Cowboy Sweetheart Program

All dressed up and ready to go!

We've worked hard to show our love for you.

We're lined up and ready to go.

On with the show...

It was our final rehearsal before the big Cowboy Sweetheart Program.  We’d practiced every day for months, and that afternoon we were back in the sanctuary for the second time that day, tweaking the details of the show. While the other teachers were conferring with the audio-visual man and evenly spacing stickers on the carpet so the children would know where to stand, I tried to encourage the weary, wiggly group of kids who were waiting on stage for their cue to begin.

“You have to be patient.  Remember that patience is the fruit of the Spirit,” I said.

“And Joy!” said one of the kids.

“And Self-Control!” exclaimed another.

“Faithfulness!” someone else said.

“And being good!” said another child.

 Galatians 6:23 says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  The children remembered.  Concepts and values that they are taught in their classrooms, in chapel, and even on the playground and on the stage—these lessons had somehow found their way into the children’s hearts, and now they had an opportunity to apply what they’d learned.  

Sometimes I ask myself, “Why am I doing all this? Why am I putting hours of labor and buckets of energy into this kid’s program that will be over in the blink of an eye? Why do I get up every morning and spend my day saying things like ‘Feet and hands to yourself’ and ‘One, two, three, eyes on me’?”

OK, one purpose of the program is to show off---to show the parents and family members what these kids can do and to give the parents an opportunity to be proud of their children. We know how much it means to the parents. I remember how I felt when my own children performed on stage at their little programs, and I see how my son, now a father himself, beams when he shows me a video of his preschool child speaking five words into a microphone at her school program.

“I’ve never felt so proud!” my son said.

But it’s not just about showing off. As an educator, I evaluate all activities by asking: What are my students learning? So just what are they learning as they practice for the Cowboy Sweetheart Program?

They are memorizing Scripture. They’re hiding God’s Word in their hearts and internalizing the principles behind the words.

They’re practicing oral communication. They’re learning to speak clearly and at an appropriate volume in front of an audience.

They’re learning to follow directions. They’re learning self-discipline. They’re learning to work hard and to persevere in order to achieve a goal.

They’re learning music. Research shows that there is a correlation between music and math skills. Performing music activates the parts of the brain that are used in solving math problems.

And besides that, the program gives us all, students and teachers alike, numerous opportunities to display the fruit of the Spirit.

“And now abidith faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13