A blog intensifying the flavor of life and toasting those who share in the feast, rather than settling for a dry, plain, melba toast existence.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

soul frog

Though I have taught 5-year-olds for five years; special needs adults with severe and profound developmental disabilities for a year and a half; subbed at the preschool in nearly every classroom; spent two years with toddlers and the past year with infants, not to even mention the years of Sunday school teaching and vacation Bible school leadership, I sometimes wonder how I ever became a teacher since I still do not completely know what I am doing.

Don't get me wrong. I am well aware of my creative abilities, learning how to make a wide variety of crafts and absolutely loving to do art with kids. I have also added a great many songs to my repertoire, complete with hand motions, and know that in a bind a rousing rendition of "If you're happy and you know it" can go a long way. Reading books to kids is extremely fun, especially when I really get into it and do different voices. I always hope I'm inspiring them to fall in love with books as I did when I was young. I also never grow tired of playing games with kids, no matter what their ages, and watching kid movies over and over, laughing at ridiculous and corny kid humor. But when it comes to classroom management, I seem to part company with appropriate teacher practices.

We've all seen the teacher look. It is similar to the mother look, if you were raised that way. It is usually accompanied by a hand on a hip and a shrill tone of voice. And though I've had my moments with my own children, I don't naturally act like that in a classroom. It isn't who I am. I am the teacher who does one-on-ones and gets to know the deeper thoughts of the more reflective children. I like to ask the naughty kids why it is they are choosing to break the rules, as opposed to just putting them into time-out. I want to offer counsel and prayer. I want them to express themselves without fear. This is perhaps why I work at a church-run preschool and not at some other place.

So even though we are supposed to be sharing the love of Jesus with the kids at vacation Bible school, are with them a very limited amount of time and do not want to even think about disciplinary measures since I'm not sure they would be appropriate anyway, I wondered what I was going to do to get the kids' attention, just in case they grew weary of my Bible story teaching. My set design would capture their imagination, I was quite certain, and the curriculum presented an interesting approach, complete with an introductory activity to gain their interest. But what would I do if it didn't?

Just before I walked out of the door on my way to the church that first night, I had a flash of inspiration, and remembered something I had purchased a couple of years ago at an outdoor craft fair. It is a hand-carved, wooden painted frog called a "soul frog" with a stick placed into its mouth. Its back has spikes carved into the wood. When this little frog is held by the back two legs and the stick is taken out and drawn across the spikes, a chirping sound is made that sounds just like, well, a frog--and also sort of like a cricket.

As I set the ground rules for how we all wanted to be good listeners so as not to miss the details of the story, I pulled out the frog and told the children that my pet frog could only make a sound when it was quiet. Otherwise he would get scared and have to remain silent. Every child immediately stopped talking to listen to the frog! I went on to tell them the Bible story about how we make plans that sometimes work and sometimes do not. But that God's plans are always the best.



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