There we were, my colleague and I, with five classes of kindergartners in the gym. For those of you who like to do the math, that’s an approximate student/teacher ratio of 67.5 to 1.
Frankly, teaching young children is like herding cats. You have about 30 seconds to engage their curiosity, before they find something more interesting than you. And for the average six-year-old, this can be LOTS of things. Why listen to a big person when you can lick Play-Doh with a friend?
Back to the five classes. Things were going pretty well. We did some Kidzbop dances from YouTube and then sat down to watch an educational episode of “Ask the Story Bots” on Netflix.
But then it happened: a child jumped up and said, “I need to go potty!” Suddenly, three others stood to their feet and began dancing around, wiggling like bobble heads in perfect unison. Teachers call this exasperating phenom “starting the potty train.”
And the best way to stop this type of train is to make one concession and then hold the line. The first child is the only one who REALLY needs to use the bathroom. The others are most likely pretending.
Sometimes it can be equally exasperating to stop the train called life. One thing REALLY happens and then three imposters jump up, dancing around in perfect unison. It can be hard to tell the real problem from the wannabes.
Perhaps this is why Jesus encourages us to take our difficulties (and days) one at a time.
Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
🙏❤️ prayers and love.
Davids Daily Dose 
Comments
31 responses to “Stopping The Train”
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The more things change the more they remain the same.😂
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My high school seniors are also serial pottiers.
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No David it was perfect!
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It’s called not taking the time to properly finish a post, Pete.😉 I’m glad you enjoyed it. Blessings!
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Your conclusion at the end sort of came from around a blind curve and hit me head on! Very funny and great post!
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Yep. There’s rarely a dull moment.
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Little children certainly are entertaining 🙂
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Thank you for reading and commenting, Angel! Blessings.
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Beautiful analogy. I can so relate with the kids. You have their attention for a few seconds before it is gone. 😄. It is a lot of work keeping them in check.
Thank you for this post. 🙏
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Thank you so much. You’re very kind. Have peace and serenity 🙏
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🤣🤣🤣
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Ahh yes, the serial pottiers
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I will most certainly pray for you, Queen. Thank you for reaching out.🙏 Heavenly Father, help Queen to know that Your love is enough. Help her to have faith–the kind of faith only you can provide. Cover her with your grace like a blanket. In Christ’s name, AMEN.❤️
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Hi, I’m Queen, I write from Italy. Can I ask you to pray for me for a bigger, loving heart? I have sometimes prayed but I’m not good. I have no faith. I try and call God he speak, cry, sing. But my illness consumes me and makes me fear that I can no longer give anything of myself. Can you please ask him to help me? I try to save people, I try to save children but I don’t always have the strength. Sometimes I get discouraged and cry because I wish that suffering does not exist.
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I am happy to do so!
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Someone recently told me that working with numbers, small or large, is simply a matter of where the decimal goes. Translation: it doesn’t matter whether it’s $1,000 or $ 1,000,000. This may work with money, but not so much with little humans. It’s harder to herd 100 cats than it is to corral 10. Thank you for your thoughts!
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Thank you for your kind thoughts. Blessings!
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You have obviously chosen the right profession. You have a knack for supreme understanding of the child’s mind. Licking play dough indeed. Keep on sharing your sense of humor and your vocation with us.
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Someone recently told me that working with numbers is, small or large, is simply a matter of where the decimal goes. Translation: it doesn’t matter whether it’s $1,000 or $ 1,000,000.
This may work with money, but not so much with little humans. It’s harder to herd 100 cats than it is to corral 10. Thank you for your thoughts. Blessings!
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Thanks for reading and commenting, brother. Blessings to you and Susan as well!
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Yes. As you well know, working with little kids can be overwhelming at times. There’s just so many of them, coming at you from all directions!😧 Thank you for stopping by today. Blessings!
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You are correct, Betty. With little ones, it’s definitely a “monkey see, monkey do” reality. 🐵 No, I’m not calling kindergartner’s monkeys. But they do act like them sometimes!🐒 Thanks for your comment. I hope you and Dan have a wonderful weekend!
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I congratulate you on doing math and herding cats in the same post! You have wicked mad skills brother!
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Thank you for being a regular reader and commenter, Bridget! Yes. One day and one problem at a time, please. Blessings!
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I love this analogy. Thanks for sharing this great advice. A beautiful reminder to lay our problems into the Lord’s hands, and to not get ahead of ourselves.
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Excellent strategy! Now, perhaps the children weren’t pretending, but rather the power of suggestion had them believing they needed to use the restroom, too. (Although, I’ve never dealt with so many young ones at once, so you’re the expert here.) However, even as adults, perhaps the power of suggestion could cause us to think there are things we need or things we have to do – and thus – cause us consternation, worry and upset. In any case, the verse is evergreen (as they say in the blogging world), universal and holy. Thanks for your week inspiration, David!
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I cackled reading this. So good.
“…that’s an approximate student/teacher ratio of 67.5 to 1.” – This one got me because I imagine the blank face reality/exasperation as you type it.
“Why listen to a big person when you can lick Play-Doh with a friend?”
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I smiled and chuckled through your description of the kids, as a bible teacher in kids ministry years ago I recognised “the potty train” very well. It is so true that stuff in life comes in threes or maybe even fours, we just need to take a deep breath and remember His promises to care for us. God bless you this weekend brother.
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I hadn’t thought about Jesus being an early practitioner of mindfulness, but you are right! He was obviously a very busy guy—particularly during the days of His public ministry. Yet He still found time to center Himself with God through prayer and meditation. Thank you for sharing! Blessings.
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I love that Bible verse. My Dad used to recite it to us as kids and I find it truly has a calming effect. It keeps the focus on right now and today. I often say Jesus was an early proponent of mindfulness 🙂
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