What is Sprouts?
“Sprouts” is a year-round nursery school program designed for children who are 2 and 3 years old. The name Sprouts was chosen because children this age are just starting to learn about Jesus and the simple things about the Catholic Church. Therefore, their faith is “sprouting.” Family Life Ministry wants to make comping to church a pleasant, learning experience for these small children so that when they turn 4 years old they will have some idea of what to do during Mass.
How do I know if my child can participate?
If your child meets two or three of the following requirements, then Sprouts might be for you:
- Does your family attend Mass at IHM?
- Is your child 2 or 3 years old?
- Does your child fidget during Mass?
- Does your child have problems praying or being quiet for an hour?
- Would your child benefit from being in a learning environment during Mass?
- Would you like a chance to pray without distraction?
When and Where is Sprouts?
The “Sprouts” nursery program is held on Sunday mornings during the 8:30 am and 10:30 am Mass, in the Parish Center. The program will be held year-round on a drop-in, space available basis. Classroom size will be limited to the first 15 children in each age group. When the rooms are filled, we will not be able to take in anymore children that morning.
Parents who worship with us during Sunday morning Mass can bring their children to the Abraham room in the new portion of the Parish Center. The North door to the center will be open. While the parents are participating at Mass, children will be taught simple prayers, might do a song activity, view a Veggie Tales video, be read Bible stories and receive a small snack. Immediately following Mass, the parents will come to the Parish Center to pick up their children.
Policies and Procedures
- Parents will be asked to fill out a child registration card the first time they bring their children to Sprouts. We will refer to the registration card when needed.
- All parents should take their children to the restroom and change diapers prior to bringing them to class. Diapers will only be changed if they are soiled, not just wet.
- Upon arrival, one parent will sign the child in with the room greeter. The child will receive a name tag with a number on it. The parent will receive a number tag to match the child’s. The parent will then take the child to the appropriate room.
- Immediately after Mass, the same parent that dropped the child off will need to sign the child out and return the number tag before the child will be released. Please do not send older siblings to sign the child in or out.
- Many people have volunteered to teach these children each week. Therefore, parents who use the nursery will be asked to volunteer as a room greeter periodically. The room greeter duties are to sign in the children. Once the children are signed in, the greeter may join the congregation for Mass. After Mass, the greeter needs to return to the Parish Center to help check the children out of their rooms. The parents do not have to volunteer in the classroom unless they would like to become part of our team of teachers.
- Snacks will be provided. Please do not send food or sippy cups with the children.
- Please mark all bags and coats with the childs name.
Needs
The Sprouts program will continually need to recruit volunteers to help with the program. If you are interested in teaching the Sprouts, please call Linda Kalkhorst to get more information.
If you would like to help us with some of our supply needs, we would appreciate that also. Below is a list of things we might need:
- Wipes
- Small paper cups
- Crayons
- Paints
- Foam sheets
- Glue or glue sticks
- Snacks: Goldfish crackers, pretzels, animal crackers
Thank you!