Personally, I think kids are fun ... lots and lots and lots of fun.  My favorite age is from post-diaper up to "too cool for this".  Not that I dislike the diaper crowd, nor am I put off by the adolescent crowd.

But for pure, unadulterated fun, the middlings are top notch.

For example, you can rile them up really really easily.  Dodgeball, freeze-tag, mass wrestling match.  All you need is to abandon any sense of dignity and lead the way with zeal.  Once you have them properly fired up, then you play all sorts of games with their little minds.

Every Wednesday for the past month, I've been leading a group of 1-3rd graders for a couple hours during an outreach at our church.  My staple game is freeze-tag.  I gather them around me in a circle and pick four or so kids to be "it".  To everyone else I yell: "RUN AWAAAAAY".

Then I stand there and laugh at them for about three minutes until I call them back and pick the next four or five kids.  Organized chaos!

What's really amusing is how much they'll get into it.  Not in the sense that they're arguing, but that they'll do this happily for a half hour straight.  Rarely, if ever, do the taggers win.  And the littlest kids never freeze for more than about two seconds.  But everyone is happy as clams running around like maniacs.

Since our class is called the Bears, we have the 'Bear Walk' when we're moving between locations.  They follow in ragged single file behind me as I lead them in a crazy looping pattern around chairs, under tables, and through the line itself to our next destination.  Some kids keep right on track, like little ants.  Other kids are off forging their own paths to glory.  Many decide to simply take the short-cut to the nearest point in the looping line.  What makes them decide to do which?

Here's the helpful point for anyone trying to lead a group of kids.  All you need is to get one kid riled up and into whatever it is that you're doing and most of the rest will leap on in.  This is particularly true with wrestling.  Y'know those quiet little girls who sit on the sideline?  Watch out for them when you're on the floor, cause they're the ones who'll come out with a flying tackle the moment you poke your head above the fray.

In other news, the Harvest Party is fast approaching!  2000+ kids, $1300 worth of candy (above and beyond the one bag/family fee), and me.  Oh the simple joys!

Thor