Bottom of the Dogpile

Today, at church, I got to substitute teach the cutest little class of smart and enthusiastic 5-year-olds. But don't let the picture to the left fool you, because today, at church of all places, I found myself at the very bottom of a dogpile of eight 5-year-olds in a surprise attack that I didn't see coming! I was pounced on from the side, completely missing the scheming that was going on in my peripheral vision. I was happily sitting on the floor, singing songs with several of the children while 2 seemingly innocent little boys stood by on the sidelines. In an instant, the 2 angel-eyed boys lunged at me, and I was forced onto all fours. While they hung on to my neck and back, I laughed and did a lousy job of convincing them to get off me. In about 2 seconds, the rest of the class was on top of me too, and I was no longer on all fours but flat on the ground, trying to keep my skirt from coming up around my neck! As I was laughing and they were uncontrollably giggling, I truly wondered how I was going to get out of this mess. I was severely outnumbered and they were not going to get off me! Part of me hoped that someone would open the door to see how things were going in our little class, while the other part of me earnestly hoped that no one would open the door to see my pitiful self buried under a heap of 5-year-olds. I honestly don't remember how I got free, but thankfully, I did. I wish I had a picture to show you - but then again, maybe I don't!

Wow - I haven't had that much fun at church in a long time. I hope I get to substitute that little class again. But next time - it will be on a Sunday when they haven't had to sit as quietly as possible for an hour, presenting their primary program to the congregation prior to coming to class. And next time - I will make sure each child has a chair - because it's not so easy to maintain order with eight 5-year-olds when YOU and THEM opt to sit on the floor for their primary class time because there are only 3 chairs in the room. And next time - I will make sure that 2 angel-eyed boys are right in front of me and not in my peripheral vision so they can't scheme an attack on their unsuspecting substitute teacher!