While I spend most of my days teaching academic lessons to my 7th and 8th graders, I also coach them in juggling, magic and skits. These are put together into a show we call LOL, which we bring to a varieties of venues throughout the school year. Recently, this year's edition of LOL was especially busy recently, doing three shows in a week
.It began first thing Monday morning, when they did a chapel at school for our Kindergarten through fourth graders. I don't know if it was because it was first thing on a Monday or the fact that the show wasin the same gymnasium in which they practice, but for the first time all year, the team lacked energy. There were some a few more mistakes than usual, but it was mostly just slowly paced. There were some highlights, including Gracie and Elly's rabbit production. But after the show, I knew it was time to talk.
That same night we had a show at a local church. It was meant to be a youth group meeting, but they opened it up to the whole congregation, and they turned out in signicant numbers. Fortunately, whatever caused our lethargy in the morning was long gone by evening. They nailed everything. Elana was flawless juggling three battle axes. Izzy and Caleb produced two doves from a pan of fire, and made sure they didn't get loose in the spacious, high ceilinged sanctuary in which we performed, and Killian, who was very discouraged with his card magic that morning, did it to rousing applause. What a difference a few hours makes. And the church gave a very generous offering that makes a Memorial Day trip to Vermont a more likely possibility (as covid-19 hopefully continues to subside).
The team returned to math, science and literature for a couple of days, but on Thursday morning, it was timw to do it again. This time it was for the fifth and sixth grade class's chapel. This is an important one because these kids have seen our show in past years. Also, the sixth graders are watchng knowing that next year they will be part of the team. We did not let them down. Eva rolled across the stage on her heelies (Shoes with built in wheels) while juggling three balls. And to think she couldn't even juggle a couple months ago. Elana continued to impress with her axe juggling, and "the Good Nerd", our version of the Good Samaritan, slayed them.
Friday was a normal school day, but we had a lot to discuss and learn from after a busy week of creatively sharing the Gospel.