The Scene: Jesus time in my PreK classroom
The characters: My 4/5-year-old students and me
The sitch: Me, introducing the story of young David as a shepherd and basically loving every minute of it and finding this to be one of my absolute favorite bible stories to teach
Sigh. You might know, dear reader, that I can get teary and emotional and overwhelmed with joy and beauty. This is indeed what happened on Monday morning. Typically in PreK we only teach the story of David and Goliath, but this year we also decided to teach David, The Singing Shepherd. And it was so meaningful to me (and hopefully to my dear little ones!), that I shall henceforth teach it every year.
If you read my summer vacation blogpost here, you might remember that while on the trip of a lifetime to Ireland, I became interested obsessed with sheep. Watching the sheep listen to their shepherd's voice, aided by the most amazing sheepdogs, was literally one of the best parts of the trip for me. We saw sheep everywhere on the trip, and one day we happened upon a flock being moved from one pasture to the next by their shepherd and sheepdogs. The shepherd called out, the dogs obeyed, and the sheep followed. And I cried. It was so magnificent to me on its own - that God created these animals to be so drawn to, trusting of, and loyal to their master, and that their master would care for them so lovingly, to the point of putting his own body in between his flock and danger. But even more, that God would use the relationship between sheep and their shepherd as an analogy of our relationship with Him.
And so on the drive to school on Monday, my mind was mulling over teaching David as shepherd, and suddenly all the Ireland sheepies were front and center. By 8:10, when I began teaching Jesus Time, the connections between David and his sheep and humanity and God were zinging through my mind. I told the students how silly the sheep were (can't tell 4/5 year-olds that sheep are stupid!), and how they rely on the shepherd for literally everything (food, keeping them from falling off a cliff, protecting them from wolves). The children pretended to be sheep, crawling about and baaing, and I was the shepherd. I stood quietly while they meandered, and after a few moments, I called the sheep back to me. The children came back, baaing all the way, and sat expectantly in front of me. And as I explained that we are like the sheep, sometimes so silly and forgetful and in danger, and that Jesus is the shepherd, protecting us and giving us everything we need, my little ones took it all in. We need to listen to Jesus, He takes care of us! He wants only the best for us! He will literally lay down His life to save us (quick moment at the classroom crucifix).
So as I said, it was basically the best day ever. I could talk about this topic the rest of the year, though I'll move on to our next Bible story next week. But maybe I'll keep reminding the students to listen to our Good Shepherd - He loves us so much He laid down His very life to save us.
