Wet Play

1020
Assembly started 5 minutes ago but i'd lost track of time chatting with a teacher so crept in as inconspicuously as i could manage.  When i was a child wet play was one of the worst things that could happen, but here there was a chorus of "yessssssssssss" when it was announced.
I returned to my new-found door holding ministry as the children left assembly, this clashed slightly with a teacher telling all the children to be quiet but nevermind.  I was invited to lunch by one boy, which i accepted.

A few children have got '4 points' wrist bands on; on girl stops to tell me about hers (pink obviously): "God loves us, I have sinned, Jesus died for me, You got to make a decision"

I really don't like theological paradigms that force children to make 'decisions' so i ask : "what do you have to decide?"
"Whether to do the wrong thing or the right thing"comes the answer.

This is interesting to me as i'm sure that the actual decision in this model s whether to follow Jesus or not, otherwise, what is distinctly Christian about it?! (this is not a thought i share with the girl)

1030
This is it!  finally the moment to hang out with children.  I walk into the first classroom i can find and start chatting to group of girls drawing pictures of dogs.  Before i get to chat very much with them an understandably confrontational TA asks who I am and what i'm doing! (Lesson learned here - must say hello to staff first!).
The classrooms have linking doors and so i slowly make my way through the 3 classes of Year 3 children (ages 7 - 8).  Along the way i encounter a Jenga slide, toycar smash-up, K-Nex guns shoot-out but my favourite thing was three girls playing teachers, working out the lesson schedule for the remainder of the day (a lot of PE was involved, no maths)

1045
WHAT!?! Seriously?!!  Break time is over in no time at all and i've still 9 classes of children i've not visited.  Break time is not long enough!  I head to the library to chat with some children changing books - they take it in turns to be librarian, using the scanner to check in/out their own books.  4 points girl is there and we chat more about her favourite books and what they smell like.