Time to Move on
Graduating
Leaving one age group room and beginning another is huge and deserves recognition.
Haven’t you grown
If you have been blessed to have had this little child in your care and your room since they were the age of 3, this is 3 years of watching this wonderful creation grow in their faith journey. Giving them recognition that they have grown up and are ready for the next room is important to both the child and their parents.
Don’t take it personally
In my experience the little one that is not so little now, usually can’t wait to leave you and your room and join the bigger boys and girls. They are so ready for the next stage, however little do they comprehend the changes, because of this it is important for you to explain these changes to both the child and the parents. This way you can prepare both child and parent and expectations will not be let down, and you don’t really want a graduation to turn into a “can we please come back?”
I find working closely with the leader of the next age group room and depending on numbers you both decide if you use the beginning/end of a term to make the transition between rooms or if you need to do by coming of age.
On the morning of the change of rooms – the child or children (as moving a few at the same time is always best) start the morning straight from big church with me in their original room, they would have play time and then we would sneak in graduation time this is a quick short, sharp little process that shows the other children that someone or a few are leaving the room. (See Ceremony below).
After the goodbye, (the parents often join us for the little ceremony) we hand over their work book and then I or my right hand man (see building a team) would walk them to the next age room. Here the leader would have been fully rehearsed at the new children entering the room and have the group leaders ready to take them and welcome them and all works for a smooth transition.
The changes around the corner
Here are the things you need to make the parents aware of so they can help the child transition between different age group rooms.
1. There will be older and larger children
2. There will most likely be NO snack time
3. There will be a different routine to your room and because of the age of the children it will probably be less rigid.
4. No welcome worms/goodbye bears, but there will be other treats I am sure
5. Possibly no Play Time as the group is pitched for higher learning
When is snack time?
The leader of the group above me whom I worked alongside for many years used to say to me that the little ones coming from my room would wander up and ask her repeatedly throughout the morning “when is snack time?”, so funny but in a way so sad, we have to remember that although they are 6, they are still only small people.
Ceremony
So the little Ceremony we would stick to is :-
1. Get all the children to line up facing each other
2. Ask them (or help them) to put their hands in the air and join hands with the child opposite them
3. This creates a tunnel
4. This is called, of course, “The tunnel of Love”
5. The leaving child or children start at the end and walk through and all the other children and leaders say goodbye
6. At the end of the tunnel the leaders all have a “party popper” each and that is released high into the air
7. The child has something from the something to eat/something to keep box (Birthday Box)
8. They take, their Memories Book and you walk them to the next age room
Graduating and the Ceremony
What these things do is create a leaving that the other children look up to and look forward to, when I left a position with one church, the parents and children and helpers gave me the same ceremony it was quite hard to get through that tunnel of love without a few tears!