Recently, I spent a week volunteering at my kids’ Vacation Bible School. My official job title was Preschool Recreation Volunteer, which meant I was given the task of hanging out and playing with 2, 3 and 4 year olds. We had lots of cool things to do: blow bubbles, sidewalk chalk, fake paint, a tricycle course, a pseudo toy roller coaster, action figures, kickballs, squirt guns, and so on.
During my week at VBS I learned a few things:
1. Girls that go by two first names (Ava Grace, Emma Kate, etc.) have a tendency to be a bit more drama queenish than girls that have just one name.
2. If you are trying get the attention of one child in particular but don’t know his or her name, just shout either Caleb or Lucy and chances are you’ll be correct.
3. Homemade bubbles really burn when they get in your eyes.
I also had some great conversations with some of the kids, here are a few of my favorites:
3 year old: “I have poo in my house.”
Me: “Winnie?”
3 year old: “Yes.”
Me: “Oh, thank goodness.”
—
4 year old: “My little brother is sideways.”
Coworker that overheard the conversation: “Her little brother’s name is Cyrus.”
Me: Well, now that certainly makes more sense, doesn’t it.”
—
When a three year old came up to me in tears (I know what you’re thinking, and yes, as a matter of fact, she did have two first names) asking to hold my hand, then sit on my lap while she played, I agreed. She then told me the following, “I threw up in my van last night,” to which I politely replied, “Why don’t you go find someone else to play with while I look for some hand sanitizer.”
My week at VBS was a lot of fun. I had a lot of laughs, met some other volunteers that were really nice and some pretty great kids too. Maybe next year I’ll even get to hang out with “Little Brother Sideways.”
-Pete
