Elementary Resources

This is our time to pour into you. Prayer circle is an essential part of the volunteer experience.

While kids are outside, the teacher and assistant should review the lesson activities, prepare using provided supplies, as well as pop and bag the popcorn.

When kids come in, get them seated on the carpet and then serve popcorn before large group begins. Be mindful of our gluten free friends. Gluten free snacks are in the cabinet under the popcorn machine.

The teacher will use the slides and script to lead kids through an interactive time. Large group is not meant to be one way, meaning only the teacher talks or the video plays and the kids listen. We want interaction with the kids. Ask them about their weeks. Celebrate their successes. Make space for their struggles and sadness. This is really the magic of the room.

Each week, you'll have about three activities to work through. Activities will be a combination of individual work as well as collaborative assignments. The goal of the activities is to reinforce the biblical lesson and pull it through in a practical way. There will be Sundays when you work through all of them and there will be Sundays when you don't. And that's ok. Be sure to use the time when the kids are on the playground to plan not only which activities you'll do, but also which leader is going to lead them. 

At the end of the activities, give children the option to go to the playground or stay in the classroom where they can color or draw and have some individual free time. No matter whether all kids go to the playground or not, one leader should remain in the classroom to reset supplies, clean up the large group area, and vacuum the carpets. Once those tasks are complete, if no kids are in the classroom, then that leader should head out to the playground until pick up time.

For now, this is a very organic and informal process. Some parents will come out to the playground and hang out with their kids while others will linger in the sanctuary for extended conversations. It's generally a good idea not to let kids just run out of the playground gate without a plan. But for kids whose parents are on staff or lead worship, special circumstances exist because let's be honest, they know the drill. Your volunteer time ends when every child is with their parents.