Church Nursery Weekly Outline
*Arrive at the nursery early to receive parents.
Drop Off- During drop off, have one volunteer playing with the kids, while the other speaks with each parent. Put a nametag on the back of each kid, and label the baby’s sippy cup and diaper bag. Ask if the child can have a snack and if it is ok to diaper the baby (if needed). Ask about allergies or special needs. Engage the parents at drop off and pick up. Talk to them and help them connect to the ministry as a whole. You are their connection to the church.
(We do not keep crying babies in the nursery. We also do not keep hitting or biting babies in the nursery. Call the parents family number if these two instances occur. The nursery worker’s job is not to babysit, but to be teachers to the babies. If we keep them engaged, they should be happy babies. If they are not happy babies, they need their parent. Parents are welcome to sit in the classroom with their child, as long as it is not disruptive.)
Free Play- Allow time for the children to acclimate to the room and enjoy the toys/make friends/etc.
Worship- play a worship cd, dvd, or bring in an instrument. Worship. Encourage the kids to dance, sing, run, play toy instruments, etc.
Pray- Pray over each kid. Touch their head. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill them. Bless their families. If you receive a positive/prophetic word for the kid, write it on their nametag and explain it to their parents at pickup.
Snack- Encourage the kids to sit on the snack mat. While the kids are eating snack, read the Bible story book lesson for the day.
Bible Story- Read a Bible story from the baby Bible provided. Try to find one or two words from the story that is a theme and say it with a sign. For example, if I saw that the word “bless” was a theme, I would lay my hand on a baby’s head each time I said “bless” and say it in a high pitched tone to make them laugh. If the word “worship” was the word of the day, I would dance around and sing it each time the word was in the story. If you know the sign language for the word, you can teach it to the babies, as well. The baby can remember one thing from a story. Movement and games help the baby connect to that theme.
Free Time- After Bible time, allow the kids to play. Engage the kids in play time as much as you can. Don’t just sit in a chair and disconnect. Play games with them. Blow bubbles. Crawl through a tunnel. Play peek a boo. One nursery worker can be changing diapers and organizing pickup while the other engages through play.
Pick up- When the parents pick up, encourage them with the prophetic words that you received for their baby. If there is no specific prophetic word, then simply encourage the parents with something positive about their baby. Tell them a time when they laughed or how they played well with the other babies. Tell them that their baby is gentle or compassionate or a leader. Simply say something encouraging about their kid. Make sure to give the child’s sippy cup and diaper bag back to the parent.
Clean up- Wipe down the snack table. Put away all supplies, snacks, bibles, etc… Wipe down every toy with a Clorox wipe and put away. Throw away trash. You do not have to vacuum, but everything else should be in order
We hope you enjoy this free church nursery outline. If you are interested in additional resources, children's church curriculum, and lesson plans, check out the Kidsministryteam store.