One of my most favorite things is teaching the Bible to children. I just love getting a front row seat as God is working in the hearts and minds of the "least of these." And, besides that, it's just plain fun. I've taught Sunday school to kids from the age of two years old all the way up to college. But I think I've found my sweet spot. I've been teaching the 1st-3rd grade class at my church the past few years now, and it is just THE BEST.
A lot of it has to do with the children in the class. One of them is my Ellie. I've had the privilege of teaching all of my own children at some point or another, and it's been Ellie's turn. We all know Ellie is personality plus. But you know what happens when you combine that with other children who are personality plus PLUS?! You just never know what you're going to get! And a lot of it is downright hilarious.
Case in point.
One of the things I always teach in my classes is the books of the Bible. Yes, there are cute little songs you can learn for that, but I prefer the old-fashioned way. I use flash cards, and then we play all kinds of games to help us learn and remember the books in order. One of their favorites is somewhat similar to "hot potato." Last year they learned all the books of the Old Testament in order. This year they're learning the books of the New Testament. Depending on where we are, I'll add four books or so each month. When we got to Paul's letters, I slowed down a bit to be sure they had a firm grasp on each one before adding more. A few weeks ago, we added Galatians, Ephesians and Philippians. I introduced the new books, and we played a couple of games. The next week we did a little review and then we played our game. They were a bit excitable - which happens often - but they were doing such a great job remembering the books. And then we got to Ephesians. It was C's turn. She stopped a minute, and her eyes got real big. She was trying to hard to remember what came after Galatians. And then she burst out with it, and she was so proud of herself . . .
EGYPTIANS!!!!
All of a sudden there was dead silence in the room. We all looked at her. She was nearly crushed until I said, "Oh! I know what you meant! EPHESIANS!" And then the whole class erupted in giggles, and I liked to have never brought them back around to Philippians! We actually completed a study of Genesis last fall, and we talked about the Egyptians in several of the stories. So I know that's exactly where that came from, and I was so proud of her for "remembering."
We've been studying Jesus' teachings and miracles the past couple of months. It's so much fun teaching the parables and such to children because there are so many things you can do to reinforce the lessons and help them to remember what they're learning. They especially enjoy when we do science experiments. Anyway, three weeks ago we studied the parable of the sower and the soils (Matthew 13). Such a fun one! And then we looked at the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 to help them understand what grows in a heart of "good soil." We did lots of seed, soil and fruit activities that morning. I brought a fruit salad for them to eat, too. It was actually quiet in the room, which is, like, NEVER (unless, of course, Egyptians is a book in the Bible). So I started singing the Fruit of the Spirit song that we used to do way back in my days of mission trips and kids camp.
I try to be a cool mom. I really do. And I try to be a cool teacher. I really do. But my idea of cool and Ellie's idea are just two different things sometimes. And let's just say this little Fruit of the Spirit song was NOT her idea of cool. She dropped her head down low and wouldn't even look at me. And then the conversation went like this.
C: Are you gonna teach us that song?
Ellie: (Pops her head back up, and if looks could kill, I wouldn't even be here right now).
Me: (Laughing). No, I'm not going to make you sing it.
C: Oh.
Me: Well, do you want me to teach it to you.
Ellie: NO.
C: I don't know . . .
E: Well, if you teach it to us, it would help us remember . . .
Me: Yes, it would. I've known that song for over 20 years, and I always remember that verse.
Ellie: (Again, if looks could kill . . . )
Me: (I break out into song again).
C and E are, at this point, trying so hard not to laugh. Ellie, on the other hand, is having none of it.
The very next week, E asked me if I brought some more fruit salad. I told her that I didn't that day but that I would again sometime since I knew how much they liked it. And then C looked at me and said, "Well, next time could you please put blackberries in it? I mean, I really like blackberries."
A couple of weeks ago, E was going through the bag of goodies I brought for our lesson that day. She looked at me and said, "You are like the fun mom. You are always fun. You always bring fun stuff."
Me: Well, I hope you're having fun in here learning about Jesus. Learning the Bible really is fun. But I'm not always fun. Sometimes I'm not very fun.
Ellie: (She is rolling her eyes so far back in her head that I'm surprised they're still in the sockets!)
I have such fond memories of my Sunday school teachers when I was a child. I have no idea how these children will remember me (and that's not at all the point because Who I really want them to remember is Jesus), but I will always remember them and the joy they bring to me each Sunday morning. If you ever have the opportunity to serve, or if there is a need in your church, do it! I promise you won't regret it.
A lot of it has to do with the children in the class. One of them is my Ellie. I've had the privilege of teaching all of my own children at some point or another, and it's been Ellie's turn. We all know Ellie is personality plus. But you know what happens when you combine that with other children who are personality plus PLUS?! You just never know what you're going to get! And a lot of it is downright hilarious.
Case in point.
One of the things I always teach in my classes is the books of the Bible. Yes, there are cute little songs you can learn for that, but I prefer the old-fashioned way. I use flash cards, and then we play all kinds of games to help us learn and remember the books in order. One of their favorites is somewhat similar to "hot potato." Last year they learned all the books of the Old Testament in order. This year they're learning the books of the New Testament. Depending on where we are, I'll add four books or so each month. When we got to Paul's letters, I slowed down a bit to be sure they had a firm grasp on each one before adding more. A few weeks ago, we added Galatians, Ephesians and Philippians. I introduced the new books, and we played a couple of games. The next week we did a little review and then we played our game. They were a bit excitable - which happens often - but they were doing such a great job remembering the books. And then we got to Ephesians. It was C's turn. She stopped a minute, and her eyes got real big. She was trying to hard to remember what came after Galatians. And then she burst out with it, and she was so proud of herself . . .
EGYPTIANS!!!!
All of a sudden there was dead silence in the room. We all looked at her. She was nearly crushed until I said, "Oh! I know what you meant! EPHESIANS!" And then the whole class erupted in giggles, and I liked to have never brought them back around to Philippians! We actually completed a study of Genesis last fall, and we talked about the Egyptians in several of the stories. So I know that's exactly where that came from, and I was so proud of her for "remembering."
We've been studying Jesus' teachings and miracles the past couple of months. It's so much fun teaching the parables and such to children because there are so many things you can do to reinforce the lessons and help them to remember what they're learning. They especially enjoy when we do science experiments. Anyway, three weeks ago we studied the parable of the sower and the soils (Matthew 13). Such a fun one! And then we looked at the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 to help them understand what grows in a heart of "good soil." We did lots of seed, soil and fruit activities that morning. I brought a fruit salad for them to eat, too. It was actually quiet in the room, which is, like, NEVER (unless, of course, Egyptians is a book in the Bible). So I started singing the Fruit of the Spirit song that we used to do way back in my days of mission trips and kids camp.
I try to be a cool mom. I really do. And I try to be a cool teacher. I really do. But my idea of cool and Ellie's idea are just two different things sometimes. And let's just say this little Fruit of the Spirit song was NOT her idea of cool. She dropped her head down low and wouldn't even look at me. And then the conversation went like this.
C: Are you gonna teach us that song?
Ellie: (Pops her head back up, and if looks could kill, I wouldn't even be here right now).
Me: (Laughing). No, I'm not going to make you sing it.
C: Oh.
Me: Well, do you want me to teach it to you.
Ellie: NO.
C: I don't know . . .
E: Well, if you teach it to us, it would help us remember . . .
Me: Yes, it would. I've known that song for over 20 years, and I always remember that verse.
Ellie: (Again, if looks could kill . . . )
Me: (I break out into song again).
C and E are, at this point, trying so hard not to laugh. Ellie, on the other hand, is having none of it.
The very next week, E asked me if I brought some more fruit salad. I told her that I didn't that day but that I would again sometime since I knew how much they liked it. And then C looked at me and said, "Well, next time could you please put blackberries in it? I mean, I really like blackberries."
A couple of weeks ago, E was going through the bag of goodies I brought for our lesson that day. She looked at me and said, "You are like the fun mom. You are always fun. You always bring fun stuff."
Me: Well, I hope you're having fun in here learning about Jesus. Learning the Bible really is fun. But I'm not always fun. Sometimes I'm not very fun.
Ellie: (She is rolling her eyes so far back in her head that I'm surprised they're still in the sockets!)
I have such fond memories of my Sunday school teachers when I was a child. I have no idea how these children will remember me (and that's not at all the point because Who I really want them to remember is Jesus), but I will always remember them and the joy they bring to me each Sunday morning. If you ever have the opportunity to serve, or if there is a need in your church, do it! I promise you won't regret it.