Harbor Kids

No, there is no need to register or sign up for our programming before you arrive. When you arrive for the first time, our volunteers will be happy to assist you in signing your child into the appropriate classroom.

For HSM Students: Students in grades 5-12 do not need to sign in before going to their classroom. Our HSM volunteers take attendance in the classroom.

For Kid’s Harbor students: Once your child has been signed into a classroom for the first time, they will be registered in our computer system. When you arrive in subsequent weeks, you simply enter your phone number or last name in our self check-in station computer, and a nametag will be printed for your child(ren) with a matching “claim ticket” for the parent/guardian to keep. Each family has a unique code on these tags for security. When you arrive at the end of service to pick up your child(ren), a volunteer will confirm that the code on a claim ticket matches the code on a child’s nametag before dismissing your child(ren) to you.

Preschool: ages 2-4
Elementary: Kindergarten-4th grade
HSM (Middle School): 5th-7th grade
HSM (High School): 8th-12th grade

Regardless of the age or grade, our time together each week shares one thing in common: Jesus. For our preschoolers, this looks like lots of free play, singing songs, and a simple Bible story that shares the message that Jesus loves us! For our elementary students, we continue to foster community and relationships through free play, but our Bible lesson (from Grow curriculum) has us opening our Bibles and talking about what it looks like for us to apply what we are learning to our relationships at home, in school, and in our extracurricular activities. We also talk a lot about the fact that we can talk to God anytime through prayer! In HSM, our students are in the thick of learning what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus when life isn’t always easy. Our students are studying the Bible in detail and learning how it relates to being a tween/teen in the 21st century.

Our volunteers do a great job of soothing and consoling kids when they are having a hard time. Our preschool teachers know every trick in the book to help little ones with separation anxiety. For older children and teens, our volunteers do a phenomenal job of helping kids integrate and make connections with other students, or sitting with a reluctant student to keep them company until they feel settled. That said, we understand that sometimes a parent/guardian is needed. We are able to share your claim ticket code on the monitors in our worship area to signal that you are needed. This rarely happens, but it is an efficient system if/when needed.

Our ministries are volunteer-led by some of the most caring and compassionate people you will ever meet. Many have been serving in our classrooms for years! All volunteers serving in Harbor Kids or HSM are required to complete a background check before serving. (Background checks are repeated every 3 years, similar to public school policies.) We require two volunteers to be present at all times, and follow a policy that prevents family members from serving alone in a classroom together. For the safety or our children and volunteers, all of our classrooms and hallway spaces have security cameras installed.

We do not serve snacks in our preschool room. Our elementary students typically enjoy a Dum Dum lollipop during their lesson, while HSM students frequently have donuts and a lemonade/hot cocoa bar in their classrooms.

We also note food allergies in our check in system so that volunteers are aware of any food restrictions.

While we do not have the support staff of a school setting, our leaders are great at making accommodations based on a child’s needs! Sitting still and listening for long stretches isn’t realistic for most students, so we make sure to take that into consideration when planning our lessons. We also look at each child as an individual to sort out what will help them find success in feeling welcomed and connected in their classroom. We love our wigglers, doodlers, and blurters, and treat them with kindness and compassion as we navigate our morning as a classroom community of unique individuals.

YES! Of course we want our students to learn about Jesus and read their Bibles, but most of our volunteers are also parents who understand that kids don’t want to do something unless it’s FUN! We have some incredibly passionate and creative leaders who are willing to get slapped in the face with lunchmeat, hit in the face with a whipped cream pie, or scoop up the ball pit for the hundredth time so that kids know that church can be meaningful AND fun at the same time. Our kids are usually running through the doors to get to class on a Sunday morning to see what we’re up to that day!