Shhhhh.....

What the Sunday School kids made.

It's my turn to supervise Quiet Time at church.

During worship service, little kids may go to a classroom for quiet activities, and this month it's up to me to make that happen.

As an added bonus to the challenge of keeping kids quiet, this season the kids are meeting in a room that is directly above the sanctuary. The sound carries.

And, while the goal is to be quiet, the bigger goal is that we enjoy each other's company.

It's not fun for anyone, including me, if I have to say over and over again, "Please don't step so heavily, please don't stomp, please don't bang your chair, please don't drop that!, please don't drop that again, please talk without shouting, please cut the loud laughter, please don't move the table, oh why oh why did you wear those heavy boots today and please can't you tie them?"

Finding an activity that keeps the kids engaged and that is enjoyable for the teacher to implement is a Godsend. Really, it is.

Today's project worked for the group, and it happened to coincide with my November blog project about gratitude. The kids painted clothespins and a round piece of cardboard. Everybody wrote something they are thankful for on the clothespins and then clipped the pins to the board.

I think the wreath looks rather festive. To give credit, I found this project by an online search for crafts and looking at what others have done. I wish I had thought of it myself, but I didn't. (By the way, I used sponge-tipped paint, which avoided the mess of liquid paint and brushes. Easy clean-up! Quiet!)

For Day 4 of this gratitude project, I'm grateful for Quiet Things.