Every new school year we ask that parents register (FREE) their kids/teens to participate in our programs. This is an insurance requirement for us to keep doing what we do and provides us with your family's contact information. Registration is simple and can be done using our online form.
If your family is remaining at home, your kids can take part in KIDZONE online! Click the above image to be taken to Parent Cue's Youtube Channel! Every Saturday, we also send out a KIDZONE email with some discussion questions included so that you can talk to your kids about what they learned! Email ben@arlingtonwoods.ca to be added to that email list!
Our staffed nursery is currently available on 3 Sundays each month. Visit our church bulletin to see upcoming dates when the nursery is available.
On dates when we don't offer a staffed nursery, the nursery room will be open for parents to supervise their own children where they can also enjoy the livestream service broadcasted onto the nursery TV. Parents can also have their preschoolers with them in the Fireside Lounge (lobby) or in the Sanctuary.
We have toddler busy bins available at the Welcome Centre that are full of toys and activities for your preschoolers if they are remaining with you. There are also diaper-changing stations available in the nusery as well as in both main floor washrooms.
When you arrive at the church, visit our Welcome Centre in the lobby to check your kids in. When the kids get dismissed to head downstairs at around 10:15am, parents can drop off their preschoolers in the nursery.
NEW! At check-in, parents need to give us their name and cell phone number and we will send you a text if we need assistance with your little one (so be sure to keep your phone handy and on vibrate!). Reasons we contact you might involve a diaper that needs changing or if your child needs some extra attention or consolling.
Why only three times a month? Since COVID, we are still building up our team of volunteers. As we add more volunteers we can offer more dates. If you would like to serve in the nursery on a once-a-month basis to be a blessing to parents and their little ones, contact Pastor Ben at ben@arlingtonwoods.ca. We highly encourage parents who are a part of our church and have preschoolers to consider serving in this ministry.
Each week it's staffed we will have three adult nursery volunteers (or two adults and a youth volunteer) serving in the nursery. All of our adult volunteers have been trained and screened in our Plan to Protect program.
kidZONE is our Sunday morning program for kids grades JK-6. Join us in-person at the church at 10am! When you arrive, please head to the welcome centre in the lobby to sign your kids in. Each week kidZONE begins with a time of Jump Up Worship (featuring kid-friendly worship songs with actions). We then watch a video lesson together featuring fun animation and drama. After the video, we head to age-specific small groups for activities, prayer, and to discuss the lesson together.
KIDZONE IN-PERSON FAQ:
1. Do I need to register my kids?
Registration is not required for attending each Sunday, but we do ask that parents register their kids to take part in our program once a year as a part of our insurance requirements. You can find the registration form here.
2. What is the check-in process?
Families should visit the welcome centre in the lobby when they arrive at the church. We will attach a numbered badge to each child's clothing and give the matching number to a parent. At the end of the service, we will match and collect the badges when releasing children back into your care.
3. What is the kidZONE schedule on a Sunday morning?
10-10:20am- Kids join parents in main service until they are dismissed (after the kids moment). We will then lead kids downstairs to our kids ministry area for their program.
10:20-10:35am- Large group time where we'll have Jump Up worship, a memory verse moment, and teaching videos that contain drama and fun animation.
10:35-11:00am- Small group time for kids to go into age-specific small groups to discuss the lesson and do relating games and activities.
11:00am- Check-out. At the end of the service, parents can head downstairs to the check out table in the kids ministry area. We will then match and collect parent-child badges and release them back into your care.
KIDS DEVOTIONAL/BIBLE RESOURCES:
Want to help your kids dig into God's Word daily? We really recommend giving some kind of incentive or reward to your kids for spending daily time reading/thinking about the Bible! Below are some helpful tools, apps, or books that we recommend you check out:
GODTIME SHEETS- As a part of our KIDZONE curriculum, we have weekly GODTIME sheets for kids! Download or print the PDF so that your kids can spend a few minutes a day reading and thinking about God's Word. We currently mail the link out in our weekly KIDZONE email, but we also usually hand these out to kids to take home when KIDZONE is in-person! The best part about the GODTIME sheets is that they follow our weekly lessons and monthly theme at KIDZONE!
KEYS FOR KIDS- This daily kids devotional is available as an app or online and can be read or listened to! Also, for kids who want a physical devotional book, you can get them sent to your child in the mail for free (First year's subscription is free and after that it's pretty inexpensive). A good tip is to read the daily Bible passage as a family, play the audio story together, and then take the time to pray about it as a family! For ages 6-12
BIBLE APP FOR KIDS- This a hit with little ones! Kids can practice reading or they can listen to the Bible story and there are also fun games and activities for them. For ages 3-7
- ONE YEAR DEVOTIONAL FOR PRESCHOOLERS (click here for example pages) For ages 2-4
- MY FIRST HANDS ON BIBLE (great for preschoolers or JK-SK, click here for example pages) For ages 3-7
- ACTION BIBLE- This comic book adaption of major Bible stories is great for older kids due to more violent depictions. (click here for Youtube trailer) For ages 8+
- MANGA BIBLE SERIES- These Japanese-style graphic novels are great for older kids. For ages 8+
All adult volunteers who work with children at Arlington Woods have been trained through Plan to Protect, our church's abuse prevention and protection policy, and have submitted a police check.