A cool happening!

I am not new to this phenomena, but it still amazes me when I witness it. Regardless what you believe is happening, this happens and it is so cool to be a part of it.

I teach a class of 8 yr olds, and often because our wanderings seem to go as many directions as their are children and it is my job to try to keep a fundamental purpose in their minds as we discuss, right now, Bible Stories.

A boy interrupted the lesson, which I was reading the overarching purpose of our "discussion". He interrupted to tell us what happened the other week. We had been learning about Jacob and Esseau maybe. Somehow we wandered off so I tried to rein all of their thoughts in by uniting them under a common theme. I had forgotten about it, myself. I had told them that was,why it is soooo extremely important to keep our promises. If we say something, we need to do it. And such was true with a birthright. Ofcourse, there was nothing besides a person's words that made a person right or wrong, and the inheriter of all the blessings of a father. It seemed like Isaac would just realize the mistake and recant, but he did not because his words and blessing were binding. This is true for marriage and everything. A thing is a promise that binds us so we need to enter them cautiously and then never change our mind. Like I had said, I do not even remember that I solely remrmber teaching the story. But, this was the lesson that entered intothis precious little heart, and he mentioned how many stories throughout the week ended up dealing with that same issue and so the idea was cemented in his mind.

A similar thing happened where I got to see how it was sort of regardless what I taught that the children learned what mattered most to them. To leave the classroom (3-5 year olds) they needed to tell me one thing that they learned from class that day. I was suprised that the things, oftimes were things that had never even occurred to me, but had been gleaned from what I taught.

This is true whenever we teach true things, stories, or principles. Pieces that fill the longing/currently empty energy levels will be absorbed. Whatever the child needs to learn right now will be absorbed,  and it us why we repeat things so often. One time Lena, my oldest daughter sat next to me in Relief Society (a class for women when she was only about 9 yrs old). After the class, almost shocked, she was suprised to hear that we learned the same things. She expected that we would have learned that by now (I do not even remember what the lesson was). She was expecting it was where I was taught of of these secret mysteries of the universe, but, it was just the truth told over and over and over again.

Another really important thing I learned about teaching young children (actually teach opposed to what we all believe that teaching is) that forcing particular skills or thoughts is never the desired success. And oftimes, no obvious success can be discerned, and happiness and eagerness toward knowlegde and truth is the most desirable thing. Oftimes we are but a step, and many,many, many steps will be taken before a principle is grasped. Many of the Bible stories are merely being introduced full knowledge of the "morals" and themes will not be grasped at this point. That is why I loved this story. The child was taught what he needed at that point, and it gives a sense of fufilment despite the apparent lack.

My husband and I study the lesson and pray and then talk to the kids and let them adapt the story to fit what they want to hear if it comes off as pointless meandering, and playing, so be it. I know better. We do not have the time in one hour to teach them everything that has occurred as significant as we prepare, but all that information is available to be dispensed as needed.