Kids say...

I teach Mission Friends to kindergarteners on Wednesday nights. I really enjoy it, even though I usually am rushed and feel like I’m not quite as awesome as the other Mission Friends teachers. The kids are so cute, though, and I love what they say.

Like *Cara, last year, who, after I passed out her reading sheet for her parents to read to her, said, “My mommy always throws away what I bring home from church.”

Mommy would not be pleased if she knew what dear little Cara said.
Or when *Tom said, “My mommy told me that if I behave in Mission Friends, I can get a McDonalds’ toy with dinner tonight!”

Oh, the lies we tell children – and they work, too!

My favorite, so far, happened last night, though. We were sitting in a semi-circle, and I said, “We’re going to pray now. I’ll go around the circle, and if you want to pray, you can.”

I asked *Ashlyn if she wanted to pray, and she shook her head. I turned to Tom. “Tom, do you want to pray?”

“Yes, I want to pray,” he said eagerly.

We bowed our heads. I waited. No one spoke.

“Tom,” I whispered, opening my eyes slightly, “you can pray now.”

“I want to pray with you,” he replied earnestly.

I was, naturally, confused. “This is your prayer,” I encouraged. “I don’t know what you’re going to pray, so you can pray on your own.”

“No,” he said, apparently not understanding. “I pray with you.”

“This is your prayer,” I repeated. “You can say whatever you want to God.”

Suddenly, his eyes grew wide, and he smiled. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “I get it now! That’s the difference between boys and girls!”

Open-mouthed, I stared at him. We obviously were not on the same page, but I had a feeling we weren’t even in the same book anymore.

He grinned at me. “I got it,” he assured me.

I blinked, oblivious.

“*Mary,” I said, trying to hold back the laughter, “do you want to pray?”

I had no idea – and still have no idea – what he was talking about. I’m wondering, though, if he was in an entirely different library.

**NOTE: I changed the kids’ names because, frankly, I’m not sure how their parents would feel about me blogging about them using their real names.