CLASSROOM VOLUNTEERS
Working with kids is exciting, silly, fun, and sometimes exhausting! We provide resources to equip YOU to lead well in your classrooms. You work directly with the children to create a consistent environment for them. In this role, you serve weekly alongside other volunteers in the class to help the children learn about God through play, stories, music, and activities. Classroom volunteers serve weekly to build consistency within the classroom for the kids so that we can create a safe place to build relationships with the families and help teach their little ones about God! Keep reading for important resources and training for each age and development stage from birth to pre-K below.
CLASSROOM BASICS
Teach the GZ Basic Truths as you care for the children in your class throughout the service. Follow the classroom timeline and curriculum provided.
Ensure no outside food is in the class, double check for allergies before snack is given.
Use positive redirection and pray with the child if there are behavior issues. Do not put children in time-out or yell. Ask staff for assistance if needed.
Never be alone with a child: keep the bathroom door open when assisting a child and do not accept any children unless there are two volunteers present in the room.
GZ CURRICULUM
Grow Zone uses a three year curriculum rotation that is written in house by the Grow Zone Curriculum coordinator, Molly Swander.
We begin structured curriculum in the 2s class, but provide unstructured curriculum resources in the 1s class to begin teaching the children the basic truths of who God is at an early age!
All of Grow Zone teaches the same Basic Truth, Bottom Line, Memory Verse, and Worship Songs in all classes, with the more complex lesson plans in the older classrooms based on child development. Each month, we introduce a new story to focus on. You can find each week’s lessons here on the website or in your newsletter!
In these classes we get to come alongside parents in such a special way as their little ones take their first steps to know God! Our child to adult ratios are low in these groups to allow us to provide the best care. Check out the volunteer handbook to find the diaper changing policy and other helpful instructions. Make an effort to get to know the parents of the children by name, honor their instructions for their child’s care, and encourage them by giving updates about their child at the end of class. This is a tangible way we can achieve our mission to reach kids and come alongside families to help them walk with God!
We introduce structured curriculum in the Twos class in Grow Zone. Repetition is key in this stage of a child’s development so we teach the same Bible Story throughout the entire month! Challenge the kids in your class to remember what each character does in the story, and even have them help you tell the story by the end of the month. Structure is important as the children practice listening to instructions and following rules. Check out Grow Zone’s 2s/3s class schedule below to learn about how we structure the time we get to invest in these kids each week!
In Grow Zone’s oldest age group, we get to introduce new curriculum every week, challenge the kids with small group questions, introduce video lessons, and have so much fun during worship time! We are intentional about helping the kids transition from Grow Zone to our elementary ministry, Treasure Island. One way we do this is to model the small group setting for the kids in their Fours/Pre-K classrooms. When the kids move up to Treasure Island, they will participate in both small group and video lessons. This is one way we set these kids up for success as they prepare for the next stage!