Out with the old...but ooooh! I want to keep that!

Well, in case you haven't noticed yet, we've had a flood. It certainly could have been worse (and we're all grateful to Mike for the fact that it wasn't!), but the situation has still left us with some cleaning up to do.

On my end, that means going through a mountain of craft supplies that had to be taken out of their normal resting place to dry everything out. The waters, in fact, traveled down the corridor through the RE storage area. I'm told that it's likely they passed through a box of paint supplies, as the river that flowed through the hallway was rainbow coloured.

I have decided that this presents the perfect opportunity to explore just what we've had tucked away in there, and to donate away those things that we are unlikely to be using anytime soon. The fun thing about doing this is that ideas start to pop up in your head. Oooh, clothespin dolls! We should use those fancy, artist quality paints with the older kids! Sock puppets!

The best idea I had today, however, was about getting new ideas. This Sunday, all of the kids will be coming together for a lesson on New Years and how it is celebrated throughout the world. A common theme amongst many cultures at the time of the new year, so I'm told by Brian, our minister, is "Out with the old, in with the new".

With all of this stuff lying around in the classroom, why shouldn't the kids engage in some of this "Out with the old" stuff, and more importantly, this "Ooooh, look at that!" stuff that I'm doing? If I'm having so much fun, maybe they will too!

So this Sunday, the children will be invited to look through some of these old supplies (sneakily selected for safety reasons). They will be able to choose one item that they think should be passed on, and one that they think is very inspiring that they would like to be able to use in the New Year.