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Vacation my ass.
July 16th, 2008
On second thought it is probably not that great of an idea to use the word ass in a blog post about church. Instead insert ….um…..Oh! Foot! The title should read Vacation my Foot. This is the week that dozens of children who we usually only see at Christmas, Easter, and chasing the ice cream truck join the half dozen, or so, kids who attend our church regularly in a five-night Jesus extravaganza we call Vacation Bible School. (I think I will pause here and mention I sincerely do not mean this to be sacrilegious. If it comes across that way then start over and read again in a lighthearted, Hey You goes to church multiple times a week kinda way) This year’s theme is “Power Lab”, so everything is bedecked in sciency stuff. We do science themed projects, play “experimental” games, watch a video about a talking chipmunk and a stressed, but not mad scientist. Oh, and learn that Jesus is powerful.
The last couple of years The Husband and I have been “crew” leaders. This means more than five, but less than ten, elementary schoolers pull on us and say, “Miss Hey You! Miss Hey You! She got more than me! But I wanted blue! Green is yucky. Miss Hey You, will you take me potty?” “Mr. Husband? Why does your toe look like that? Mr. Husband? Can I climb on you? Mr. Husband! Garret farted (I HATE THAT WORD!)” The funniest is that The Husband has one kid who calls him Coach Husband. It cracks me up every time I hear it because it is: a. Such a southern thing – all male teachers are “Coach”. b. My darling husband is about as far from a “Coach” as you can get. Unless you can coach children running around like banshees?
Because we are working together, but still have our own distinct groups, the differences in how we relate to kids is painfully obvious. I am VERY strict. I do not tolerate running around, leaving the group, talking out of turn, using even slightly foul language (do as I say, not as I do!), or being disrespectful. I also sing all the songs, dance and do all the hand motions to the music. I play all the games, do all the crafts, and generally am just excited to be doing whatever the curriculum requires. The Husband pretty much lets the kids do whatever. Their lines are nonexistent, never mind army straight like mine. They climb all over him, pick flowers out of the church garden, sit during the songs, and never finish their group questions. He does not participate in the same giddy way that I do, and is shy about getting up in front of them to lead. He is also so-o-o-o patient with them, he listens to them one-on-one. He sits next to them while they eat, and helps them with their projects. The kids adore him. We always request to be on the same team of “crews” because it comes down to the fact that we complement each other wonderfully.
We all come home hungry, exhausted, and happy. This is The Son’s first year to participate in something other than the nursery. Tonight when it was time to go we could not leave until he had kissed his teachers good-bye. He had sung, and danced, made crafts, played, and prayed with other toddlers. VBS is a lot of work, but it is worth it to give other kids that same feeling that he gets, and if they happen to decide that church is for more than Christmas carols and Easter egg hunts, then all the better.
Filed under Family-blame the DNA, Friends-All three of them, Soap box, The Husband, Time Suckers | Comments (8)8 Responses to “Vacation my ass.”
In my defense:
1. We ALWAYS finish our group questions (we’re just
quieter than other groups)
2. IF I catch my kids sitting during songs, I
encourage them to stand up…if they don’t want to
I DON’T force it because I used to be shy and quit
going to a VBS once because some adult FORCED me to stand and
sing.
3. Their lines ARE non-existant, but they ARE kids,
and I ALWAYS get them where they need to be.
There, I’ve defended what I felt needed defending.
Everything else she says about me is true, I DO let them do whatever…within reason. I DO take the time to listen to each of them, regardless of how “silly” others might think the question/comment is.
An example:
We were looking at a poster with girls on it from a remote village in South Africa. One of the boys in my group said, “They look like boys”
This statement was misconstrued by one of our most caring activity leaders as being disrespectful of these girls because they looked “funny” and felt the need to lecture on how that isn’t appropriate.
I quietly explained to him that they had short hair (the reason he thought they looked like boys) because where they live it’s really hot. He understood immediately and said, “Oh, ok.” He wasn’t intending to sound mean spirited, and by having listened patiently to him throughout the week I knew this was simply a case of not knowing about the culture/traditions in South Africa – Not a statement of mean spiritedness.
I truly wish that more adults would stop and remember what it was like to be a kid, and think before they reprimand. I try not to become the “cool friend guy” and maintain some semblance of authority and respect. I think I do pretty well.
Oh, and I LOVE working VBS, that’s right: L-O-V-E it, I come home feeling rejuvenated and younger for having spent 3 hours of my day looking at the world through a child’s eyes and experiencing the wonder of Jesus Christ.
Oh, WAIT A MINUTE…THIS JUST IN
I completely FORGOT to complement Hey You in my previous comment, so caught up in defending myself it would seem.
She does an EXCELLENT job, we have completely different styles but she has a way that while seeming more strict still lets the kids enjoy themselves while, I suppose, being less stressful on the less patient adults.
This is probably why she gets asked to do more for sunday school than I do.
No, my darling “Coach” that would be because you have made it perfectly clear how much you hate to be in front of other people, and you will not pray out loud except in front of VERY close family. Oh, and thanks.
Wow, Colon x = angry face. I was going for kisses! lets try this :O
Ok, so a kissing smiley is a : followed by Capital X
And so, to Hey You, I say: :X
I agree with both of them. This is alot of work! Yet, I don’t personally think it is a pain in anything! It requires a mix of patience, enthusiasm, and enough discipline for the children to learn something.
I am also working VBS but with the younger 3-5 year olds. On our peak night we had 31 of them! (so far.. We have two more nights and usually the number grows as the week continues.) Also, I’m not a crew leader, but a station leader, telling the bible story, doing a “scientific” experiment, and the craft.
The craft is the hardest of the three…never let a 3 year old try to put glitter in the tiny opening of a test tube by themself. Though it was a tiny packet of glitter, we had it everywhere. I’m still finding it on my body three days, and showers, later.
While it requires an enormous amount of energy, its also extremely gratifying and even re-energizes the working grown-ups spiritually. I’ve come home every night totally satisfied, and crawled into bed two hours earlier than usual in complete exhaustion. But I can’t wait to go back tonight and experiment with what gives a flashlight power….and talk about what power gives us eternal life.
In no place did I say that VBS is a pain in the anything, I said it is no vacation. (Renee told me you were her favorite.)