The Little Knights are sitting anxiously at their lunch tables, and senior volunteer Zoe Cave hands out juice boxes to all of the children. It’s a normal day for the toddlers, but Zoe can always expect one of the boys or girls to say or do something hilarious. When working with the curious and hyper Little Knights, it’s required to expect the unexpected.

There are a few student volunteers that take on this challenge every week. Juniors Mike Huang and Anna Barger, and senior Zoe Cave are three of them. They take time out of their free periods and lunch to help out the leaders working with the beloved Little Knights at BSM. It’s not easy working in a room full of young children and remaining calm and composed, but these students manage to set aside time from their daily routines to help out. “The kids are really cute and I really enjoy my time with them,” said Huang.

The tasks involved for the Little Knight volunteers range from storytelling to setting up lunch to arranging the tiny chairs; however, the real job is simply helping take care of the kids while ensuring that they have a good time. “They help us do whatever it is we’re doing. I’ve built connections with some of the children; I really enjoy spending time with them,” said Cave. “They help us do whatever it is we’re doing that day and just playing with the kids,” said the Little Knight leader Shelley Johnson.

There are various reasons these students decide to travel to the north building almost every day and hang out with toddlers. “My cousin is a kindergarten teacher and said working with children was fun, so I tried it,” said Huang. “I originally started because of my discipleship class, but when I earned my hours I just decided to continue anyways,” said Cave.

When playing with the Little Knights, the student volunteers often find themselves in funny situations. “The kids just say super funny stuff and do super funny things all the time,” said Cave. “One of the kids grabbed my hand and said it was his and he didn’t let go,” said Huang. The kids have grown very close to certain volunteers and love interacting with them. “The Little Knights will dog pile the helpers so that you can’t even see them anymore,” said Johnson.

The extra help in the north building is greatly appreciated by the leaders and the Little Knights. “The kids just love having an extra person to play with,” said Johnson. “I plan to continue helping out with them for the rest of the year, it’ll be sad when I have to leave,” said Cave. “It’s fun to watch kids develop individual relationships with a student,” said Johnson. Volunteers will continue to come and go, but they will always be needed and loved by the Little Knights.