Sunday School

Sam experienced his first children's message at church today. I went up to the front of the church with him and the pastor was talking about sheep and how God takes care of us like the shepherd takes care of sheep. He had a bunch of sheep toys that he passed around. It couldn't have been a better start for Sam's children's message career as, of course, he loves sheep. And Sam looked like a little angel compared to one other child who brought up some toy trains and was rolling them across the floor in front of the church. Although there aren't many children in church, I can usually count on one or two being more of a distraction than Sam.

We also started Sunday School. Sam is in a class with three two-year-olds (including Sam), one three-year-old and one four-year-old. I thought I'd stay with him today since it was something new and I think the teacher was glad I was there. The same child who was playing with trains earlier was getting into everything during class. Here's a short clip of the beginning of class:

Sam: (clinging to me with a death grip) Mommy? Mommy? (voice cracking, tears starting to fall)
Mommy: it's ok, I'll stay with you today.
Girl 1: X is getting into the crayons!
Teacher: In the beginning, God created all the animals. What animals do you see in the picture?
Girl 1: Fish!
Girl 2: Fish!
Sam: Butterfly!
Boy 1: (in the cabinet, getting out puzzle pieces)
Girl 1: X is getting into the puzzles!
Boy 2: zebras!
Girl 1: tiger!
Teacher: hmmm, I don't see a tiger, do you see that pretty hummingbird?
Girl 2: Hummingbird!
Mommy: (shifting around as Sam is sitting on my lap.)
Sam: Mommy? Mommy? (still clinging, not crying much anymore).

Under normal circumstances I wouldn't stay with Sam in a situation like that, but I knew it was not going to work otherwise. The teacher already had her hands full and wouldn't be able to keep up with Sam's crying when I leave, which in new situations usually lasts around 5-10 minutes. Since Sam's so young, he needed a lot of guidance to participate in the class activities, so I'm glad I was around. I think the teacher wants me to come back next week too.