March Madness in Preschool Ministry

Dealing with your own KidMin version of March Madness? We’ve come up with a glossary of terms relating the NCAA basketball tournament to a day in the trenches of preschool ministry. Share with your friends and family to give them an insider’s look at life in a room full of infants and toddlers. Read on for definitions!

Double Dribble – when two children drool on you at the same time

Baller (Bawler) – a wailing child

Zone Defense – leaving two volunteers to take on an entire room of babies

Man Defense – match-ups where your worker-to-baby ratio is 1:1

Motion Offense – you manage to get all the babies in swings or rockers (and they are content) at the same time

Buzzer Beater – racing a potty training child to the bathroom just in time

Assist – passing a baby off to another volunteer when it’s time for a diaper change

Pick and Roll – rolling boogers into a tissue after seeing a little one pick his/her nose

Sixth Man – the infant lullaby CD

Fast Break – the quick rush to quiet a crying baby (or “bawler”) before they wake up the sleeping children in the room

Jump Ball – when a mother brings a newborn baby into the room and multiple volunteers jump up to hold him or her first

Ball Hog – a child who is unhappy unless they are holding their own bottle or sippy cup

Foul – the smell of the diaper bin

Screen – to place yourself between a child and their mother as the mother tries to sneak out of the classroom

What other basketball terms take on new meaning with your infants and toddlers? Comment below with your own unique definitions for March Madness in preschool ministry.

Cristy Whitlock Wicks serves as the Marketing Specialist for Lifeway Kids. When she’s not guzzling lattes and good music at local coffee shops, she’s seeking out opportunities to reach young adults with the life-saving truth of the gospel.