Safari Kids

I have to admit that I don't expect that much out of Safari Kids (our church's K-5 children's ministry). Sometimes the classes and programs seem so big that half of the time must boil down to crowd control. We also have a few friends who supplement with Awana and BSF, if not because of the lack of small church Sunday school Bible cramming at SK, then at least with some relief that their kids are getting some Bible cramming from somewhere.

Don't get me wrong -- I really appreciate all those who volunteer, especially faithful Ms. Lee that always greets Tobey with a lovely Britishlike accent, to Lori who has two kids of her own and is an ex-teacher and still wasn't sick of being around kids, to the other Lori, Holli, Heather, all MTO moms who share their ups and downs of motherhood each meeting but are giving their summers to be around more kids. Especially now that Tom is retiring after two years and I have yet to volunteer (read: be around more kids), I really appreciate those who give their time to my kids that I yearn for breaks from each week.

When we do our Pre-K Lil'K homework, I see that Tobey can tell us a little more about what they learn in class (i.e., what the video/movie was about). But the funnier evidences that Pre-K Bible teaching is starting to sink in/seep out:

Tobey can sing the "Walk in the Light" song, commonly sung in all the grades of Safari Kids.

"Praise the Lord!" is yelled at the most random times. Like yesterday Tobey and Eli were throwing toys into the tunnel making a big messy pile and with each throw Tobey yells, "Praise the Lord!". I guess we're still working on what the meaning of PTL is (although, Tobey was perfectly happy making the mess so maybe he was praising the Lord).

Marching around the house saying "To be like Jesus".

Our couples group was hoping to get our kids into a Friday night Awana nearby where we meet so that our kids can get some Bible cramming instead of "just" playing together. But it hasn't worked out yet. But I know the real job of spiritually bringing up our kids lies not in which program we get to leave our kids with, but with our example and daily teaching at home.