Monday, August 2, 2010

Cooties and Cupid


We've been teaching most of our Sunbeam class since they were two going on three-years-old. In the early days they didn't seem to care about the differences between boys and girls, or if they did it didn't affect them. Sure the girls would gravitate towards playing with dolls and ponies while the boys constructed guns from Lego blocks or zoomed cars across the room but they weren't bothered to be together. Lately we've sensed a change in the winds.

Our Sunbeam class is mostly boys, which on any given Sunday can mean that the girls are out numbered 4 (or sometimes even 6) to 1. Now once upon a time this wouldn't have been a problem but lately I'm hearing more complaints from the girls such as "I don't want to be the only girl," or "I don't want to sit next to a boy." One week we got lucky and had 3 girls in class. Trying to capitalize on this rarity, Nate had them sit next to each other, which proceeded to backfire as they morphed into their own little group in another world making it next to impossible to grab their attention.

On the flip side the boys, or at least most of them, are becoming more interested in the girls. A while ago I wrote about our first little Romeo, and his romanticsism is spreading. Recently one little guy, we'll refer to him as I.A., was helping us set up the classroom he started telling us about his girlfriend. When I asked him what was his girlfriend's name was, he responded, "um, um, um...[long pause]...I don't know." He has also previously mentioned in sharing time how when he gets big he wants to have a girlfriend. Not to forget the day that little girl H. joined our class he told her she was really pretty and asked her if she would come over to his house and be his girlfriend.


Little girl H has quickly become the boys favorite as they all want to sit by her. She's cute, and sweet, and blonde. Not to sound like a bitter brunette but I find it funny that even at 4 years old, the blonde gets the most attention. Her first day in our class the little boy sitting next to me leaned over and asked me what her name was. I told him her name and he then turned to her and said, "H I love you, you're my friend."


They may come on a little strong but I think it sweet how unabashed they are about their feelings. The girls on the other hand....well, maybe one day Dr. Nate will have to give everyone their cootie shot.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Becca and I are also Sunbeam teachers of a 5-to-1 boy/girl class. Have the two of you enjoyed other callings as well? I have been teaching primary since I was eighteen...are there other callings in the church?

Gardners said...

Um, amen to the above, except my 5 year olds total 13 kids, and they are actually split 1/2 and 1/2. Well, unless you add Emily...and Anna when she pees her pants in Nursery...

Jenny said...

Tim- The only other calling we've had in our ward was nursery workers before we "graduated" with our kids to Sunbeams. So basically unless you have a 4 year old, I know no one in the ward.

abo-bder said...

فنى تركيب ستلايت بالرياض