My favorite day of the year is the last day of school. I love this time of year. Even though my work hours are exactly the same as they were in the fall, winter and spring, it feels different, more relaxed. Perhaps it is that there are no early morning breakfasts, no rush to the bus stop, no evening homework or PTA meetings. There is still required summer reading and math review, yet the pace is less over wrought. My children are home alone and have to learn to be self directed in order to get the assigned housework, yard work and school work done without the parental unit there to negotiate things. Summer is a good time for children to learn some independence.
At church the pace slows as well. So many children are away at camp or the beach or on vacation that each week Sunday school time is much quieter. To mark the change we have summer Sunday school. All of the elementary age children are together in one big class. It is louder and more chaotic. No one stays in their seats because this is the perfect opportunity for the big fifth and sixth grade students to help the little kindergarten and first grade and students.
I assign each fifth and sixth grader to a first grader or kindergartener as Bible buddies. The big Bible buddy helps the little Bible buddy find the verse in Proverbs. The big ones do the writing or the stapling that little hands can’t do. Big Bible buddies portion out the snacks and serve them; little Bible buddies collect the empty cups and throw them out. Everyone talks a lot.
Through the jumble of glue sticks and construction paper is the experience that there are many ways to learn about and feel God’s love. They feel the growth of being the one to help and the glow of having your own personal helper. The children learn to connect to each other without an adult hovering and directing. During the academic year Sunday school is more structured and during the summer it is a different sort of flow, less structure more experiential. It is a good change, at least for awhile.
The flow of summer will sustain itself for only a short time. The novelty of combining the ages and assigning Bible buddies will wear off as the summer wears on. By the end of summer everyone will be ready for a more focused approach. And that is when my second favorite day of the year arrives, the first day of school.
Have a relaxed and refreshing summer.
Michelle
