out over three years. This fall the first book, HangGlider, will be available. Next fall you can get WingRunner. And then in 2010, SkyStormer will be on the shelf. As new books are available, the existing ones will be removed from the catalog. 

How do we transition our club into the new materials?
The simplest transition is to start all kindergarteners and new clubbers in the HangGlider handbook, and keep first and second graders in Hiker and Climber. The new books will be rolled out one per year, so current kindergarteners will be in the new program with the flight theme throughout their time in Sparks. Children already in Sparks will stay with the existing books and awards. 

Will we be able to get original books during the transition time?
When the new books come out, the original ones will be discontinued. So, this fall the catalog will offer HangGlider, Hiker and Climber, but not Skipper. 

Will we still be able to get crowns and all the other Sparks awards that go along with the Skipper, Hiker and Climber books?
Jewels are used in the new award system so they will always available. The bronze crowns will not be available this year, but the others will be. Rank patches and review patches will be available only as long as the corresponding books are available, so no Skipper patches are available this year. 

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Can we start all of our Sparkies in the new HangGlider books or only the first-year Sparkies?
Kids who already have worked through the Hiker or Climber books have rank patches, crowns and review patches reflecting the existing program. Also, they have, in many cases, been looking forward to becoming a “hiker” or a “climber.” It would seem to make the most sense to keep kids within their existing book and awards system as well as using as much of your existing inventory as possible. That said, it is up to you.

Can we still get Skipper books? 
No. Skipper handbooks are replaced by HangGlider handbooks. 

What if I have new first or second graders start club who want to earn their Sparky plaques? What handbooks will they move into after they finish HangGlider?
They will move into Hiker and Climber. The books will look a little different, as will the awards, but it’s up to you to energize them about their achievements. It’s likely that Sparky-aged children are not going to be sensitive about the look and feel of the existing vs. new programs. 

We have a student who only finished part of her Skipper handbook last year. Do I have her finish her Skipper handbook or start in the HangGlider handbook? 
She should probably stay in the Skipper handbook. If she becomes motivated this year and finishes the book and wants to move into the next book, she’ll move into Hiker, so it would make sense to keep her in the current program series. If she’s still in the first few sections of the Skipper book and you don’t think she’s likely to finish it too early in the year, you may want to start her in HangGlider. Talk with her parents and explain the situation to see which option they think will motivate her more.

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Should I use the Large Group Time lessons from the Who book with everyone? Or continue to use our old teaching material? Or try to split the group, since the themes and handbook content don’t match? 
The Who book provides biography-based Large Group Time lessons. Even though the existing Sparks program is not based on biographies, as the new one is, the Bible character biographies are relevant to everyone. You may continue to use all resources at your disposal, including the Who book, regardless of the books your Sparkies are working in. 

What will the new awards look like?
New awards will be available to coincide with the new books, but the basic awards structure will stay the same. Sparkies will still wear red vests and earn rank emblems, jewels and review patches. One difference for the new books is that rank emblems are meant to fit together and be left on the vests. Another difference is that jewels will be placed into flight wings instead of crowns. 

We are a large club with enough leaders and Sparks to split up the different age groups and have different Large Group Times. What are your recommendations on how we should proceed this year?
Separating your Sparks into smaller groups is up to you. If your goal is to keep the kids separate based on their handbooks, you will have to decide where you will put children who start Sparks in first or second grade and, therefore, would be in the same handbooks as the kindergarteners. 

I’m from a small rural church with limited funds. My pastor won’t let me order anything new until we have used all of our old books and awards, but I’m afraid I won’t have enough old materials if we have new clubbers come throughout the year. What should I do?
The first suggestion would be to have a conversation with the pastor so he fully understands your situation, and see if you can come to agreement together. If your pastor’s or elders’ decision is to use the existing materials before ordering new, then do so. Put new kindergarteners in your remaining Skipper books. When you run out of Skipper books, start new kids in HangGlider and just know that you’ll have kids in both books. Plan ahead so you can have enough Hiker and Climber inventory for those kids for the subsequent years (or understand that, if they go into WingRunner and SkyStormer, they will have two different award styles on their vests). 

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We have several families with multiple children in Sparks. Won’t the older kids be jealous of their kindergarten brothers and sisters who have the cool new stuff? Parents also may want to know why one of their children is getting new material and the others are using books that look outdated by comparison. What do I tell them?
Children have been enamored with Sparks for years, and we believe that they will continue to be happy working in the existing books. Club leaders will have to use their judgment about how to address this issue with the children and parents at their churches. Hopefully parents will be reasonable once they understand the dual goals of creating quality products over multiple years and also allowing children to be consistent with their existing awards. Perceived fairness is a potential issue among the children, so leaders will have to maintain equal enthusiasm for both sets of books and awards. Many first and second graders will shy away from books they perceive as being for kindergarteners. 

Will the new Sparks Basic Training (BT) role books refer to the Hiker or Climber books?
No, because of the shelf-life of our role books, the new role books will read as though the entire Sparks program is updated all at once. It will be up to commanders and directors to explain the existing books and awards to new leaders. 

Can we still purchase the former role books?
No, the old role books won’t be sold this year. The reason for this is two-fold: the new role books not only reflect the program changes, but they also contain newly-made DVDs to help directors and leaders with their roles. These DVDs add an entire dimension to the role books that makes them truly self-study and provides new leaders and directors with visual reference for how to do their roles. 

How should we train new leaders who will be leading 1st and 2nd graders in Hiker and Climber?
New leaders should complete Basic Training to become certified and equipped to serve in Awana. Basic Training is not handbook specific. Awana recommends walking new leaders through the books, either as a group or one-on-one, so leaders can see and understand how the books are laid out and understand expectations of the kids and leaders. 

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How many sections are there in the Flight 3:16 Entrance Booklet? Why aren't they numbered?
You may have some questions about the sections and sign offs in Flight 3:16. Here is some information that will help you!

Your achievement card is correct - there are 6 sections that need to be signed off. Sections 1, 2 and 3 segment the first three clauses of John 3:16, adding an additional clause each section. Sections 4, 5 and 6 therefore should look like this:

Section 4 - Clubber needs to say the whole verse of John 3:16. The signature line is actually missing here; feel free to draw it in underneath the verse.

Section 5 - Clubber needs to tell the leader the answers to the questions.

Section 6 - Clubber needs to attend club twice. Again, feel free to draw a signature line underneath the date lines.

The Leader's signature line on the back cover is to certify the completion of Flight 3:16 and can be signed immediately when all sections are completed. It is not itself an additional section.

We apologize for the confusion. We will be making changes to Flight 3:16 so that when it's reprinted, it will be accurate. 

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