ELEMENTARY LEAD TEACHER TRAINING
OUR MISSION
The Life Kids Ministry exists to INVITE kids to hear about God, INSPIRE kids to love God & others, CONNECT kids to Jesus and their peers, EQUIP kids to serve, and CHALLENGE kids to grow deeper in Christ.
LEAD TEACHER EXPECTATIONS
Arrive 30 minutes before the service starts to attend our Team Prayer Huddle located outside of the Nursery. There, you can check yourself in via iPad, put on your name-tag, and fill out availability forms for upcoming months.
We expect our Lead Teachers to arrive prepared to teach. Lessons are always available in Planning Center Files. We ask that you prepare your hearts with the curriculum and spend time in prayer for your students in the days leading up to serving.
Lead Teachers are the primary communicators in the Elementary Room and we expect Lead Teachers to always conduct themselves with patience, love, and grace towards both the children and the other volunteers.
Keep discussion age-appropriate and biblically-centered with the mission in mind.
Remain in the classroom throughout the duration of the service. If you need to leave the classroom for any reason, please contact the Life Kids Director. Please do not bring a child outside of the classroom unless in the case of a fire alarm or evacuation. The only adults allowed to bring a child outside of the classroom are the child’s parents and the Life Kids Director.
Please remain off of your phone during the service, unless contacting Lexi or Rachel. It will be helpful to pre-program these numbers in your phone incase you are in need of assistance during the service.
Lexi Priolo: 623-853-7919
Rachel Blanchard (Early Childhood Coordinator): 602-803-9335
Planning center
At New Life, we use a helpful tool to communicate volunteer schedules and lesson plans called ‘Planning Center Services’ that can be accessed on desktop, mobile, or through the app. Once you join the team, you will receive an email welcoming you to Planning Center Services. Through this email, you can set a password and access the database. If at any time you forget your password, please contact the Life Kids Director for a password reset.
ACCEPTING REQUESTS: Our Life Kids Ministry schedules our volunteers a month in advance. For example, during the month of November, you will receive an email requesting you to serve during the month of December. Through this email, you can ‘Accept’ or ‘Decline’ service requests depending on your personal schedule.
ACCESSING FILES: After ‘Accepting’ to serve on a particular date, you will be able to find that Sunday’s lesson plan under the label ‘Files’. Be sure to click on ‘U# S# GR1-6’ to access the elementary lesson.
SAFETY CHECK-INS
WHAT ARE SAFETY CHECK-INS? Safety Check-Ins occur approximately 10 minutes after the start of each service. During safety check-ins, one teacher in each classroom will pick up the classroom radio and read off a script to our Safety Team, checking in and notifying them how many kids you have in your classroom.
WHY DO WE DO SAFETY CHECK-INS? New Life has been blessed with an incredible Safety Team that strives to serve our Life Kids Ministry. The goal of safety check-ins is to establish good communication with our Safety Team, grow your comfort with using the radio in case of an emergency, and allow the Life Kids Ministry staff to have awareness of the condition of your classroom before your teaching time begins.
WHAT DO THE SAFETY CHECK-IN ‘SCRIPTS’ LOOK LIKE? Below is an example of the script placed next to the radio in each classroom:
POLICIES
In order to ensure the safety of our Life Kids, we have important policies in place. Please familiarize yourself with these policies and acknowledge below that you agree to adhere to all policies and procedures.
THE SERVICE FLOW
Each week, you will follow this service flow, but the topic of small group teaching is different each week. Click the button below for an example of a weekly small group guide.
FIRST SUNDAYS
WHAT ARE FIRST SUNDAYS? ‘First Sundays' happen on the ‘First Sunday’ of each month as a service of review and celebration. During ‘First Sunday’, children will review what they have learned in the previous month and reward themselves by purchasing prizes in the Bible Bucks Store with their previously earned Bible Bucks. As a Lead Teacher, you get to see the fruit of your labor every ‘First Sunday’ as you see all the spiritual growth in your students.
WHAT ARE BIBLE BUCKS? Bible bucks are the Elementary Ministry’s reward system for attending service, participating in discussion, and memorizing scripture.
WHAT DO FIRST SUNDAY LOOK LIKE? See below for an example of First Sunday curriculum and service flow.
WHAT IS MY ROLE DURING FIRST SUNDAY? As a Lead Teacher, your role is to review the bible stories with the children and conduct the 'Bible Buck Quiz Show’. Other volunteers will run the ‘Bible Bucks Store’.
LIFE KIDS JUNIOR LEADER PROGRAM
WHAT IS THE ‘LK JUNIOR LEADER PROGRAM’? As a part of our Life Kids Mission Statement, we strive to “EQUIP KIDS TO SERVE’. One way that we accomplish this mission is by giving kids ages 10-13 that display exemplary faith, character, and leadership qualities opportunities to serve in limited capacities.
WHAT ROLES CAN JUNIOR LEADERS SERVE IN? There are three options: a helper in the Little Learners Classroom (Preschool & Kindergarten), a tech volunteer in the Elementary room, and a 1-3rd Grade Helper in the Elementary room.
HOW CAN A CHILD BECOME A JUNIOR LEADER? There are ‘Junior Leader Guide’ found in the teacher’s cabinet in the Elementary room. You can give a child a guide if the present interest and they can complete it with their parent and complete the application in the back of the Guide and return in to the Life Kids Director to be reviewed and either accepted or declined for the program.
WHAT’S MY ROLE IN THIS PROGRAM? In the teacher’s cabinet, you will see the weekly Junior Leader Schedule and will see if there is a Junior Leader serving alongside you that Sunday. We ask that you take a shepherding approach and guide them on how to assist you in tasks. If there are behavior concerns that arise with a junior leader, please contact the Life Kids Director.
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
EXPECTATIONS FOR KIDS
Kids and teachers thrive when there is structure in the classroom. When children don’t know what you expect of them, they don’t have the opportunity to meet those expectations. It is important to have clear expectations that are well-communicated to the kids. Here are some helpful steps when it comes to classroom expectations:
Start each service with an explanation of your expectations. For example, “Today, we’re going to remember our expectations for the classroom. At church, we walk, not run. At church, we play with our toys, not throw our toys. At church, we listen to the lesson and raise our hand when we have a question… etc.”.
When a child misbehaves, gently correct them in a way that doesn’t shame them in front of the other children. Try telling them what they can do instead. For example, “Jimmy, at church we don’t run in the classroom but instead, you can play basketball with your friends.”
If a child misbehaves again, gently pull them aside and let them know that you have expectations for them when they’re at church on Sundays. This conversation can go like this: “Hey Jimmy, I noticed that you have been yelling across the classroom. I’ve already told you once that we use our inside voices while we’re at church. We have rules at church, just like you have rules at home. Do you think you can follow those rules by using your inside voice?”
If the child continues to not reach the classroom expectations, begin a conversation with the Life Kids Director and next steps can be taken.
CHILD PICK-UP PROCEDURES
EXAMPLE OF CHILD NAME TAG
EXAMPLE OF PARENT TAG
SAFETY IS OUR #1 PRIORITY
MATCHING NAME TAGS: When a child is being picked up, ensure that the parent’s pick up tag matches the child’s name tag. Verify that the 4-digit code matches and remove the child’s name tag from their shirt. You can then place both 'parent tag’ and ‘child name tag’ in the trash.
WHAT IF A PARENT LOSES THEIR PARENT TAG? Contact the Life Kids Director and the parent’s ID will be check with the ‘trusted people’ we have in our database.
COMPLETION OF ONLINE TRAINING
This online training will continue to be a reference for you throughout the entirety of your serving career in the Life Kids Ministry. If you have any questions about the Elementary Ministry, please contact the Life Kids Director.
Thank you!
Thank you for completing this online training. We appreciate your commitment to the Life Kids Ministry and are so grateful for your investment int he next generation of Christ-followers.
Please acknowledge your completion of the online training by filling out this form.
Please email Lexi Priolo at lexipriolo@nlcc.org for more information or with any questions.