Help with Creating Great Environment for Toddlers in My Church

One thing my presbyterian church does is - we have a mom's group that meets on Wednesdays for 2 hours. Free childcare for the kids up to the age of 5. The mom's get together for devotions, snacks, coffee, etc. Sometimes we read a parenting book and discuss chapters or we ask people to come into speak to us about topics we need to hear about raising kids or on marriage. It's wonderful. My son loves going to church because he has fun. They have some good indoor toys for the kids to play with (ride on cars, mats, lots of puzzes, play kitchen, etc.). Hope this helps!

Hi J.,

Some of the things I have done is to make an area where moms feel comfortable just talking and connecting together while the little ones play around them. I have comfy couches and chairs, a train table, books and other toys in my waiting area. I run a music school on the Eastside and teach a curriculum that also has dedicated curriculum for churches. My thoughts would be to do a group music class for everyone to be involved together and then splitting off into small classes where people would have a chance to talk, reflect, pray, etc. Maybe start off with once a week and see what happens!

Good Luck!

One wonderful thing that my church does for babies and toddlers is to have two small rooms with toys for the children to play with (one room is geared more towards babies and the other towards toddlers). Both of these rooms have speakers that pipe the sermon in so that moms of young children can sit, not worry about their children being loud or not sitting sill, and listen to the sermon (and chat together during the singing).

As a mother who breastfeeds and doesn't pump or supplement with formula, it has been invaluable for me to have an area where I can watch my toddler play, nurse my baby, and still hear the sermon. I don't have to worry about being called out of the service for a fussy child either because I'm already with my daughters!

We have many many young children in our little tiny church and not much else special for the kids (other than so many other kids to play with afterwards), but those rooms are absolutely wonderful!

Best wishes!

Hi,
My name is L. Morris and I own an In-Home daycare on Magnolia. I have been a preschool teacher and center director for Whizz Kids Academy and have had my own childcare business for the last 4 years (3 years as an oncall/consultant and 1 in my home care). In addition I have 136 hours of S.T.A.R.S. training and 36 credits in Early Childhood Education from North Seattle Community College.
I would be happy to come and help you with your childrens' area, free of charge, if you'd like. I am well versed on age appropriate environments as well as activities. My daycare is Child directed, meaning that we focus on ways for the children to learn and interact based on what they're interested in.
Please give me a call or email me if I can help.
Sincerely,
L. Morris
President
Lizkidz, Inc
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