Play! Listen! Talk!

OK, I'll admit it. I'm a clock-watcher! During Sunday School, I'm the one checking the clock to see if it's time to clean up the play activities, if our group time is too long or too short, or if the church service is running short or long. I'm the one who always tries to keep the class moving along at just the right time so that our planned activities end just as parents begin arriving to pick up their children.

But, as any of you who teach small children know, things often don't go along according to schedule. Today, for example, we had whole fields of water and grass being built in the Blocks Center. And several kids decided at the last minute that they just HAD to make a fall wreath.

So as we finished our TalkTime pages, parents were already on their way to pick up their children--except for one little boy who ended up waiting and waiting and waiting for his grandma to come. But for once, watching the clock didn't seem so important to me. Because while we waited, we played. And even more important, we talked! And those were the first words little Benjamin had said the entire morning. So while I'm still going to be the one who keeps an eye on the schedule, I'm also going to keep an eye out for the unexpected opportunities to play, listen and talk--even when the clock says we should be doing something else!

What I learned today:

• Buddy is a favorite friend (along with Daffodil) who should never miss a Sunday, even when he doesn't know all his lines!