The Children’s program at The Pool is designed with a few goals in mind.  It’s a place for our kids to learn, to grow, and to build relationships with each other and with the adults spending time there with them.  Their time is spent playing games and participating in a learning time that’s geared towards engagement and connection.

Programs

We offer two childcare programs at the Pool depending on the age of the child.

Toddlers

• For walking and up to and including age 3.
• The toddlers are under the constant supervision of 1 care worker who is always visible by at least 1 other care worker.
• We have the toddlers and the youth sharing the same room but the toddlers are setup in a safely sectioned off part of the space. They are provided with safe and age appropriate toys and activities.

Youth

• For children age 4 to 12 (preschool to middle school).
• We use the Meeting House children’s curriculum they create and use in house themselves. It’s used by more than 250 other churches in North America! Click here to learn about it and check out some of the past messages that we’ve used.
• The toddlers are under the constant supervision of 1 care worker who is always visible by at least 1 other care worker.
• We have the toddlers and the youth sharing the same room but with the toddlers setup in a safely sectioned off part of the space.

Format/Schedule

• The children will stay with parents in the main hall upon arriving for worship together.
• We will make an announcement welcoming the kids to the program following the worship and announcements.
  • Our volunteers will escort kids to their program or feel free to come have a peek at the program at this time.
  • We usually announce this around 10:30am.
• After the teaching time of the service ends, the kids will then be escorted back into the Wedgewood Hall area by our volunteers to meet their parents.
  • This usually happens around 11:15am.

Preparing your Child

Here are a few ways you can prepare your child for the best experience in our program:

• Bring a spill proof water bottle with their name on it
  • kids get pretty thirsty running around and playing!
  • this avoids slippery spills on floors
• Bring or wear non-marking shoes or sneakers during the winter months
  • we ask boots be removed in the childcare room during winter months
  • socks are very slippery on childcare floors .
• Mention if your child has any allergies or dietary restrictions,

Children and Worship

The children will normally join us for worship. There may be times depending on worship plans and/or order of service that the children will be in the childcare program during worship, but this would be the exception.

During this time we encourage kids to use some worship friendly options we usually have available for them like:

• a “dance space” to the back of where adults sit.
• ribbons and other quite play/dance toys
• a kids dedicated table at the back of the room with coloring pages, books, etc.

Materials are usually with our information table at the back of the room.

Washroom Guidelines

Here are some washroom guidelines we try to follow to ensure a safe environment for both the volunteers and children:

• Parents are strongly encouraged to take their children to the washroom prior to the childcare program.
• As a general rule, volunteers are not expected to change diapers or manage potty training.
  • Parents will be notified to come and change their child’s diaper when needed.
• If an older child needs help in the washroom, parents will be notified for assistance.

Toy Donations

• We have limited storage space, so we are looking for smaller items that can be stored in storage bins.
• Toys multiple kids can use together are always great.
• Please, no toys with broken or missing pieces.

Feedback

Any questions, feedback or suggestions can be submitted by filling out our childcare feedback form or leaving a comment in the comment box.