Sunday School

[Mrs.Wilson]

Do you discuss with your children what they did/learned in Sunday School?

 

If they make a craft (not for a special holiday or anything, but some dinky craft that goes with the lesson) do you keep it?

 

I posted about this in the new vent thread and am wondering if I'm the odd duck here.

 

Sunday evening one of my daughters told me their SS teacher was upset to see their craft from the week before in the trash.  Because of this they didn't do a craft that day.  My daughters love doing crafts so they were a little sad about this. 

 

Obviously I offended the woman so I apologized to her last night.  I asked her to not be upset with my children, because this was my decision.  She was upset, because she "spends a lot of time putting the lessons and crafts together" and she "can't afford to buy the stuff so has to take the money out of the youth fund".  I reminded her that I do know how expensive it can be and how much time it takes, because I've also taught SS.  A little rant here: Well, at least she can dip into a church fund to buy her supplies!  I never had that luxury!  She went on to suggest I keep a folder or a keepsake box to keep them in, because many of them have scripture on them.  I have three children in her class... No, I'm not going to keep every single stitch of paper just because it has scripture on it.  And, no I don't deem your little crafts as something I need to keep in a keepsake box.  She has two children of her own and evidently did this.  I politely informed her that I would not be doing that.  I will allow my children to keep them until I get tired of seeing them.  Then they will go in the trash.  We don't have the space to keep every little scrap of paper that they write, draw, color... on.  In the end she said they would continue to do the crafts, since the children enjoy it, if I would promise to take them home and discuss with my children what was done that day and then I "can do whatever I want with them".  Perhaps this is the pregnancy hormones talking, but seriously?  Please don't dictate to me what to do with my children and in my home!

 

Am I the odd duck here?  Am I the only one that doesn't think twice about what their children do in SS?  I don't have any plans to discuss with my children what they've learned in SS school.  Not because I don't feel it's important, but because it's the last thing that's on my mind when we leave church. 

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I teach Sunday school - third grade boys. I absolutely do not expect parents to cherish my crafts or even take them home...they're welcome to, or if their child enjoyed doing it but doesn't care about it, they are welcome to drop it into the trash can on the way out the door.

 

And no way would I *ever* scold a parent for their perceived indifference to my wonderful teaching!! I know that I'm there to provide safe childcare, with reinforcement of religious concepts, and mom and dad don't really owe me anything other than to p-l-e-a-s-e pick up the kids on time.

 

Your kids' teacher needs to climb down off her high horse and take a chill pill. She also needs to scale back the crafts to a reasonable level of expense and fuss.

[Mama Geek]

No, my dd would keep everything, but I just don't want all the stuff around.  I only keep her drawings for a short while or crafts that we do for a short while.  I don't keep the stuff from Sunday school for a full week most of the time.  I do have a drawing book for her that she draws in and I won't throw that out, but it isn't lots of stuff all over the house.

[school17777]

No, we usually don't discuss the SS lesson at home. I know that is the intention with the papers though. Dd ends up throwing them away herself before we even see her. We do keep some of the crafts that they make, not the Oriential Trading type stuff. For Christmas a year ago in SS, dd made a baby Jesus out of socks and a manger out of a paper bag - I kept that. Dd decorated a small box and made cards with suggestions of nice things to do for others in it. She throw the cards away at church, but kept the box to play with.

 

I do realize the teachers spent a lot of time and money coming up with the crafts and the church spends money on the curriculum papers, but like you, it adds clutter and thus stress by keeping it around. Dd is in Awana, so we use that for her Bible work during the week and we don't have time to do the SS lesson reenforcement suggestions at home as well.

[HSmomof2]

No, unless it's something really special, I don't keep the crafts. And I would be really unhappy being 'told' what I should do at my own house by the SS teacher. I taught Sunday school and Awana for many years and would never have considered scolding a parent like that. I assumed the papers and crafts were likely thrown away. I didn't take that personally. Thankfully dc are older now and out of the SS crafts.

[DawnM]

Oh goodness.  No, I didn't keep much at all.  My older two had little necklace and bracelet they made and I kept those.  It makes me sad when I see them.  I had such memories of them at those ages.

[marbel]

I never kept that stuff. and it's not up to the teacher to tell you what to do.

 

That said, I wouldn't throw it away at church.   We would talk a little bit about SS at home or on the way home, and I'd look at the craft, and deal with it then.  

 

I don't teach SS, but I do the cleaning at my church.  I must say that when I see the kids' crafts in the trash there, it makes me feel a little sad for the teachers who put a lot of time and effort into preparing them.   

[Wheres Toto]

I teach Sunday School to 4th and 5th graders.  I don't keep all the crafts and papers my kids do (dd is in my class, ds is in another class, last year I had ds but not dd), and I don't discuss it with them either.  The only craft I've kept so far is we did some painting on little canvases.   Most of the crafts I do are the type of thing they can do their own thing with (beading, clay, painting), and don't require a ton of prep.  Just something fun that keeps their hands busy.  With a couple kids, I'm just shooting for them to not be disruptive.  I don't care what they do with it once they leave class.

 

We have one Sunday School teacher that prepares elaborate crafts for the kids, with expensive stickers and tons of prep work.  We had a incident last year where one of the more "difficult" kids grabbed up all the stickers and pasted them all over instead of following the instructions.  The teacher got very upset, words were exchanged and it didn't end well.

 

I didn't keep all the Oriental Trading crafts my dd did at summer camp last year either.  Or the crafts they did at preschool/Early Intervention.  I guess I'm just not sentimental.   :001_rolleyes:

[theelfqueen]

Ummm NO. My kids went to preschool and public school and sunday school and we would be DROWNING if I had kept every craft or piece of paper!!! (And I'm a scrapbooker I DO keep stuff!)

 

[happi duck]

When I taught public school and Sunday school I tried to hit many learning styles. We did things with big movement, fine motor crafts, reading, writing, listening etc.

 

The take home craft was for those kids who learned best that way but also to be an at home reminder of what we learned. If it was worth teaching it was worth remembering!

 

I would not expect things to be kept forever but I would expect that it would be discussed and kept at least a little while, kwim?

 

Restating what was learned/teaching mom and dad is great for retention.

 

For my kids, I kept stuff until the next thing replaced it. Extra personal/creative stuff (stuff my kids *did* not just coloring pages) I kept in a folder long-term.

 

.

Edited January 26, 2017 by happi duck

[almondbutterandjelly]

While I agree that the teacher was out of line with her "suggestions," I also think it's a bit rude to throw the crafts away right where she'll see them.  I mean, she does volunteer her time and effort, and it would seem to at least be polite to toss them in a trashcan where she won't see them.  It's a bit like a slap in the face.  

 

And your kids enjoy doing them.  I'm not sure it's a kind message to send to your kids: "Oh, what a nice job.  I'm glad you enjoyed it.  It's garbage."

 

I am the resident Crafts lady at my church, though, and I will admit I am biased.  And yes, I did keep my kid's crafts for a while.  I strung up a line against the wall and hung them with clothespins.  Not forever, but for a few days or weeks. 

[Tess in the Burbs]

I always wondered why we did so many crafts in church.  Especially VBS.  It's so much money for crafts and I know we don't keep most of them.  We have kept some Christmas ornaments from Awana b/c my kids wanted to keep them.  But anything else usually hits the trash the same week.  Obviously they are teens now, but my point is they never kept 99% of the crafts and I was on the VBS committee helping to plan this stuff.  

I think the woman was wrong to scold you.  You should throw the stuff away at home.  

If the church can't pay for the crafts she really should stop using her own money.  

 

But it's definitely one of the those things I question...is the cost worth it?  Just to appease the kids for 10 min?  

[happi duck]

Well done activities, imo, should not be about appeasing kids for ten minutes. However, I know this is often the case which makes me sad.

[QueenCat]

I kept special ones but most ended up in the trash. But in the trash AT HOME. I wouldn't have the kids throw it out where the teacher, who just did the lesson with them, would see it.

[theelfqueen]

And for the keeping side... I recently put into my things to keep a paper bag hand puppet of a lion labelled "Daniel Doesn't Go Here" with an arrow pointing at the mouth ,,, made by my 15 year old, while volunteering with his 2nd graders ;) It just cracks me up. So sometimes the lame crafts are the keepers -- you never know.

[Guest]

How did the SS teacher see the craft in the trash? Was it thrown away in her classroom? If so, I agree with previous poster that would be rude in my opinion. If it was a paper craft, better yet, why don't you put it in recycling instead of the trash anyways?

[vonfirmath]

Do you discuss with your children what they did/learned in Sunday School?

 

If they make a craft (not for a special holiday or anything, but some dinky craft that goes with the lesson) do you keep it?

 

I am a VBS teacher for 4 year olds. And have taught Sunday School on and off for over 10 years at the 4 -6 year old level.  I love doing the craft. It helps the kids remember the lesson. I do not care what happens with the craft once it leaves my class!  Most crafts my kids do end up in the trash, sooner or later.  (Sooner if I am the one making the decision. Later if I wait for my daughter to decide)

 

Oh and I do try to discuss Sunday school lesson with them. I have the most luck when I ask at lunch time on Sunday though.

 

We do still have a bandage covered tongue depressor in our car -- from when DD learned about "Leprosy" a couple SUndays ago. And she has baby Jesus from Christmas time in her special things box because she wanted to keep it.  Most get thrown away faster.

Edited January 26, 2017 by vonfirmath

[Alice]

I teach Sunday School and hate doing crafts so we don't really do them. :) When I'm not teaching my own kids I do ask them about what they learned. I don't keep crafts unless a kid really wants to keep it. 

 

Gently said....I think maybe both of you were a little out of line. It sounds like she got a little too upset about the crafts being thrown away and took things a little too personally. But it sounds like you maybe could have been a little more appreciative...or not so openly dismissive of her time and work. But if you've got pregnancy hormones mixed in, I can understand getting frustrated with something so minor. 

[Mrs.Wilson]

I realize now that I shouldn't have had her throw it away at church, a week after the lesson was done. This is why I apologized to her.

 

I've taught SS and have done crafts to help the children retain the lesson. I honestly never cared if the children kept any of the crafts or threw them away before leaving the room.

[Spryte]

And for the keeping side... I recently put into my things to keep a paper bag hand puppet of a lion labelled "Daniel Doesn't Go Here" with an arrow pointing at the mouth ,,, made by my 15 year old, while volunteering with his 2nd graders ;) It just cracks me up. So sometimes the lame crafts are the keepers -- you never know.

That made me LOL! I clicked on this thread accidentally, and so glad I did. I would totally keep that one, too!

 

No one can keep all the crafts their kids make. Is the SS teacher pregnant? You said pregnancy hormones, I'm thinking it can't possibly be you, OP, because you are way too reasonable about this for it to be hormonal. The SS teacher on the other hand... she's overstepped.

[My4arrows]

I think it was rude of her to scold you. It's your kids and your choice. Would it be nice if you waited until you got home to trash them vs in the church, yeah. But really oh well. Ours usually end up staying in the car until we clean it out and then they are trashed too.

 

The talking about SS is a big yes for us. I'm not in the classroom and even when I a, I want to see what my kids got out of it and honestly make sure correct doctrine is being taught. I trust our church and teach SS myself, but I want to make sure what they are being taught is correct and if it's not I correct it.

Eta- I personally feel convicted to talk to talk about SS lessons with our kids, but I really don't expect other parents to do it at home and I'm pretty sure most don't.

Edited January 26, 2017 by My4arrows

[Guest]

Well, I *do* discuss with my kids what they learned and did in SS. But I don't keep the crafts long-term. I do, however, bring them home. It is rude to throw away the crafts/lesson papers before you even leave the building.

[Guest]

I think the craft should be a method of teaching, and the learning is the product, not the craft.  

 

That said, it is also a good device for talking about what the kiddo learned.  I didn't keep very many, but the ones that were big-ish or were hard to throw away, I kept for awhile and then I took a picture of it and got rid of the thing.  I have maybe 3 things my kid made, but they are all very small and have good memories behind them.  

 

But yeah...take them home.  :0)

 

[SKL]

She is overreacting.  No, I do not keep everything my kids make, scripture verse or not.  I would have to buy a whole apartment building to keep all their stuff.  That is called "hoarding."  :P

 

I usually don't throw crafts away immediately, because the kids like to keep their work for a while.  But after it's sat around with my kids' junk for long enough, unless it is really special to me, I sneak it into the garbage.  I probably would not throw it in the trash right there at Sunday School where the teacher could see it ....

 

I engage in conversation with my kids on the way home from church / Sunday school, asking the usual open-ended questions so they can tell me whatever they think is noteworthy - whether it's the lesson, or who they sat next to, or what treats they got.  When little, they were usually happy to tell me about the "meaning" behind the craft.  But if we skipped that conversation in favor of something else, no, I would not feel guilty.  :)

[ashfern]

I do ask my kids what they learned. I only keep their papers until I tidy up the house. If they want to keep something it needs to go in their room. I would probably not throw things away at church so the lady doesn't know.

[lllll]

nm 

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by .qp_

[Mom22ns]

Well, I *do* discuss with my kids what they learned and did in SS. But I don't keep the crafts long-term. I do, however, bring them home. It is rude to throw away the crafts/lesson papers before you even leave the building.

 

This is me too. As a Sunday school teacher, I always hoped parents would discuss what I taught. I didn't consider myself a babysitter, but a teacher and reinforcement is part of learning. I always asked my kids what they had learned in the car on the way home from church if I wasn't their teacher.

 

That said, the teacher was way out of line. What happens to the crafts and what you do discuss with your kids is your business.

[Guest]

That said, the teacher was way out of line. What happens to the crafts and what you do discuss with your kids is your business.

Agree.

[TravelingChris]

I did usually ask about SUnday School but not always.  I know we didn't keep papers around long but think we usually took them home first.  I was a Sunday school and VBS teacher for a lot of years.  I know I was much happier teaching older kids where there were no crafts.  ABout 4 years ago, for VBS, we helped the kids plant a plant in a cup.  While I would hope they got to keep that plant, I wouldn't think to criticize some parent who threw it out.  But that was a bit different since it was a living thing.  

[MotherGoose]

I'm Catholic, and Sunday school is religious education--what you would get in a catholic school. So it's a bigger deal. You have to go to Sunday school for a certain number of years to make your communion and confirmation. If you miss too many days, then you have to wait to make those milestones. Our church also sends home a letter about what the kids did in Sunday school, and we have parent meetings every month to discuss what they are doing. I do ask, and really have always asked before we became catholic, but I only have two of SS age. 3rd grade and under, they do some crafts. But it's nothing very elaborate and always inexpensive. I do throw away the crafts although I usually have to do it it sneakily because my children are hoarders :). I think the lady was out of line. I hate crafts. I like art, and original crafts, but not ones where everyone ends up with the same version of something.

[ScoutTN]

No how do we keep paper crafts! My kids have kept leather bracelets they stamped at VBS a couple of years ago, but that's it. Our elementary SS ministry is not big on crafts anyway. 

 

We do discuss the lessons every Sunday and Ds (3rd grade) keeps his papers in a notebook each year. We often use his SS paper for family devotions one day during the week. I empty the notebook in August each year and he starts over. Dd keeps her SS lesson handouts for a week or two. 

 

That teacher need to chill out. SS is about kids and Jesus and community, not about her.

 

[Ellie]

I teach Sunday school - third grade boys. I absolutely do not expect parents to cherish my crafts or even take them home...they're welcome to, or if their child enjoyed doing it but doesn't care about it, they are welcome to drop it into the trash can on the way out the door.

 

And no way would I *ever* scold a parent for their perceived indifference to my wonderful teaching!! I know that I'm there to provide safe childcare, with reinforcement of religious concepts, and mom and dad don't really owe me anything other than to p-l-e-a-s-e pick up the kids on time.

 

Your kids' teacher needs to climb down off her high horse and take a chill pill. She also needs to scale back the crafts to a reasonable level of expense and fuss.

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I didn't mean to imply that the religious education wasn't important in my Sunday school; it certainly is. We work very hard on presenting the lessons in a meaningful and understandable way, and I do a lot of review of concepts.

 

When I said I'm there for safe childcare as part of it, I mean that many parents see it that way. From my end of things, and the church leadership's, I'm not just babysitting! But for many families, that's what they're looking for -- a safe place for their children while they attend Bible study and worship, where the kids will be around nice people and hear about Jesus. Also, our Sunday school program is known for being accessible to special needs families in the community, whether they are part of our church or not. We know we're providing a gap in childcare and respite, on Sunday mornings.

 

We don't judge parents' motivations in our church, or their involvement (or lack thereof), so we don't feel punitive toward families who seem to care a little less than we do about our lessons.

 

 

[alisoncooks]

I realize now that I shouldn't have had her throw it away at church, a week after the lesson was done. This is why I apologized to her.

 

I've taught SS and have done crafts to help the children retain the lesson. I honestly never cared if the children kept any of the crafts or threw them away before leaving the room.

 

 

It's not like you threw out the current week's craft (that might be a bit rude, LOL).  

This was last week's craft.  IMO, that's free game.  Lifespan on crafts (in our house) is ~1 week,  unless it's super cool or a true keepsake.  ;)

[maize]

It is ridiculous to expect parents to keep every craft. I've always seen crafts primarily as a way to engage kids in a lesson, keep their hands busy, and generally make things more fun. Cluttering up anyone's home is most definitely not the purpose!

Edited January 26, 2017 by maize

[CadenceSophia]

I teach a Montessori style catechism class. We only send work home once a year for the most part, but kids can bring things home sooner if they really want to. With my own kids, sometimes I pick out a couple things that represented really hard work to keep but I toss out the vast majority of what they do.  The only time I'd be sad to see a project in the trash was if I thought the child put a ton of effort into it. Sometimes my kids will spend the whole 1.5h period copying a long bible verse onto our fancy paper and I would hope the parents at least look at it. Occasionally we have children who decided on their own to write their own psalms. Really awesome stuff. Maybe put it on the fridge for a week.

All the cutting, gluing, coloring work can go in the trash before it leaves our room for all I care.  Maybe it is different because in Montessori we don't do crafty-crafts. One time I saw a child's entire year's worth of work still in the folder in the trash can at church. I did really hope the parent got to look it it first. I would never expect someone else to keep things though. 

[heartlikealion]

I didn't read all the replies.

 

You threw the item in the church trash??? Just take it home. Dispose of it elsewhere. End of problem. You don't have to tell her your plans. You can smile and nod at the keepsake suggestion or just apologize to diffuse the situation and not say much else. I think the real issue here is she felt like the discarding was rubbed in her face in a sense. If you received a gift in an office swap and you didn't want it, you would take it to Goodwill, hide it in your closet to regift, etc. But you wouldn't dump it in the office trash (I would hope). Maybe that's the way she thought of it.

 

I don't always talk to ds about SS. He did bring home a craft recently. I don't know how long we will keep it.

 

You can do whatever you like, but as an olive branch I might offer something to the class... a pack of construction paper or such.

[mom2samlibby]

Well, I personally think you were in the wrong to throw it away at church.  That is kind of a slap in the face to the teacher that has spent time finding, prepping, and teaching the craft, along with the $$$ she spent.

 

Take it home with you and dispose of it there if you don't want it.  

 

But, I think it was wrong of her to scold you also.  You can't save everything.

 

But, from now on -- take them home with you.  Do what you want with them once you are home.

[heartlikealion]

I realize now that I shouldn't have had her throw it away at church, a week after the lesson was done. This is why I apologized to her.

 

I've taught SS and have done crafts to help the children retain the lesson. I honestly never cared if the children kept any of the crafts or threw them away before leaving the room.

 

I saw this after I posted. If a week had passed, how did it end up in the church again? Was it never brought home? I don't really understand. But I am glad you apologized and realize that the church trash can was not a great location.

 

I have realized what some people love others find clutter. To each their own. I don't think she should have said some of the things she did, though.

 

[school17777]

I saw this after I posted. If a week had passed, how did it end up in the church again? Was it never brought home? I don't really understand. But I am glad you apologized and realize that the church trash can was not a great location.

 

I have realized what some people love others find clutter. To each their own. I don't think she should have said some of the things she did, though.

 

I think she is saying she realized a week later that she shouldn't have thrown it away at church, not that she threw the craft away a week later. Edited January 27, 2017 by school17777

[J-rap]

Her reaction was way over the top!  I've been on both sides, and I never cared at all whether students saved a craft project or not.  Most of the fun in making craft projects is simply that -- making them.  There's no way I could keep everything my kids made.  There have been a few craft projects I've saved over the years, and if my kids wanted to save something, that was fine.  Everything else?  It probably stayed on our front entrance hall table for a couple days, then moved to the kitchen counter, and eventually to the waste basket. 

[heartlikealion]

I think she is saying she realized a week later that she shouldn't have thrown it away at church, not that she threw the craft away a week later.

 

Maybe. I'm having trouble following between the OP's post and alisoncook's response.

 

[alisoncooks]

From the vent thread (OP, I'll delete this if you'd like - I just thought it'd help others understand the situation):

 

{{Sunday school take home crafts and papers! Am I the only one in this world that doesn't keep them? I let my children keep them for a few days, even up to several months. They go in the trash when I get tired of seeing them laying around. Sunday we got to church and there were a few things on the pew that we sit in. We go to a very small church so, yes, everyone has their seats that they normally sit in. One of the things put in our seat were the SS papers from the previous week. I handed them to my daughter and told her to put them in the trash. Later that evening my daughter told me her SS teacher was upset that she found them in the trash. They didn't do any crafts that day. My daughter said she told her that it was her paper and that her mother told her to put them in the trash. The SS teacher told her to not put them in the trash and that she would have a talk with the pastor. This whole thing is silly, but what gets me is that my husband is now upset with me for offending someone at church. }}

[lllll]

nm 

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by .qp_

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Whoa. I missed the part about Sunday school teacher threatening to go to the pastor. On the one hand, sorry about the drama. On the other hand, perhaps the pastor will tell her that it's OK for families to discard the Sunday school craft after a week because that's a parenting decision and not a personal attack.

[vonfirmath]

Whoa. I missed the part about Sunday school teacher threatening to go to the pastor. On the one hand, sorry about the drama. On the other hand, perhaps the pastor will tell her that it's OK for families to discard the Sunday school craft after a week because that's a parenting decision and not a personal attack.

 

 

Yeah. I'm not sure I'd be all that concerned about a teacher threatening to go to the pastor.

 

(For that matter, one of the kiddos I teach  -- his dad IS the pastor. So I expect if the mom had a problem with me, the pastor would find out anyway.)

 

[MinivanMom]

When I taught Sunday school, I always expected parents to throw things away when they got home. And if a child left their craft or papers behind, I always threw them away myself. I can't imagine saving them until the following week and then putting them in the family's pew. That's so overbearing.

 

Personally, I make my kids wait until we get home to throw things away. But if I came to church to find that someone had left last week's craft in our pew, I would probably have sent my kids to throw it away in the church trash. What am I going to do - carry the craft around through the whole service and Sunday school before taking it home to throw it away? I have too many kids and too much stuff to keep track of to be worried that someone's going to be digging through the church trash in order to have dirt to use to scold me and tattle to the pastor. I think you went above and beyond to apologize to the teacher.

 

If she does complain to the pastor, I hope it's an opportunity for him to gently correct her. 

 

 

[Mrs.Wilson]

Sorry, I can't quote on my phone.

 

The day the craft was done my daughter forgot her paper at church. She sits with the rest of the youth on the front row. After SS she puts her stuff under the pew for preaching and worship time. It was forgotten there. The next week I found it on the pew where I sit. I believe someone cleaned the church and put it there.

 

The SS teacher is the pastor's daughter. When I apologized to her she mentioned she had talked to the pastor, but that was it. I don't care if she talks to him about this. I don't know what her goal was in mentioning the pastor.

 

It is a very small church and my husband doesn't like to make waves

 

Of course it was never my intention to hurt her feelings nor offend her. Like I said, I've taught SS (at this church, the same class even) and honestly never cared if the kids took the crafts home or if they threw them away before leaving the room. I never considered them things to be treasured. So, it didn't cross my mind that she would get upset

[Mrs.Wilson]

By the way, the class ages are 4-9.

[Plink]

I am kinda' appalled that she would talk to the pastor (even if he is her dad) about someone throwing away Sunday School crafts.  

 

You shoudn't have thrown it away within the church - that was rude on your part.

 

She, however, shouldn't have any say on which crafts get saved and which get tossed.

 

We always talk about Sunday School lessons, but it is 5 min in the car, and SS is minor compared to their Bible lessons every week, so I don't make a big deal of it.