Mice!

We've been looking for ideas to help the kids behave better at church. (I have a leadership position in the children's organization). I happened across a great mouse idea (at the ideadoor.com). There's a cute poem that appeared in The Friend magazine Sept 1996. The idea was to give a copy of the poem to the children. After sharing the poem there is a mouse that visits the classroom to see if the kids are being reverent. The mouse hides in different places and the children get to try to find him each week.

What If … ?

-by DaLee C. James

"If a mouse would ride to church

In your pocket on this day,

What might he tell his family

That he heard you do or say?

Would he tell them you were reverent,

And you listened to your teacher?

Or would he say he’d never seen

Such a noisy creature?

Would he tell them how he loved the songs

You sang so sweet and clear?

Or would he groan from all the talking

That entered in his ear?

Could he take a little snooze

As you walked nice and tall?

Or would he scream with panic

As you galloped down the hall?

Would the little mouse get seasick

From the tipping of your chair?

Or would he feel safe and cozy

As you quietly sat there?

Would the chapel be a reverent place?

The sacrament the same?

Now tell me, would the little mouse

Be really glad he came?

If a mouse would ride to church

In your pocket on this day,

What might he tell his family

That he heard you do or say?"

Here's the little church mouse that I made. We'll have to see how well it works. I really hope it does. We have the sweetest teacher with a class full of excitable 3-5 year olds.

Free Pattern

The next mouse is going to be sent to a mad scientist that experiments on mice. OK, he's not mad. But the mouse is a Father's Day present for my dad the immunology professor and he does do skin cancer research on mice. He also loves cheese, so the mouse has a double meaning. I tried to make it a little less cutesy since it's for a guy. This little one is also a magnet. He was a pain to make too. I had to alter the pattern to get the magnet to fit. He's made with 2-ply yarn (my son helped split the yarn with me) and a size 7 hook. Now all we need is some cheese to go with this little mouse!