what do they teach in Sunday School these days?

For those of you who work with children, you know that one of the most challenging and entertaining aspects is that when you're fishing for response A or B, they often throw you C. In storytime I've learned the hard way to NEVER ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT PETS. Also, try to avoid saying things that could lead to talking about pets. Or recent scars. Or pets. If you do, you'll never get a chance to do anything else until you first exert a lot of energy talking them down. Allow me to illustrate:

LIBRARIAN: There once was a squirrel named Sammy.
CHILD 1: My dog likes to chase squirrels!
CHILD 2: I have a dog named Buster!
CHILD 3-25 concurrently: I have a _____ named ______; I have [number] pets; I had a ____ but it got run over by a ______; etc.
CHILD 26: Look at my scab! I skinned my knee on the playground and it was bleeding and we went to Wendy's.

In my storytimes at least, nearly all roads lead to pets and recent scars; they are the choice C to most A's and B's. But sometimes things diverge in less predictable ways. While Sunday School at my church is on a break for the summer, the assistant pastor gives a little children's message before the main sermon. A few weeks ago was Pentecost, celebrated by Christians as the day when God sent the Holy Spirit to empower and counsel His church after Christ's resurrection. In theological terms it's a very big deal, but not much of a commercial holiday. To illustrate this, the pastor asked the kids, "what are some holidays we celebrate here at church?", thinking they would come up with Christmas, Easter, etc. One little boy piped right up: "PASSOVER!" Had he been reading stories about Moses and the Exodus with his family? Did he actually remember that we hosted a Passover seder a few months back to look at how many of the elements foreshadowed Christ's work on the cross? Who knows. For whatever reason, the first holiday that occurred to a little blonde Lutheran boy was Passover. And that tickles me.

As a side note, the most recent kids' message involved an apple, and one kid was much more concerned with which kinds of animals like to eat apples than with how said fruit illustrates the Trinity. So there you are: it's all about pets.