When I book LOL shows for my team of 7th and 8th grade jugglers, I try to find gigs that give them a variety of experiences: other Christian schools, churches, inner city missions, psychiatric hospitals, and nursing homes to name a few. Usually our first show of a school year is at a nursing home, and really don't look for another; my goal for these kids is variety. However, when a nursing home calls us I can't say no. That is how we came to do a show just a few minutes up the road from our school a while back. Ledgewood Manor called me and asked for us to come and bless their residents and staff, so we went.
This was this team's first experience with low ceilings- the bane of jugglers. Nevertheless, the kids were able to do very well there Caleb O continues to give ridiculously strong performances, juggling at times both clubs and machetes on the balance board! Caleb J, Sarah and Jasmine were all able to do diabolos in spite of the close quarters, and Dillon juggled three basketballs flawlessly.
At this point in the year, so many kids make such strong contributions. Chloe, who has wanted to narrate "the Prodigal Juggler" since last school year has finally been give the opportunity recently, and her timing and expression are a million times improved from previous attempts. She has earned herself a permanent role with two solid shows. Mary, Luke and Autumn have gotten so proficient with devil sticks, and on and on it goes. We have developed one of the most well rounded and diverse LOL teams in history.
But as always, the best part of our nursing home shows is when the show is over and the team goes into the audience to visit and pray with the residents. This time some of my class faced an unusual, first time problem. One resident told the kids who spoke with her that she was a Jehovah's Witness, and, although the show was fun, we had gotten Jesus "all wrong". To their credit, the kids all were respectful, and it lead to a great teachable moment when we were back in our classroom later that morning.