The St. John’s United Methodist Church nursery is a fun place for children ages 0-4 to learn and grow. Thank you for sharing your child with us. Children are truly special gifts from God.
Located in rooms 108 and 110 of the Administration Building, the nursery is open every Sunday morning from 8:15 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. A nursery is usually provided for all major church-wide events, and its availability will be posted in the church bulletin. Use our campus map (PDF) to orient yourself to our classrooms, or ask for directions on Sunday morning.
The nursery provides Cheerios and pretzels as snacks. No outside food is allowed in the toddler nursery.
We take children’s safety very seriously, so please sign in your child when you arrive. Also, please make us aware of any food allergies or other special concerns unique to your child. We want to make all children feel welcome and loved and for their experience in our nursery to be fun.
Nursery Structure
The St. John’s nursery is reserved for children from 6 weeks to 4 years old. Once your child reaches age 3, please consider allowing him or her to join you for at least a portion of the worship service.
Nursery Staff
The nursery is staffed by at least two paid workers for each worship service and Sunday school. Paid workers must have a high school diploma or GED equivalent and have current CPR certification and know how to handle choking episodes in infants and children.
The nursery staff includes paid workers, weekly adult volunteers and junior volunteers.
The pool of weekly volunteers consists of parents who have a child or children in the nursery and other church members who enjoy spending time with young children. Junior volunteers (young people between the ages of 11-16) occasionally assist as well.
Suggestions for Parents
- Attend church regularly so the nursery won’t be new to your child.
- If this is your first visit, please leave time to fill out a child information sheet and a medical release form.
- Sign in your child when you arrive. Give a cell phone number that you can be reached at in case of an emergency.
- Allow time when you bring your child to the nursery to list special needs (i.e. feeding time or toilet training) on the registration sheet. You may also want to give brief verbal instructions to the nursery workers.
- Sunday School ends at 10:45 a.m. Any child from the three/four year-old class who is not picked up promptly will be escorted to the nursery.
- If you must check on your child, please do so discreetly. Such interruptions are disruptive to other children as well as your own child.
- Please don’t allow your child to bring any toys from home.
- Children will only be released to the adult(s) who dropped the child off in the nursery unless other arrangements have been made in advance.
Discipline Procedures
- REDIRECT – Show the child an alternative (and better) way to behave or play with a particular toy.
- VERBAL REPRIMAND – Tell child that there will be consequences if they can not follow rule and play appropriately.
- LOSS OF PRIVLEDGE – If child is playing incorrectly/dangerously with a toy, take it away. If running around or rough housing, place in time out in a corner or chair for 1-2 minutes. Repeat if necessary.
- CONTACT PARENT – If the nursery worker feels like she have done the above steps and the child continues to be a hazard, she will contact the parent and Children’s Ministry Coordinator for further intervention.
Diaper Bag Do’s
- Clearly LABEL your child’s diaper bag, bottle, cup , pacifier, etc.
- Include at least two DISPOSABLE diapers.
- Include filled bottles or sippy cups if you prefer your child to drink something besides water.
- Have formula PREMIXED. Workers will not mix formula.
- There is a refrigerator available for infant bottles.
- Include a change of clothes if your child is potty training.
- The nursery provides Cheerios and pretzels as snacks. No outside food is allowed.
Health & Safety Guidelines
Please use the guidelines below to help you decide if your child should stay in the nursery. Children should stay home if he or she has:
- A fever or had a fever in the last 24 hours
- Severe cold symptoms (heavy nasal drainage or constant cough)
- Vomiting or diarrhea in the last 24 hours
- Symptoms of any communicable disease
Nursery workers are not authorized to give medication. If your child should become ill while in the nursery, you will be notified immediately.
Maintaining a safe atmosphere for children in the nursery is the top priority. Our nursery space is limited, so safety issues are based on the needs of the youngest nursery patrons.
Infants stay with the nursery workers at all times. Toddlers are carefully supervised and allowed to explore with their natural curiosity. Please take a moment to let one of the nursery workers know what your child is “up to” these days such as crawling, pulling up, or climbing.
Also, let a worker know if your child is going through one of the aggressive stages of hitting or biting. Sometimes a little knowledge ahead of time can slow down the most determined toddler.
Bumps and scrapes do happen and are treated with Band-aids and lots of TLC. Minor injuries will be called to your attention when you pick up your child. In the unlikely event that a more serious injury occurs, the accident will be reported to you immediately.
Contact the church office, office@stjohnsbr.org, with questions, concerns, suggestions or if you would like your name added to our volunteer database.