Today, I spoke to all the kindergarten students at Annie’s school – all 69 of them! I can say, without a doubt, that it was one of the scariest speaking opportunities I have had! But, once I got started talking, things settled down and I felt at ease. The kids were great! I was invited to speak because I am a “community helper.” I had 30 minutes (a long time with a room full of kindergartners!) to share with them about my job.

I took “Theo,” a dog puppet we use in our preschool ministry to help with my talk. I even did the high-pitch voice that Theo uses on Wednesday nights. I used Theo to help me share about what I do in the office, what I do with the youth and children, and other things I do and our church in general does. I specifically tried to share why our church is an important part of the community since that is what they are learning about right now.

One way I tried to make the point that a church is an important part of the community was by sharing about our food pantry and how we help people. I used Play-Doh to help tell about our food pantry. I made a person out of the Play-Doh and explained that people come to our church in need of food because they are hungry. To illustrate that, I punched a whole in the person where the stomach would be – to illustrate the person’s tummy was empty and they were hungry. I then asked if the kids liked Macaroni & Cheese (almost every hand went up) and I shaped the Play-Doh into the share of a food box. After explaining that we give people food and gift cards to the grocery store, I made the Play-Doh into the shape of a smiley face to illustrate that the person was fed and happy! I brought small Play-Doh containers for all the kids, along with pens from our church. I encouraged them to share the Play-Doh story with their families at home. I also encouraged the kids to write thank-you notes with the pens – to their teachers, family members, or friends.

All in all, it was a good time – I really enjoyed the experience!

Hopefully, Annie’s teacher will email me a picture or two that I can post later.