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Running the kids desk on Sunday

The Check-in tab is the teacher's screen. It shows who is here, what to watch for, and lets you reach parents and release kids without leaving the page.

Before you begin

  • You need the Check-in tab (an admin, or a volunteer who was invited to it).
  • Open it on a phone or tablet at the kids desk. It updates on its own as parents check in.

Step-by-step

  1. Open Check-in, tap the Kids tab, and tap the service. The Events list shows every upcoming service, live ones first with a green Live badge and a count of kids here now. Each row says why it's open or when it opens on its own, for example Opened by Jae 9:02 AM. Search it by name or location, then tap a row to open that service's roster. Go live on a row opens the kids page for that service right away; Turn off closes it for the rest of that day. Go live again, or tap Back to automatic, from the roster.
  2. Check in a family who did not use the link. Type any part of a parent's or child's name, email, or phone into the Search a family box. The whole household appears, adults first, then kids with their age and grade. Untick anyone staying with the parent and tap Check in. The pickup code is texted to the parent (or emailed when their number can't be texted) and shown in the confirmation. The parent who dropped the kids off is counted in attendance too, so there is nothing extra to tap for them.
  3. Add a walk-up family. Click Add family, fill in the parent, add each child, and click Add and check in. If a child with the same name and birthday already exists, Churchday shows the match so you can search for that family instead of creating a second record.
  4. Watch the Here now list. Each child shows their age and grade, an amber Allergy marker (tap it to read the allergy), a From parent marker when the parent left a note for the teacher, a Note marker when staff left a private note, the pickup code, and which parent dropped them off. Use the age chips (Nursery, Pre-K, K to 2nd, and so on) to see only your room.
  5. Text one parent. Tap Text parent on a child's row. A small window shows the message ("Please come to the kids room to pick up Aanya"), which you can edit before tapping Send. You can send to the same parent again after two minutes.
  6. Text every parent. Click Text all parents, adjust the message if you like, and click Send. One message goes to each parent of a child still here. This can be sent once every five minutes.
  7. Release by pickup code. Type the parent's code into the Code box and tap Pick up. The matching kids highlight first so you can confirm the names, then move to Picked up.

Good to know

  • No code? Tap Picked up on the child's row instead. Churchday asks you to confirm and records that a staff member released the child without a code.
  • Picked up by mistake? Open Picked up at the bottom and tap Undo.
  • Fix a child's details. Tap a child's name to open their card. You can correct the name, birthday, grade, and allergies, add a private Staff note (only staff ever see it), and resend the code.
  • New today. Families who set up through the kids link in the last few hours and have not checked in yet appear at the top with a Check in button, so a first-time family finishing on their phone shows up on your screen on its own.
  • Open early, or close early. A service marked Automatic on the Kids tab opens on the kids page on its own and closes on its own, at the times set on its Auto button (or when the next Automatic service opens). The strip at the top of a service's roster says Live now or Not live. Tap Go live: it lets parents drop off from the kids page right away, whether the service is today or on an upcoming date, and closes on its own at that service's usual closing time, or when the next Automatic service opens. Turn off shuts the kids page even while the window says open, for when kids church wraps up early. Back to automatic returns to the service's own rule (it reads Back to Go live only for an event that isn't Automatic on the Kids tab).
  • Earlier Sundays. On a repeating service, the date in the top right of the roster opens a list of every date that had kids checked in, with how many. The Past check-ins list at the bottom of the Kids tab shows the last 12 services with kids.
  • The adults for the same service. The Adults for this service link under the title opens that service's adult check-in list. See See who checked in.
  • Which events open on their own? Only the ones marked Automatic on the Kids tab. Any other event opens when you tap Go live. See Choose which events open check-in on their own. You can always check kids in from here.

What's next?

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