Welcome to BridgeKids
Here are our Core Values:
1. Love God. We love God because God is love and He first loved us. Luke 10:27, John 3:16
2. Love People. We love people because God loves ALL people! Luke 10:27, John 13:34
3. Do Your Best. Do your best and God does the rest! Philippians 4:13, 1 Corinthians 10:31
4. Have Fun! Have fun because God gives you joy! Acts 13:52, Romans 14:17
Overview
BridgeKids is responsible for creating a safe place for kids to have fun and build (develop) their faith. The BridgeKids team cares for kids ages 6 weeks through 11 years of age.
Team Roles.
Director– Develops leaders at a campus, cares for and pastors the team, ensures the central strategy is successfully implemented, and ensures the overall growth of the team.
Coordinator– Implements the campus expression of the central play for their. designated team, responsible for the overall care of the team which they oversee (Infant/Toddler. Preschool/Elementary, Family Connections).
Team Lead– Facilitates the play on Sunday, ensures all team members are in place, ensures that the team has everything they need to be successful.
Team Member– Executes the play on Sunday and cares for the kids.
NOTE: ALL BRIDGEKIDS VOLUNTEER ROLES ARE REQUIRED TO BE BACKGROUND CHECKED."
Safety
Purpose:
Safety is our PRIORITY in BridgeKids. We strive to create SAFE and FUN environment for kids.
This outlines key elements of our safety policy. This policy helps us raise the bar for safety in our ministry.
It is the responsibility of every BridgeKids member to keep the children entrusted to us safe.
Restroom:
Our goal is that children would use the bathroom unassisted or have their diapering needs attended to in the nursery or toddler room with a second adult present.
Under no circumstances should a team member be alone in a bathroom stall with a child. Bathroom runs should be completed with 2 witnesses for accountability.
There should be two adults or teen volunteers 16 years of age or older. When diapering a child, a second adult must be present.
If there is not a second adult in the room, call for a team lead or another leader to assist. Male volunteers are not permitted to change diapers.
Identification
All children checked into BridgeKids must be wearing a BridgeKids tag. If the student loses the tag or the tag is damaged, volunteers should request a Coordinator or Director to reprint another one.
If a child enters the classroom without a tag, the classroom leader should request the team lead or coordinator to instruct the parent to sign the child in if he or she has not been signed in or reprint their tag.
When exiting the classroom, the identification tag should be removed from the child to indicate that the child is no longer under the supervision of BridgeKids. For additional details about the check in and check out policy, refer to the Check-In SOP.
Supervision:
Under no circumstance should a child be permitted to leave the classroom without adult supervision.
Children checked in to BridgeKids are not permitted to leave the classroom to get water, get a snack, or use the bathroom without adult supervision.
WHY: not everyone in the hall is background checked. Our commitment to parents is that anyone interacting with their child while under the care of BridgeKids will be background checked.
Watching a child from a across the lobby does not count as supervision.
Engaging with Parents:
When parents leave service, they often leave feeling refreshed. When they come from service to pick up their kid, we want to be sensitive to where their head and heart might be.
When a parent picks a child up, do not lead with “Johnny was really difficult in class today.”
If you need to address a specific behavior with a parent, a team lead, coordinator, or Director should have that conversation. You may be present in the conversation, but our leaders are specifically trained to appropriately have conversations with parents.
Infant (6 weeks – 18 months)
Our primary focus in the infant setting is care and prayer. When parents drop their child off to an infant setting, the leader should greet the family with a smile and add any pertinent information to the sign in sheet.
The leader should collect the child’s eating schedule and diapering needs.
During the service, volunteers should pray the monthly verse over the child and engage with them in play.
Volunteers should ensure that all the child’s belongings stay together, ensuring that an infant only eats food and drinks milk provided to them.
When the parents pick the child up, the volunteer should inform the family when their child was fed and changed. Every infant under the care of BridgeKids should receive a diaper change.
Toddlers (18 months – 3 years old)
In our toddlers setting, we ensure children feel comfortable engaging in play and hear a Bible story about Jesus.
When parents drop their child off to an infant setting, the leader should find out if the child has any allergies or has any
diapering needs.
In the toddler setting, we do not feed children or provide snacks. During the service, volunteers should allow children to engage in play for the first 20 minutes of service.
Following free play, children will engage in worship.
Following worship, children will watch the Bible story for the day.
Children will be given the option to color.
Following the coloring sheet, the setting will return to free play.
While in free play, the setting volunteers can begin to change the diapers of children who require a diaper change.
Preschool (Ages 3 – 5)
Our primary focus in the preschool setting is allowing kids to engage in play, while connecting with the story of Jesus.
When parents drop their child off to a preschool setting, the leader should find out if the child has any allergies or
anything else that requires special attention.
In the preschool setting, we do not feed children or provide snacks.
During the service, volunteers should allow children to engage in play for the first 20 minutes of service.
Following free play, children will engage in worship. Following worship, children will watch the Bible Lesson for the day. Following the lesson, children will engage in activities to reinforce the lesson.
Following the lesson, the setting will return to free play.
Elementary (Ages 6 -11)
Our primary focus in the elementary setting is instructing kids about Jesus while allowing them to build community with their peers.
When parents drop their child off to an elementary space, the leader should find out if the child has any allergies or anything else that requires special attention. In the elementary setting..
During the service, volunteers should allow children to engage in play for the first 20 minutes of service.
Following free play, children will engage in worship. Following worship, children will watch the Bible Lesson for the day.
Following the Bible lesson, children will be given the option to color. Following the lesson, children will connect with their peers in small groups.
These groups are meant to deepen their understanding of the lesson while they also
build relationships with their peers.
Following small Group time, children will complete activities to reinforce the lesson.
Following the activities, children can return to replay. We start with fun and end with fun.