Grouping Guidelines for Early Childhood
Mark the blanks to rate your present grouping for early childhood.
E= Excellent
S= Satisfactorily Doing Now
I= Improvement Needed
N= Need to start
A new department should be formed whenever an existing department approaches maximum group size and/or room capacity.
The maximum group sizes assume that the rooms are large enough to accommodate that number of children and that enough teachers are involved to maintain the proper teacher-to-child ratios. If the ratio of children to teachers is higher than the number listed, the maximum group size must decrease in proportion.
| Age |
Maximum Group Size |
Teacher: Learner Ratio |
| ___1. Ages 0 to 12 months ___2. Ages 12 to 24 months ___3. Ages 2 to3 years ___4. Ages 4 to 6 years |
10-12 12-15 14-16 16-20 |
1:2 1:2 1:3 1:4 |
As Your Early Childhood Division Grows
| # of Children |
Grouping |
Staff |
| 1-8 |
One Department Birth to age 6 |
Two Teachers |
| 6-30 |
Two Departments Birth to age 2 Ages 2-6 |
Two department leaders Two to five teachers |
| 25-50 |
Three Departments Birth to age 2 Ages 2-3 Ages 4-6 |
Three department leaders Three to ten teachers |
| 45-80 |
Four or Five Departments Babies Toddlers Age 2 Ages 3-4 Ages 5-6 |
Four or five department leaders Five to sixteen teachers |
| 75-110 |
Six Departments Babies Toddlers Age 2 Age 3 Age 4 Age 5-6 |
Six department leaders Six to twenty-two teachers |
| 100-200 |
Twelve Departments Babies/Babies Toddlers/Toddlers Age 2/Age 2 Age 3/Age 3 Age 4/ Age 4 Ages 5-6/ Ages 5-6 |
Twelve department leaders Twelve to forty teachers |
©2003 Gospel Publishing House, Springfield, MO. Permission to duplicate for local church use only. Wes Haystead, author of The 21st Century Sunday School, is also co-author, with his wife Sheryl, of How to Have a Great Sunday School, available from Gospel Publishing House.
