June 7, 1965
Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. Whew! What a week! This was my first year being a Bible School helper instead of a kid. I helped Mrs. Haskins with the Beginner class. We had twelve kids, ages three to five. Let me tell you. There is a lot of difference between a three year old and a five year old. But they were all cute as anything.
I did go home on Tuesday after we did that handprint project with paint pretty much everywhere. Aunt Love almost had a stroke. But I had on old clothes and paint washes out of your hair after a while. I made my hand print too. I don’t have a mama to give it to, but it was still fun making it. I thought about hanging it on the fridge, but decided I’m too old to hang my Bible School art on the refrigerator. But I think most of our little Beginner kids will be seeing their handprints hung up on their refrigerators or maybe even put in a frame. I put mine in my keepsake box so that someday if I get to be a mama, I can show it to my daughter and we can compare hands.
Back to everything last week. Bible school had some pretty wild moments like the one on Wednesday. We were in the church singing songs at the end of the time. You know, songs the little kids know, like “Jesus Loves Me” and “The B-I-B-L-E” and that one about being in God’s Army. The kids love that one where they get to march and pretend to ride in the cavalry and even zoom like an airplane. Anyway, we were over in the pews singing along when Miss Janie lets out a shriek and hits the wrong chord on the piano. A mouse ran out of the piano across her foot and then past Mrs. Hearndon who was up front leading our songs. Mrs. Haskins who hadn’t been a bit afraid of being in a room full of preschoolers, let out a screech and climbed up on the pew. All the kids must have decided it was part of the song because they climbed up there with her. Behind our pew, the other kids didn’t know what was going on, but then somebody shouted, “Mouse.” It wasn’t me. Honest.
A couple more girls decided to scream and test out the strength of the old pews. Three of the bigger boys wanted to show how brave they were and came out of the pews mouse hunting. Thank goodness, the mouse picked that moment to disappear through this little hole at the floorboard. Things calmed down then and Mrs. Haskins climbed down from the pew and straightened her skirts with as much grace as she could muster. Mrs. Hearndon decided it would be a good time to sing “If You’re Happy and You know It.” I think she hoped that stomping would keep the mouse from making a return visit.
Bible School is fun. I love singing those songs with the kids. What’s your favorite Bible School song?