Children’s Ministry COVID-19 Reopening Plan
Hello South Union Children's Ministry Parents!
I am SUPER EXCITED to share that we have reopened our children's ministry classes!! Although I am so grateful to see EVERYONE and we are putting lots of safety guidelines and practices in place, I do want to reiterate that if you or any of your family are immune compromised, have a fever, feel sick, or if there has been any sickness or fever in your home, or you have been exposed to anyone in the last two weeks with those symptoms, please consider the health of everyone involved and STAY HOME until everyone in the household is 100% healthy. We are continuing to stream our services live online via our Facebook page for those who do not yet feel comfortable coming back together in person, and I will continue to post children's ministry lessons on facebook, our website, and through our Lesson Plan Sender texting app each week.
Here's how reopening will occur:
Effective SUNDAY, AUGUST 2ND, we have reopened all age children's ministry classrooms (birth through 5th grade) during 2ND SERVICE ONLY. We are reopening 2nd service ONLY to help eliminate the amount of cleaning that needs to happen between services for each room AND to eliminate shared spaces being used by different groups of people.
WHAT WE ARE DOING:
1. All children's classrooms, stairwells, bathrooms, are cleaned and sanitized before and after church.
2. Seating arrangements in classrooms will promote social distancing. If classrooms are getting too large, new classes may be made that will be appropriately staffed based on the number of children.
3. The number of toys, books, and other manipulatives in each room will be limited. No personal toys from home will be allowed.
4. Teachers will have their temperature taken and complete a brief health questionnaire before entering the classroom.
5. Teachers will be required to use hand sanitizer upon entering the classroom and encouraged to use as needed while teaching.
6. Children will use hand sanitizer upon entering the classroom OR may choose to wash their hands with parents watching--to make sure at least a 20 second good handwashing is completed.
7. Activities and games will be planned keeping social distancing guidelines in mind.
8. There will be no sharing of any craft items or classroom supplies--personal caddies will be made for each child.
9. Monroe County's most recent health order and the recent health order from Governor Holcomb states individuals must wear a face shield, face covering, or mask over their nose and mouth when in an indoor place other than their own home. Face shields will be provided for teachers for portions where teachers want kids to see their face--making it easier to teach, OR teachers may wear a mask--whatever is most comfortable for them. We will continue to follow CDC and local health department orders as they are updated. Children younger than 2 are not required to wear a mask.
WHAT YOU CAN DO AS A PARENT:
1. Be proactive and check your child's temperature the morning before coming to church--at least within an hour prior to arriving.
2. Only come to church if you are completely well, i.e., no family members have cough, runny nose, cold, fever, stomach ache etc. Even if you THINK it's just allergies--STAY HOME!
3. Stay at home if you or your children have been exposed to COVID in the last two weeks OR if you traveled to a hotspot area within the last two weeks---even if none of you exhibit symptoms.
4. Talk to your child(ren) above the age of 2 about wearing a mask in public places following Indiana Governor Holcomb's & Monroe County's health orders and local health department guidelines.
5. If you are not yet comfortable with your child/children going to their usual children's ministry areas, your child/children may continue to stay in the sanctuary with you--sermon bags are available at the doors into the sanctuary.
6. Upon arrival, your child's teacher will greet you at the door to make sure your child uses hand sanitizer AND/OR (sometimes hand sanitizer burns in little cuts on little hands!) you may take your child to wash their hands in the restroom, but you MUST supervise the washing of your child's hands to make sure they are using soap, as hot of water as they can stand and washing for at least 20 seconds.
7. It would be extremely helpful--especially for younger children--if you have your child use the restroom before church to: 1. limit the number of people using shared bathroom space and 2. limit possible close contact should a younger child need assistance
8. Please be patient and understanding during pick-up as your child may need to be picked up after services in a different classroom than drop-off IF our classroom numbers get too large in each classroom where we need to create an additional class to keep social distancing guidelines in place. Appropriate teacher/child ratios will be kept and extra volunteers available to accommodate should this happen.
9. Please understand that while we will try to keep babies, toddlers and 2 and 3 year olds socially distanced, it will be difficult to do so at all times for that young of age groups.
Please don't hesitate to contact me should you have any questions about any of the above. We know that some parents in our church are ready for their children to resume children's ministry activities, and we also understand that some parents do not yet feel comfortable beginning these activities. Whether you choose to keep your children at home, in the sanctuary with you, or let them go to their classes, we respect your decision as a parent to do what you feel is best for your family.
Jackie Goss
Children’s Ministry Minister