{"id":10543,"date":"2026-04-15T14:41:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T21:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/?p=10543"},"modified":"2026-04-15T14:41:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T21:41:28","slug":"mug-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/2026\/04\/15\/mug-day\/","title":{"rendered":"MUG DAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt’s a mentality really, focused on building community in my class and making the whole class feel like they’re part of something<\/em>.\u201d This is what Tyler Lande, grade 7 teacher, strives to instill in his students as he prepares them to live their lives as stewards of Christ.<\/p>\n

A Desire to Serve<\/h2>\n

When Tyler first came to ACS in 2022 after being in the public school system, the Christian school atmosphere was a breath of fresh air. For the first time, he was encouraged, and even expected, to share his faith as part of his day-to-day curriculum.<\/p>\n

When Tyler was younger, he was actively involved in youth and went on several mission trips. \u201cWhenever I was at camp, I wanted to get behind the scenes and do the cleanup or help out in the kitchen,\u201d <\/em>he says. \u201cI just wanted to be part of making other people happy.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

His inspiration for this mentality of service came partially from the book Legacy<\/span> by James Kerr, about the New Zealand national rugby team and how they served each other in the after-game ritual they call \u201csweeping the sheds.\u201d These high-level, elite athletes do the humblest jobs because they believe no individual is more important than the team. Reading about this was how it all fell together for Tyler\u2014he knew how he would structure his classroom.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s how Mug Day started.<\/p>\n

Making Someone Else’s Day<\/h2>\n

Ironically, Mug Day happens every day in Tyler\u2019s class. Each morning after devotions, the students wait in anticipation to find out who will be the lucky person. Tyler spins a digital wheel containing every student\u2019s name. Whoever it lands on receives iced tea or lemonade in a special LEGO mug.<\/p>\n

But Mug Day isn\u2019t just about the students getting a treat.<\/p>\n

The winning student also chooses someone to give a coffee or special drink to, whether it\u2019s a previous teacher who impacted them in a significant way, or someone who needs encouragement. \u201cThe kids love it,\u201d<\/em> says Tyler, as they get a chance to find someone, give them an order form, and deliver them their drink. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like Starbucks<\/em>,\u201d he adds with a chuckle. <\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although this might seem like his students are just doing occasional acts of kindness, this daily exercise gives them an intentional way of seeing a need for someone and filling it. Tyler\u2019s students make somebody else\u2019s day because they are thinking about others more than themselves.<\/p>\n

See A Need, Fill A Need<\/h2>\n

A strong sense of community in the classroom is equally important to Tyler.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn any given classroom, you have different personalities and temperaments. Friction is inevitable<\/em>,\u201d he says. To help this, his students play community building games and get-to-know-each-other activities, such as a Bible baseball tournament or a Bible trivia game.<\/p>\n

During these activities, Tyler encourages his students to give words of affirmation to each other in whatever way possible and to model a servant\u2019s heart. When he believes his students have a service mentality, they move beyond the classroom and practice serving their peers and the school community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe operate around the idea of see a need, fill a need<\/em>,\u201d Tyler explains. \u201cI\u2019m trying to have them seek out and see things rather than being told what to do<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong> <\/span>The coffee service is one of the specific things they do, but most of the time, Tyler\u2019s class seeks to be models of Christ-like character. For example, without saying they would do so, the class took responsibility for the grade 7 shared spaces, the collaboration rooms, and the computer cart. The students clean up the collab rooms, even if it is someone else\u2019s mess. The same goes for the computer cart. If others don\u2019t put their computers away properly, Tyler\u2019s students take charge and make sure every computer is in its correct spot and put it away properly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to be intentional in being quiet leaders. <\/em>Whether it’s walking the hallways, or how we respect shared learning spaces, the students are reminded to be \u2018chosen and set apart.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0Tyler adds that his students are \u201clooking for ways to step in and do those types of things without looking for recognition or being asked to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This all ties into one of the main themes in the grade 7 curriculum\u2014ecology and stewardship of the earth. \u201cWe\u2019re called to be stewards of God\u2019s earth and the resources that we have<\/em>,\u201d Tyler reflects. On their trip to Newcastle Island, the grade 7s explore God\u2019s creation and learn how to be Christ-like stewards of the blessings and abilities God has given them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m trying to do is get kids passionate about seeing how they can help others and how it\u2019s such a fulfilling thing<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cBeing selfless and godly go hand-in-hand. My hope for these young people is to see how acts of service should not be seen as an obligation, but as an opportunity to be used by God.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

One of this class\u2019s memory verses, 1 Peter 2:9 sums it all up. \u201cThis verse talks about being people who are chosen and set apart by God to go out and be a light to the world,\u201d <\/em>Tyler explains. The students \u201cgo and find their own little niches in areas where they see needs, and it\u2019s really cool to see them take ownership of it and fill those needs\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt’s a mentality really, focused on building community in my class and making the whole class feel like they’re part of something.\u201d This is what Tyler Lande, grade 7 teacher, strives to instill in his students as he prepares them to live their lives as stewards of Christ. A Desire to Serve When Tyler first […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":10552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,29],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-10543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-school","category-shaping-gods-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10543"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=10543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}