Sunday, May 22, 2011

Mission Accomplished

  The actual "lesson" part of my lesson lasted about fifteen minutes. I was prepared for this, though, and I was had a plethora of games/activities up my sleeve. And, hey, what four-year-old could handle an hour-long lesson anyway, right?

  Simon Says was probably my smartest move ever. It was my opener to the lesson (the lesson was on obedience), and it actually became a useful little trick. Anytime they started to get really antsy and five of them would start yelling out tidbits about how they love ice cream or their parents help them with their homework or whatever at the same time, I would quickly yell, "Sister Allred says fold your arms!" and they'd snap to it like little marines. Boo-ya! I finally figured out how to outsmart the four-year-olds. Life is GOOD.

  Another "game" involved the stuffed animal owl my sister made for me a couple years back. I named her Florence, and Florence LOVES when children are reverent and raise their hands quietly to answer questions. So, I'd ask a question about the lesson, and toss Florence over to one of the children to answer. Florence was also a hit, though I believe the allure of having Florence tossed at them was so appealing that they often ignored the fact that they had no idea what the answer to the question was.

  Then the kids drew pictures of them being obedient in some way. Most of them involved helping their moms bake cookies (which really reminded me of THIS), or doing dishes, or something along those lines. My favorite was Cedric's--he drew a picture of himself playing Wii while his brothers read their scriptures."Um, yeah, your brothers are being very obedient, aren't they?" I said, trying to be professional, until I gave up and laughed so loudly that several of the children jumped.

  Another highlight was going around the room introducing ourselves for a girl who was visiting. Since they're four, it's still fun to do things like introduce yourself and then state your favorite dessert (one of those "games" I've come to hate after years of Youth Conference, Girl's Camp, EFY, and church in general). Maddi's favorite dessert was sushi. I suppose if my father went to Japan on his mission, mine might be as well. Maybe. Her father actually brought us over some left over sushi earlier this evening, as well, which was very thoughtful of him. Unfortunately, sushi intimidates both McKay and I--it's really a shame my brother James isn't here, he would actually appreciate it, instead of stare at it in fear as we rummage in the refrigerator, contemplating, but never quite getting up the guts to try it. Maybe later.

  My last gem for the day was when we were discussing ways we can be obedient. One of the girls immediately shot her hand up and said, "We have a key in our mailbox I'm not supposed to talk about, in case we lock ourselves out of our house!"
  "Um, yeah, not talking about it is being obedient." I'm sure my face did that weird sucking-lemon expression I get when I'm trying not to laugh at irony.

  All in all, good first lesson. I'm no longer thinking that moving is our only viable option, anyway, which is definitely an improvement over last week.

2 comments:

  1. I'M SO PROUD! Can you substitute for my class when I'm a teacher?

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  2. It sounds like you are a natural! I wish Ella could have you as a teacher. Hers doesn't even bother to show up most Sundays!

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