Kids Ministry Guidelines For Parents
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It is the goal of Grassroots to provide a safe, comfortable and nurturing environment for your child. We also want you to feel secure about your child’s well-being while you attend services and activities at Grassroots.
Please take the time to read the following guidelines that we have prepared for you. This will answer most of your questions and introduce you to the policies that we have put in place to safeguard all the children in our care. We deeply appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
This is a quick rundown of the policies that we have adopted to provide a safe environment for your children. Each entry in the Quick List will have a more detailed explanation in the sections following.
Quick List!
Acorns: Birth-3 years
Sprouts: 3 years (potty-trained)- Kindergarten
Oaks: 1st-5th Grade
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Grassroots Kids (GK) childcare is regularly available for the Sunday morning Gathering, starting 15 minutes before the start of service.
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Grassroots Kids staff will not accept children that are currently ill or have been ill within the last 24 hours. We perform temperature checks at Registration. Any child with a temperature above 100.4 will not be allowed in Kids that day.
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Grassroots Kids staff will not give medication to children.
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We require parents to sign all children in at the Check-In station when dropping off their children. We will then print two tickets: 1.) A sticker for your child with their name, information, and ID number 2.) A pickup ticket with your child’s ID number. The pickup ticket is needed to pick your child up at the end of service. If you lose your ticket, you will need to provide a photo ID. Also, if you have a cell phone with you, please provide that number (setting your phone to vibrate), so that we can contact you quickly (via text) if we need to do so during the Gathering.
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There will always be a minimum of two Grassroots Kids staff present in each group.
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Essentials bags (diapers, clothing, etc.), and bottles/sippy cups, need to be clearly labeled with the sticker provided at check-in.
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Children will only be released to a properly identified and pre-authorized adult. Remember to bring your Pick Up Ticket!
Grassroots Kids Info
Age of Care
Acorns: Birth-3 years
Sprouts: 3 years (potty-trained)- Kindergarten
Oaks: 1st-5th Grade
Grassroots Kids Availability
The GK staff will begin accepting children 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start
of the Gathering. Please pick up your children as soon as the service concludes.
Child Illness
We perform temperature checks at Registration. Any child with a temperature above 100.4 will not be allowed in Kids that day. If your child becomes ill or injured during the service, one of the Grassroots Kids staff will contact you immediately. For the health and safety of the children and staff, and for the peace of mind of our children’s parents, children that have had the following symptoms within the last 24 hours will not be accepted:
a. Fever
b. Diarrhea
c. Vomiting
d. Thrush
e. Impetigo (infected wounds), boils, untreated ringworms
f. Runny nose with green or yellow mucus discharge
g. Communicable eye infections, conjunctivitis (pink-eye)
h. Contagious skin rash
i. Cough, croup (except in the case of allergy)
j. Any symptom of a usual childhood disease such as mumps, measles, chickenpox
k. Use of antibiotics for 24 hours or less.
Medication
Our Grassroots Kids staff is not adequately trained to dispense any type of medication. If your child requires medication, please come to the Grassroots Kids room at the appropriate time to administer it.
Snacks
Food allergies are one of our top concerns. For this reason, we ask that you do not send food for your child. Our volunteers will not allow any snacks to be eaten during Gathering, other than a bottle or sippy cup. If you feel your child will need to eat during Gathering, you will need to check your child out of his/her room.
Classroom Conduct
Our top priority is to maintain a safe environment conducive to sowing the seeds of God’s word through Bible lessons and activities for every child. If conduct issues should arise that are unable to be resolved in class, workers will contact the parent to assist in the situation.
Drop Off and Pick Up
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We utilize a computerized check-in system and use ID numbers to identify children/parents (or guardians). This is for your child’s safety.
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Grassroots Kids staff requests that only one parent drop off or pick up the child. This will help keep the area clear and avoid congestion and/or confusion.
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It is common for children in Acorns to suffer from separation anxiety and for children to cry when you leave. Normally, the child will calm down in just a few minutes. If your child continues to be upset for 15 minutes (or sooner by parent’s request) with no sign of calming down, a Grassroots Kids staff member will contact you.
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For pick-up, one parent will bring their ID number to the registration desk to be scanned. At that point, the child will be escorted by kids workers from the classroom to the parent waiting in the registration/pick-up area. Parents are asked to please not enter the classroom area during pick-up to avoid congestion and confusion.
Acorns-Diaper Changing
You have the option to have an Acorns volunteer change your child’s diaper, or if you prefer, we can notify you and you can come to the Acorns room to change your child’s diaper. In our changing station area, we provide a changing pad, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes (to clean the changing area). Please make sure you provide diapers and wipes in your child’s bag.
Acorns- Essentials Bags
Essentials bags (diapers, clothing, etc.) need to be clearly labeled with the name of the parent or child. All of the items in the bag should also be clearly labeled with the name or initials of your child. If you have any special items that your child may need, please point them out to the Acorns staff.
Your essentials bag may need to contain the following items:
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All items required for a change (diaper, creams, wipes, etc.)
b. Extra diaper(s)
c. Bottle or cup as needed
d. Pacifier (clip-on type is preferred) or another item your child may find
comforting
e. Change of clothes.
Please do not bring toys, books, candy, gum, or other personal items. Acorns staff will not give any of these items to your child if they are in the essentials bag.
Acorns/Sprouts
We request that if your child is potty training/trained that you take them to the potty
before coming to the Kids’ room.
Grassroots Kids Staffing
The goal of Grassroots Kids is to offer quality care for your child. We will always have a minimum of two volunteers on duty.
Parents: If you are not a volunteer in Grassroots Kids, please exit quickly once your
child has been properly checked in. Too many big feet can leave too little room for
the little feet.
Comments, Questions, and Concerns
Please feel free to contact us to address any and all comments, questions, and/or concerns you may have regarding the Grassroots Kids program. We welcome your input and are happy to have the chance to address any concerns or answer any questions you may have.
Contact Information: