Like many American schools this time of year, Czech students in our South Moravian region also had spring break this past week. Instead of going to enjoy spring break at some tropical beach, many of our club kids spent their holiday at home - so we had some regular activities as well as back-to-back sleepover clubs for our two youth clubs!
Since it was still a holiday, I promised my English Class kids that we would have a "fun day." We are amidst our new unit of studying the five senses and the vocabulary surrounding the topic provides wonderful adjectives for the kids to start using when describing different objects. Last Monday, we had the first part of our study of "sound," and what better way to start than to teach the kids American animal sounds! (Which are different from Czech animal sounds!) The kids thought it was funny how our animals sound, especially "cockle-doodle-doo!" We played one game where all the students got an animal name on a card. They had to then make the noise of that animal and find their partner who is also making the same sound. We played the game for a few rounds before I challenged them to close their eyes and really focus on their listening skills. I think the students are excited about this new theme, and I am looking forward to all the other activities we get to do together!
Finding their Partners
They struggled saying "cockle-doodle-doo," so they found each other because they were both laughing at themselves!
The kids look forward to holidays and long-weekends because it usually means that our youth club will have a sleepover club. We started off Monday night at our Boskovice club. We played lots of table games, jumped on the bouncy castle, had a Nerf War, played group Mafia and other group games, and then watched movies into the night. Needless to say, we had an exciting night with many activities and lots of time to simply be with friends. We have noticed that this group of preteens have a tight bond and are very comfortable with each other. It is great that they also feel so relaxed around us leaders and half-leaders as we can see their desire to meet more times for youth groups. I know God has big plans for this group, and I am excited to see Him continue to work through these kids!
Boskovice Sleepover
Then on Wednesday night, we had our second sleepover at the Letovice youth club. This group of kids are much younger than our Boskovice group, but we still played many games, had ping-pong and foosball competitions, played dodgeball with a pillow ball, and participated in a group game to untangle the Human Knot. (Human Knot - everyone closes their eyes and grabs a hand across the circle. When the organizer says "go," everyone opens their eyes and the group needs to untangle themselves to make a circle without letting go of each others' hands.) We also took the kids on a trip to the supermarket to buy some treats for the night and had group time. During group time, we all sat in a circle and the youth pastor asked the kids to share a time in the past week when they were really thankful for someone. The kids said many different things - like a big brother helping his little sister and a mom who gave permission to one little girl to come to the sleepover club. These kids understand how to be thankful. The youth pastor then said he is thankful for Easter and shared the gospel with the kids. Since Easter is coming soon, we are hoping the kids will start thinking about the greater meaning of Easter.
Letovice Sleepover
Human Knot
Foosball Tournament
With many more little girls starting to attend our youth clubs, I was not surprised when a dozen of them came to the sleepover club. For many of them, it was their first time at a sleepover club, and they were thrilled to be all together for the night! Little girls definitely bring a different dynamic to sleepovers as they most enjoyed when we all just laid in our sleeping bags in the girl's room and took turns when playing Charades. I noticed many of the little girls also like their bedtime routines as they put on pajamas, asked me to sing them lullabies, rub their backs, and tuck them into their sleeping bags. I love the bond these girls and I have, and I am excited to see how God will use this friendship to continue to share His love with them.
Not only do the little girls like to stick to their bedtime routines, but some of them also have a natural alarm clock that wakes them up no matter the amount of sleep they got the night before. I had four girls wake up an hour before breakfast, so I kept them entertained with some quiet games and hair braiding so the rest of the girls could sleep. When we finally joined the guys for breakfast, one of my friends said...
"You look surprisingly awake..."
"Little girls wake up early. Don't you see all their braided hair?"
"I can't imagine. I am so glad I got to sleep this morning!"
It may have been a late night and an early morning, but I wouldn't trade my time with these girls!
Watch a short video of the Letovice Sleepover Club here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTKAoHeF5WA
This upcoming week should be a traditional week with normal sleeping patterns, so maybe no late nights, but definitely lots of time with the kids and plenty of opportunities to be a light for the Lord.