Anyone else work with kiddos @ church? Need advice...

nebula

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So I don't know if anyone else here works in a church setting for kiddos, but I have been offered the position of teaching the Juniors small group on Sunday nights at my church. I was recruited because the former teacher has been ill and unable to control the kiddos, so with my background and education- and the pastor knowing that I am firm and loving, they have invited me to teach and would like me to get the class in order. The age group is ages 8-12 years old. I realize that it is going to take some trial by fire before they accept me, but the poor kids have been through 5 teachers in the past year! They need consistency, love, and guidance. Anyway- DH and I are the ones going to do the class, and we have come up with some what we hope are great ideas.

First of all, we want to establish a virtual currency system using poker chips, white ones are worth $1.00 and they can earn blue ones by going "above and beyond" showing exemplary character traits. Additionally, our pastor has "Pastor Coins" that are red, and will give them out sparingly to kids who are caught being good. The last Sunday of the month will be "Cash In" day. They will be able to use their Liberty Coins for various small prizes, and for $4 they can choose to have their name entered in a drawing for a larger prize (we are thinking things like a CD or Walmart gift card, etc and switch it up every month)

Anyway, we have absolutely AMAZING parents, and I want to send a letter home to them explaining everything. Can I get some thoughts on it? Thanks!

THE LETTER:
Dear Parents

We are really excited to have the opportunity to teach your child on Sunday evenings. We have some exciting changes coming and would like to share them with you.

Schedule:
6:00-6:15- Welcome, Snacks, & Sharing
6:15-6:30- Lesson & Discussion
6:30-6:45- Activity or Game
6:45-7:00 – Journal, Tokens, Prayer Partners

Classroom Behavior Expectations & Reward System

We only have three rules:
1) Respect God
2) Respect Others
3) Respect Yourself

In the event that your child needs some cool down time, we will have them sit away from the group and chill. If after prayer and discussion, your child is not able to be redirected- you will be contacted to come get them. Please make sure we have a cell # that you can receive a text on.

Tokens:
Your child will be given an opportunity to earn tokens (Liberty Coins) for exhibiting proper behavior. White tokens will be given out each week, and blue tokens will be given out for going “above and beyond” and showing exemplary character traits. White Liberty Coins are worth $1.00 and Blue Liberty Coins are worth $3.00. The last Sunday of the month, we will have “Cash In” day and offer various prizes. For $4.00 your child can choose to enter a drawing for a large prize, such as a gift card or other things. Tokens will not be taken away for misbehavior. The only currency is plastic tokens, and not real money!

Sharing:
In the interest of building community and leading our children to encourage one another, we will have a time for sharing at the beginning of each class. Every week, your child will be sent home with a topic or scenario to think about. The following week, they will have the opportunity to share with the class about the topic. Children who share will earn an extra white token!

Activities & Games:
We will incorporate a fun activity or game every week, and this will vary depending upon the interests of the children and our lessons. If the weather is nice we will try to go outside to the big parking lot for a game and fresh air. We might do a play, artwork, dance, or any other number of activities.

Journal:
At the end of class, your child will be given a journal sheet to fill out. This is an opportunity for them to write down the Bible verse of the night, and also write a life application idea for the upcoming week.

Prayer Partners:
Each week, your child will be paired up with another classmate and they will be prayer partners for the week. We will close class by letting the partners get together and pray for each other. The goal is that your child will pray for their prayer partner every day the entire week.

Thank you for the opportunity to help your child grow, and if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact us via text, phone, or e-mail.

God Bless!
## NAME, E-MAIL ETC
 

sneakymom

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I like it.  Kind of like the Awana "bucks" system we had when our church did Awanas.  Except that we had redemption at the end of the year.  If they've had many different teachers and the kids are kind of out of control, then the monthly rewards (IMHO) are the better way to go. 

I like the behavior rules too.

I work with the little ones.  For the last 2 years I've worked all over the preschool wing.  And just like the big kids- the BIGGEST thing these kids need is some sort of stability- not a different teacher every single week.  I know it's hard to recruit volunteers- but I just wish parents would get the fact that consisitancy is what kids need.........

Cheryl
 
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nebula

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I like it.  Kind of like the Awana "bucks" system we had when our church did Awanas.  Except that we had redemption at the end of the year.  If they've had many different teachers and the kids are kind of out of control, then the monthly rewards (IMHO) are the better way to go. 

I like the behavior rules too.

I work with the little ones.  For the last 2 years I've worked all over the preschool wing.  And just like the big kids- the BIGGEST thing these kids need is some sort of stability- not a different teacher every single week.  I know it's hard to recruit volunteers- but I just wish parents would get the fact that consisitancy is what kids need.........

Cheryl
Oh how I miss AWANA! I used to work it at my old church. I did teach the preschool here at the church but I wanted more of a challenge. I'm excited :)
 

sneakymom

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Awana was such a good program.  That brought in more families than any other outreach we've had. 

But we only did it 5 years.  Then our church dropped the Sunday night program (which is when Awana was).  So it was dropped.  I think it would bring in more kids than the Children's choir/ Mission friends thing they do now.I understand it- but not everyone wants to sing.  There's not a whole lot of kids involved I know b/c dh insisted on helping with it this year.  I guess the music minister's idea was that having a man help out it would attract more boys.  And no- it hasn't.   And you lose the boys after a while b/c it's not "cool" to sing. 

 And  It's a space issue- they've got middle school youth in the gym at the same time as the other programs so there's no place to play games.  I guess. 


Cheryl
 
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nebula

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Awana was such a good program.  That brought in more families than any other outreach we've had. 

But we only did it 5 years.  Then our church dropped the Sunday night program (which is when Awana was).  So it was dropped.  I think it would bring in more kids than the Children's choir/ Mission friends thing they do now.I understand it- but not everyone wants to sing.  There's not a whole lot of kids involved I know b/c dh insisted on helping with it this year.  I guess the music minister's idea was that having a man help out it would attract more boys.  And no- it hasn't.   And you lose the boys after a while b/c it's not "cool" to sing. 

 And  It's a space issue- they've got middle school youth in the gym at the same time as the other programs so there's no place to play games.  I guess. 


Cheryl
I understand! We are blessed to have men and women working with the kids. From 3rd grade and up, they try to pair one male and one female leader with the kids, that way there is accountability and if a sensitive issue comes up, especially with older kids & youth, the same gender staff member can handle it. :) DH and I are excited and I hope this works. Awana is such an amazing program. I had the Truth & Training 3rd & 4th grade girls... When they were the "Chums". I mean even the cubbies pre k- are memorizing passages of scripture! It's great great, but unfortunately it is also expensive to run,

On the note of our Juniors class, I figure the first week I will just go over the expectations, token system, and let them decorate their journals and token holders (not sure what to use yet!) maybe a ziplock bag inside their folder journal.
 
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