Surprise Endorsement

As we were preparing the room yesterday, a visitor appeared in the door. Someone who will be in our class next year...well, in 3 weeks. She looked in and Cindy began to talk to her.

"You'll be in here in 3 weeks," Cindy said. The girl smiled.

The girl's sister came up beside her. (We taught the sister last year.)

"It's a fun class," the sister said. "The best class."

I'm not trying to brag or boast. I'm not trying to glean compliments or tell others how great my class is.

I was humbled. And affirmed.

Thinking about how kids learn...letting kids explore their own ideas...using their interests to guide what happens in the room...makes an impact.

Apparently an impact that is remembered.

Thank you for making that kind of impact in the lives of children.

(Sorry for the self-congratulating post. The statement was so unexpected; it's still echoing in my head today.)

Spontaneous Kindness

We teach more than just facts or knowledge. We want children to think of others, to show love and kindness, to live out what we learn from the Bible. This week I saw kids acting in ways that showed they were thinking about others.

At the art table, B worked with the stickers. He was looking for all the stars to use. R came to the table and began to work. He seemed interested in stars, too. B began to find additional star stickers and give them to R. R decided to work with circle stickers instead. B kept looking through the stack of stickers. He found additional circles and put them on the pile for R. Then, when B found smiley faces or other different stickers, he would also find a set for R. I was touched by how dedicated B was to helping his friend have all kinds of stickers to choose from.

When we moved to our group learning time, boys and girls jockeyed for seats. R wanted to sit beside B, but there was no empty chair there. Mrs. Cindy commented that he needed to sit in an empty chair somewhere else unless someone wanted to trade for him. R sat in a chair, unhappy that he couldn't sit by B. As we were getting ready to start, C said, "R, do you want to sit here?" C traded with R - so R could sit by B. The act by C was totally spontaneous and his own idea. I smiled at the exchange, knowing that kids were learning to think beyond themselves and help others. I hope that we can have a classroom that fosters kids working together, building a community that is thoughtful, kind, and loving.

Little Things

I read something the other day that I've been thinking about since. On Kids Ministry 101, Bill wrote: "Every big thing starts as a little something." He said that we don't know what the kids we teach will become as adults. We can impact the future by how we teach today.

I started thinking about my childhood. I remember things that my parents and other adults said...things that encouraged me or discouraged me. Little things that they don't remember but had a profound influence on me, at the time and even now.

Then I started thinking about the kids I've taught in the past. I don't know what small thing I may have said or done that impacted a child. Those small things won't stick in my memory. They are small, seemingly innocuous. But are they?

I remember a few years ago in one of my church classes. "E" wasn't a very enthusiastic attender. He came because his mother brought him. I tried to find out what he liked to do (build) and include a variety of activities that would appeal to him. He came and participated, but still wasn't exactly happy to be there. One day, as he was building, I was talking. I often try to engage children in conversation, talking about their interests and so forth. So, I began with something safe: What was his favorite thing to do in kindergarten? (Of course, build.) We talked about his school and his teacher. A seemingly innocuous conversation.

A couple of weeks later, "E" was excitedly telling me something that happened at school. He mentioned his teacher. "Mrs. Turner, right?" I asked. He stopped and appeared very concerned. "How did you know?" he asked. I smiled at him. "You told me, remember?" He grinned back suddenly. "Oh yeah."

After that conversation, "E" became a different child, much more engaged. He seemed more interested in what we were doing. He even made his mother bring him one day when she was sick. "They may miss me," he told her. (She told me.)

A little thing - listening to a child and remembering what he said. But it made a difference. I still see "E" at church from time to time. He's in middle school now. But he still speaks to me. (If only in single syllables - after all he is a teenage boy!)

I've been thinking about little things a lot lately. Are the things I'm doing making an impact in positive ways? Do my actions promote creativity and community? Or am I shutting down their experiences through some negative little things?

Or maybe I'm just thinking too much.

Photo from Flickr.com
Photographer: д§mд