Many children are enrolled in Christian Science Sunday Schools at a very early age. Some of them are as young as a year and a half. Teaching these little children Christian Science is not only an inspiring experience; it is a delight! Children naturally respond to what they love, and they love the simple truths of Christian Science. They take quickly and easily to this Science because it holds for them, as it does for all of us, that which makes them happy and good.
If one is to find enjoyment in working with little children, it is essential to see them and love them as Christ Jesus did. Jesus, the world's master Teacher, has left us his example to follow. When his disciples reprimanded those who brought little children to him, Jesus' rebuke was quick and clear. He said (Mark 10:14), "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." And then, as proof of the tender compassion he had for them, Jesus took them up in his arms and blessed them. The genuine love that teachers express toward children helps to attract their interest and make them want to come to Sunday School.
Jesus' disciples asked him (Matt. 18:1), "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" and we read that he called a little child unto him and said (verse 4), "Whosoever . . . shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." It is receptivity and the qualities associated with it, such as childlikeness and humility, which Jesus glorified. These are the qualities that teachers must see and magnify in children. This view opens the way for effective teaching and makes the hour spent in Sunday School a happy and profitable one.
