Jesus wants me for a Sun-BEAM!

Ryan and I tag-teach 5 to 6 rambunctious Sunbeam boys at church every Sunday. ("Sunbeams" is the term us Mormons use for the Sunday school class for 3- and 4-year-olds.) We have been Sunbeam teachers for about a year now and, boy, has it been interesting! Some Sundays, things go very smoothly and we actually feel like we have taught the kids something. Other Sundays, we go home feeling frazzled, frustrated, and completely exhausted. Do you know how hard it is to get 5 crazy 4-year-old boys to pay attention to a lesson?? Just keeping them from running crazy in the halls and in the classroom is a huge feat! Keeping them clean is something different altogether. I'm convinced that it can't be done. Children are such disgusting little creatures, aren't they? Always picking their nose, eating their boogers, sticking their hands in their pants, peeling gum off their chairs, slobbering all over their fingers, and then touching everyone and everything in sight! And how is it that no matter how many times you take them to wash their hands, they are always sticky??? Where does the sticky come from???

Speaking of grossness, I have a story to share about that... As you know, at this age, kids like to do everything on their own because they are "big boys and girls who don't need any help." Also at this age, kids seem to need a potty break every 30 minutes and I am the lucky one who gets to take them when Ryan and I are on teacher-duty... You can see where this story is headed. So, Joseph, an adorable little boy who used to be in my class, would have me take him to the bathroom at least once every single Sunday. One particular Sunday, he told me he had to go, so off we went to find the restroom. As was routine, we stopped at the restroom doors and Joe went into the boys bathroom (because you'd think he'd rather die than go into the one for girls). He never had any trouble going on his own, so I didn't think anything of it. Well, a few minutes later, Joseph came out and his pants were completely soaked! He said, "Jamie...(dramatic pause, throwing his hands down to his sides)... I sat on the potty and it made a mess." It was so sad!! I felt terrible! Poor Joe! So we went back and told the primary president what happened. She tracked down Joe's dad. When he got there and we had told him the story, he picked Joe up so that Joe was straddling his hip. Didn't seem to bother him that Joe's pee-soaked pants were now soaking his suit too. Weird... and nasty. So after he consoled Joe, he set him back down and told me they didn't bring any extra clothes for him so he could just go back to class. The primary president and I just kinda looked at each other... After a long, awkward pause, I said, "Uh...ok...?" and I took him back to class. You should have seen how ridiculous it was trying to keep all the other kids away from Joe, while trying keep Joe from touching anything. Now, is it just me, or does anyone else think that's strange, not to mention gross? I think if my kid peed all over himself, I wouldn't send him back to class! Ew! I was thoroughly disgusted. Could have been worse, I guess. At least he didn't poop all over himself! I wonder if Joe's dad would have minded if he got poop on his suit jacket?

Anyway, being a primary teacher can be trying. It's not all bad, though. It has been really fun to see Ryan interact with the kids. They all LOVE Ryan - they think he's the coolest guy ever - and that makes me excited to have children of our own someday. Ryan will be a great daddy. Also, it is amazing just how much we have learned from our little pack of 4-year-olds. If only everyone had the heart of a child, the world would be a much better place. The boys in our class can be very sweet when they want to be and never fail to make us laugh. I'll leave you with a couple of "ha ha" moments :)

In sharing time, the teacher was asking the children what they could do to strengthen their families. Most of the kids shouted out things like "Have family scripture study!" or "Say family prayers!"or "Have family home evening!" One of my favorite little sunbeams raised his hand and said "Drink protein shakes!"

Yesterday, for the sharing time activity, each class was given a note card with a word on it. The teachers were then directed to discuss the meaning of the word with their class. Our word was "Faith." Ryan explained that having faith means believing in something that you can't see. One of our smart little boys looked at Ryan with a raised eyebrow and said, "Well, why don't you just use a flash light?"