Building One Another Up, Putting on Love

Murphy's Laws for Toddlers:

• If it's mine it's mine,
  if it's yours it's mine,
  if I like it is mine,
  if I can take it from you it is mine,
  if I am playing with something ALL of the pieces are mine,
  if I think it is mine it is,
  if I saw it first it's mine,
  if I had it then put it down it is still mine,
  if you had it then you put it down it is now mine,
  if it looks like the one I have at home it is mine,
  if it is broken it is yours.

It's funny, but so true. If you've been around toddlers for any length of time, you know these sayings pretty well describe toddler behavior. We can laugh about a toddler's selfish tendencies, but it's not so comical if the selfishness persists as the child grows older.

It's important for young children to learn to work and play together. So when we have Free Centers Time at the end of the day, it's more than just play. The students are learning to share, take turns, have patience, and to resolve conflicts.

 Most importantly, they're putting into practice Biblical instructions on how we should relate to one another: asking for what we need in a respectful tone of voice, waiting patiently for a turn, sharing what we have, apologizing when we're wrong, and forgiving others who have wronged us.

Whether they're playing in dress-up, building with blocks, drawing in the art center, climbing up in the loft, or sharing the iPads, they're learning to build one another up and put on love.

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." I Thessalonians 5:11

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." Hebrews 13:16

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."  Colossians 3:12-14

Working Well Together

Learning to Do Their Best

You've Got a Friend in Our Class

"A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17


Welcome to Mrs. Kemp's T1 Class...

home of future astronauts, veterinarians, teachers, hairstylists and superheroes. Each student brings a unique set of talents, personality traits, and skill sets to our classroom community. Each one is valuable to God and to our class.

Our theme this past week was Friendship. As we begin a new year, the students are greeting some old friends and meeting new ones. They're learning what it means to be a good friend. An important element of early childhood education is social and emotional learning----learning how to control emotions and to develop positive interpersonal relationships. People who develop strong social and emotional relationships will benefit academically and professionally as well as socially.

 We can learn a lot about friendships from children's animated movies. Take the currently popular Toy Story 4. Woody, Buzz, and the gang are on a mission to rescue Forky (a toy made from a spork and scraps of playdoh, wiggly eyes, pipe cleaners and craft sticks---in case you didn't see the movie.) I see a couple of important lessons in the movie: the intrinsic worth of the created to its creator, and the importance of loyalty in friendship. (As Mrs. Cathy reminded the students in our morning devotion, the Bible teaches us "A friend loves at all times.")

We set out on a mission to find our own runaway Forky, using QR codes presumably left by the runaway spork. Armed with an iPad and lots of imagination, we chased Forky around the school.

 Once Forky was convinced that he wasn't "trash," he decided to return to the class to join his friends. The students then created their own version of Forky. And, in keeping with the Toy Story theme, we ate CranPop Caboom road trip trail mix for snack.

I hope that in the middle of all that excitement over Forky, the students were beginning to learn the importance of friendship. Navigating interpersonal relationships is not always smooth sailing; the kids still have a lot to learn about getting along with each other. But as the year goes on, I pray the students will learn to treat one another with kindness, consideration, forgiveness, and respect. As they work together, play, together, laugh together, and learn together, I hope this year will be the beginning of lasting friendships.

 "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32

To Infinity and Beyond

Infinity.

In mathematics, infinity is a number greater than any assignable quantity or countable number.

Something infinite is limitless, endless, boundless. It's impossible to measure or calculate the infinite.

As we start a new school year, this is my prayer: that each child would know the infinite love of our infinitely wonderful God.

I pray that each child would know that there is no limit to what we can achieve when we put our trust in God and when we are diligent to do the work He's called us to do.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever, amen." Ephesians 3:20