The Chains Kids Bear

This week in Sunday School, we did an activity where kids had to make a chain of at least 6 links out of construction paper. Then I'd tape the end links around their wrists so they were chained up. Each link had something they wanted God to deliver them or someone they loved from.

I told kids they could write in code or really messy if they were worried someone else would read what they wrote. One girl came up to me after I'd already taped a lot of kids' chains on, most of them loose enough that they could just pull their arms out.

"Make it REALLY tight," she told me. For her, these chains were a real symbol. She didn't want to just be able to slip out. So I made them really tight.

Two of her chains said alcoholism and depression. The other four were scribbles, which meant that alcoholism and depression were the two MILDEST ones - the ones she didn't mind if other people saw. I can only guess what the other four said.

Then we had a time for silent prayer about are chains, and when kids were done they could pull their arms apart to break the chains.

It made me so sad to think that at age 10, this girl was already seeing the impacts of alcoholism, depression, and worse. But so encouraging to see her pray for God's deliverance and break those chains.

Acceptance

Today in Sunday School, one of our girls had to have a catheter. I'm not sure the details of her condition, but she was carrying around her purse with the catheter bag in it, and there was an obvious tube coming out of her dress and into the purse.

I teach 4th & 5th graders so I was bracing myself for dealing with some teasing. But not ONE of the kids in my group said anything mean. No one treated her differently. No one avoided being near her. You'd never know by watching the interactions that there was anything unusual about this girl.

It was challenging for me. I tend to tease other people a lot, and while I would avoid teasing on a sensitive subject like a catheter, I wouldn't have expected 4th & 5th graders to have the same discretion. Their example showed me just how easy it can be to love and accept anyone.

Washed Clean

This is Bob. We were doing an activity with balloons today, where I had kids pop balloons and then try to repair them with tape, and talked about our broken relationship with God. Then they got new balloons to show how Jesus fixed our relationship with God.

One boy in my class decided to name his balloon Bob. And he used washable marker to draw hair and a face on Bob. Of course, washable marker on balloon just makes a smudgy mess. Pretty soon this boy had ink all over his hands. I told him to wash his hands, and he did, taking Bob with him.

When I looked over at the sink, this boy was washing Bob, too. And when he finished he proclaimed, "Bob's sins have been washed away!"

Yay! That was not part of my lesson...but he got it!

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Today in Sunday School we explored the Bible passage where Jesus heals the paralyzed man whose friends lower him through the roof.

One of the activities we did was have kids form groups of four or five and choose one child to be the paralyzed person. Everyone else would carry that person around the room.

In several of the groups, more than one kid was very excited about being the paralyzed person. But what impressed me was, I didn't have to do any mediation. I watched as they thought of ways to resolve it, such as using Rock, Paper, Scissors.

I beamed with pride as these kids settled their conflicts easily, in ways everyone could accept. If only all disputes could be settled so easily!

Helping Hand

On the last weekend of every month, we have memory verse week. Our kids get to say the Bible verse from that month, and if they can say it they get a lollipop.

Because I care more about kids understanding Scripture than being able to repeat words, I give a fair amount of leeway (there's a bajillion different versions anyway). I'll even just let kids explain what the verse means. I want it to be in their hearts, not just their heads.

But last week, even with that flexibility, one girl was noticeably nervous about the verse. She wanted to say it, but she lacked the confidence and had wanted to run through it again as a group but we ran out of time.

I was going to work with her on it after the other kids had a turn, but as I was listening to the other kids I looked over to see another girl going through the verse with her, phrase by phrase. After the other kids finished I went over and girl #2 was being so encouraging, letting girl #1 know she had it down and could say the verse.

I offered to let them say it together if that would help, but girl #1 wanted to try it herself. As she stumbled over the first few words, she started to lose confidence. She shook her head. "I can't..."

"Yes you can," said girl #2. "You know this."

Girl #1 finished the verse, and girl #2 gave her a whole lot of congratulations.

I loved this exchange because I really hate when memorizing Scripture becomes just rote, and when it becomes stressful to kids. I want them to enjoy God's Word, and when they are stressing over exact words that's not going to be the flavor that gets left in their mouths. But girl #2's help and encouragement gave girl #1 the strength she needed to succeed and to keep up her confidence that she could know God's Word.

A Safe Place & Wonder

Today one of my kids arrived looking very sad. Her grandmother, who was dropping her off, said, "She's in a bad mood today."

I said to this girl, "Oh no! But we're having a Christmas party!" Then I asked her why she was in a bad mood.

"I've just had a really rough couple of weeks."

I asked if she wanted to talk about it. She shook her head as her eyes started to well up, but she still stood there. So I stood there too, waiting. And soon enough she started to share about being picked on and teased at church last week (elsewhere) and how that reminded her of being bullied at school.

There wasn't much I could say to help, but I told her kids picked on me a lot at that age, too. She said, "They called me gross." I said, "They called me weird. But you know, a lot of kids your age are just mean. So a lot of people get picked on."

Then she started talking about how her grandmother says they're just jealous of things she has that they don't like her dogs. Some people can't have dogs because they're allergic. And then she scampered off.

I'd love to say I totally revolutionized her world and solved her problems. But that'd be a lie. What I can say is that I gave her a safe space to share. And I believe that in and of itself makes a big difference in a kid's life.

At our Christmas party, we gave our kids gifts. My co-teacher had some plastic ornaments and I had some homemade bookmarks. And as one girl approached the table, she was just totally caught up in the moment. "Wow..." she whispered. "These are beautiful."

She turned and looked at us. "How can you afford things like this?"

To us, it was a cheap gift. But to her, it was extravagant. I wish kids never lost that sense of wonder.

More Important

Today I sat in worship while the girl next to me counted her change for her offering. She emptied out her purse, deliberated on what to give, and then settled on $1.21 (which I know because she told me excitedly). The money from our offering goes to support kids in South America.

After giving the money she came back and sat down and whispered, "I wasn't going to give the dollar. But then I realized...they're more important than me."

Sometimes the best Sunday School lessons aren't the ones I teach—they're the ones I'm taught.