Play! Listen! Talk!

“I don’t want to do anything,” the 5-year-old boy said. His mom was ready to drop him off in our class, but no matter how she tried to encourage him to stay, he kept shaking his head no. “You’ll get to have a good snack.” “I don’t want to eat anything.” “You’ll get to make something fun.” “I don’t want to make anything.” “You’ll get to play with toys.” “I don’t want to play with toys.”

A five-year-old who didn’t want to play with toys? I think it was at that point that mom decided her words were not going to change her son’s mind. “Then you can sit here and not do anything.” And she was off to church.

For the first few minutes Matthew did just sit and not do anything. My attempts to talk with him were met with “No, I don’t want to do anything.” Gradually, however, his God-given desire for action won him over. Soon he was eating the snack, then listening to and talking about the Bible story, then making star rubbings and then playing. All the while hearing words about the good things God wants us to do.

On any given Sunday, for whatever reason, there are kids in our classes who “don’t want to do anything.” It took me a while, but I’ve finally learned that it’s OK. “It’s OK if you want to sit and watch. You can join us when you’re ready.” Giving each child time and space to participate in his or her own way is one of the good things God wants teachers to do.