Kepplewray - Burlington School

This afternoon we met the children from Burlington School who were at Keeplewray. We entertained them with an interactive nativity play which meant that some of the children got dress in the costumes and 'acted out' the story while Sarah read it and I directed the children on the stage. We had a great time and I hope the children did too. There was lots of laughs as the sheep went off on their own and did - sheep things. Following the play we introduced them to Gary who was doing his Christmas list and like all the assemblies we have done in December we showed the video of the nativity scene being blotted out by everything else from Christmas. We didn't have time to sing with the children as they had other things that they needed to be doing.

Sarah and I have had a rather busy December and we are now taking a rest, looking forward to spending time with our family over Christmas.

St Peters

This morning we travelled up to St Peters in Ireleth to take there assembly. We took Gary with us - it was his first visit to them so the children didn't quite know what to expect. We did our Christmas assembly for them that we have been doing for the past few weeks and showed the video about Christmas too. The children all joined in the singing of 'I wish it could be Christmas everyday' until the baby cried - some laughed others just fell silent as Sarah then explained the true meaning behind Christmas. I then just finished off the assembly by talking a bit more about what God did for us and how Jesus is the best present ever. We sang 'Inright Outright' to start and finished with 'Great Big God'

Croftlands Junior School

This morning we went to Croftlands Junior School to do our Christmas assembly. We had the whole school in for the assembly as normally there are a few year groups out swimming on Tuesdays. We sang a short song to start 'Great Big God' then we brought Gary on who was far too busy to talk to the children as he was doing his Christmas list and one for his mum. Sarah read the list which had toys, toys, toys, toys and more toys on it while his mums list had mince pies, turkey, chocolate x 100, more mince pies and sprouts. Sarah pointed out that Christmas was not all about what we get as presents or about how much we can eat - she then showed Gary and the children a video. It started with the nativity scene of Mary, Joseph and Jesus but other things blotted out the image as more and more things filled the screen. Finally a baby cried and the nativity scene slowly came back into view. Gary now realised what Christmas was all about and got so excited about it that he ran off to tell Mark. The assembly finished with a short word about the true meaning of Christmas and we sang 'Great Big God'

Keeplewray - Sir John Barrow School

Today we were up at Keeplewray Christian Centre in Broughton. We had been asked to entertain a group of school children and this afternoon it was the year 3 class from Sir John Barrow School. We took the stage set for the nativity and all the costumes we had and began to tell a story to the children - but as Sarah started I stopped her and said that the rest of the cast for the play hadn't turned up and that all the children would have to go back to school and do lessons - but Sarah said that maybe the children might like to help us. I didn't think they would want to but they did (we kind of hoped they would). So Sarah started the story of Christmas as I picked children out to be actors in the story. We moved around the room, with the sheep and shepherds, I played the part of the Roman Emperor as well as King Herod. Lots of laughing later we completed the story. Then we sang Away in a Manger before we brought out Gary. Now Gary was far to busy getting his list together to be bothered with the children however Sarah did make him watch a short video about Christmas. It is the same one we have shown to all our schools this year, the children sang along to the 'We wish it could be Christmas everyday' song until the baby cried and the nativity scene came back on. Gary threw his list away and ran off to tell Mark all about what he had learnt. I then finished off the session with a reminder of what Christmas is about. We sang 'Great big God' and said a prayer and the children left. We do it all again on Thursday with a different school.

Windermere Juniors

This morning we made our way up the lake to Windermere Juniors. At times we could have been in the lake as there was so much water about, with the road flooded in several places. Today was a special Christmas assembly for the children. We took Gary with us, although Gary has been before the new year 3 children had never seen him. We also sang 'So many ways to Praise the Lord' which was new to them. Gary came out and said hello to everyone and I mean everyone (as Gary does from time to time) however he was far too busy to talk as he was doing his Christmas list, but he was also doing one to help out his mum as well. His list mainly had toys on it, his mums list did have food on it which included chocolate x 100. Being too busy as he was Gary didn't want to talk to Sarah or the children - he had too much to do. Sarah pointed out that it was not really what Christmas was about and showed him and the children a short video. The video started off with a nativity and then that picture was blotted out by other things can are to do with Christmas but are not really that important. Finally the video ended with the nativity scene again. Sarah explained to Gary about Christmas, he got so excited about it that he threw his list away and went off to tell Mark all about it. Mark came back and talked to the children about Christmas then we sang 'Great Big God' said a prayer with them and finished with 'Shine'

Our Lady's School Dalton

This morning we took Gary to Our Lady's (for the first time) However he was rather too busy to talk to the children. He had his Christmas list to write which had toys, toys, toys and more toys on it. He was also doing a list for his mum to help her with getting ready for Christmas and that had mince pies, chocolate x 100 (Gary added that bit), mince pies, sprouts, turkey and sellotape. Sarah pointed out to Gary that Christmas was not all about what we get as presents or what we eat it was about a baby born in a stable called Jesus. To make her point clear to Gary she showed him and the rest of the school a video. The video showed a nativity scene with Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the stable - but other things got in the way of the scene and slowly the nativity scene got blotted out until that is a baby cried and the nativity scene faded back into view. Now Gary understood what Christmas was all about and ran off to tell Mark all about it.

Penny Bridge School

This afternoon we took Gary along to Penny Bridge School. However he was really too busy to talk to the children and Sarah as he was putting his Christmas list together, he was also putting things down to remind his mum. Sarah tried to get him to talk but he would not. So Sarah decided to show him and the rest of the children a video about Christmas. The video showed the nativity scene with Mary, Joseph and Jesus then it was blotted out by other pictures that are to do with Christmas but really not that important. Final a baby cries and the nativity pictures fades into view. Sarah pointed out that this is the reason for Christmas, Gary was so excited he went off to find Mark to tell him. We also sang Inright Outright and Great Big God.