Holiday Club Day 5 - Last day

There is always a touch of sadness on the last day of holiday club and there was this morning, there was also great joy that the week had gone so well.  We have had children numbering 60 + each day.  Although today was the final part of the story when we looked at Noah and his family coming out of the ark and the wonderful promise from God sealed with the rainbow, there will be a final final part on Sunday morning, when we recap the story and finish on a high.  The morning went well and the teams worked hard to gain points as the scores increased we waited as the final totals were revealed at the end.  After the morning session was over we all settled down to a picnic and then the annual water fight - which I have to say this year was a welcome to us as it has been so hot in the hall all week.  Continue to pray for the children as they continue to seek God and find that connection with him and to him.

Holiday Club Day 4

It was fancy dress day today at holiday club.  They children had been encouraged to come in costumes of animals that went into the ark.  The results were great we had all kinds of animals from birds to fish?- did they go on the ark or under the ark??  we had an elephant as well as several cows.  The children once again had a great time with us as they sang, played games, did crafts, heard the story, watched the puppets.  Then Harry Spotter came to answer some of the children's questions.  The leaders and junior leaders as well as the children had a ball.

Holiday Club Day 3

Our third day went fabulously today.  We had about the same number of children as the last two days, some children didn't turn up today due to illness and we had a few new ones too.  We looked at the story of how sin entered the world and our bible memory verse reflected this from Romans 5:12 which was paraphrased for the children to - Sin entered the world through one man...and death came to all men, because all sinned.  We were aware the difficult concept of this subject matter and used words such as disobedience and doing wrong to explain what sin is.  The theme today was wacky hat day and the children came with all kinds of things on their heads.  Tomorrow is fancy dress day and they have been encouraged to come with a homemade animal costume - looking forward to it.

Holiday Club Day 2

We have had another great time today at Holiday Club.  Yesterday we had 68 children and today 67.  The children are really getting into it and enjoying themselves.  They are loving the singing, the games even though it is a little warm outside, they are doing well with the crafts too.  All the leaders seem to be having a good time too and what can I say about our Junior Leaders they are doing a fab job looking after all the children and running around after them (I wish I have half their energy).  Tomorrow is all about how sin entered our world.  Tomorrow is also our Wacky Hat day when the children will come with all kinds of fancy, strange and wacky head wear.

Holiday Club Day 1

This morning we welcomed almost 70 children to our holiday club 'In the Beginning'  We had a great time.  As the children arrived they started to work on a table which they will transform into a world by the end of the week.  We sang songs, had jokes, sang more songs, gave team points out, saw Captin Ketchup as well as Gary, watched a dramatized story and that was all in the first half an hour.  The children split into two groups and one went outside to play games while the other went and did crafts then after half an hour they came in for a drink and biscuits swapped over and we did games and crafts again.  Following that the team leaders had a reflective time with their groups before all coming back together for the final session of the morning with more singing, more jokes, Gary and the post box was emptied - not many letters today.  We did the memory verse for the day explained the week long competition sang Wonderful Lord and a prayer said good bye.  And tomorrow we do it all again.

Leven Valley School

This morning I went along to Leven Valley School for the final assembly of the year.  I decided to sing Great Great Brill Brill with the children as we haven't sung that one for a while.  Then after the song I read the story of Paul's ship wreck on his way to Rome.  I used the Lion Storyteller Bible to tell the story then I filled in some of the blanks that the bible account has, like the number of days the storm raged for and the number of prisoners on board.  I explained that in life we sometimes face changes like Paul had done in his life and we also face challenges as Paul was in our story.  I linked this to the changes the children would be facing as they move up the school and the year 6 children as they leave the school and go off to secondary school.  As we move year to new year we also face new challenges like the year 2 children going into Key Stage 2, the year 6 children to Key Stage 3 and the challenge of a new much bigger school.  I told the children that as they move that God will be with them and I displayed the verse from Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid for the Lord you God is with you wherever you go.  After this and as a treat we sang the Chicken Dance.  Then I closed with a prayer.

Broughton School Transition Lesson

This morning Vic, Andre and myself went over to Broughton school to do the Transition Lesson we have been doing all this week, to the 9 year 6 pupils.  Instead of having 4 groups we just had 2 and we did two of the stations then swapped over.  Vic did the homework and bullying ones while Andre did the moving on and I did the lost stations.  It was great to be involved with the children and to see them open up about some of the issue they are facing as the move into a much bigger school.  We promised to pray for them as they move and gave them the Moving On booklet to help them as they do.

St Peters

This morning Sarah and I went for our last visit of the school year to St Peters.  As always we got a wonderful welcome from the children which was great.  To start off the assembly we sang Great Great Brill Brill then Sarah told the story 'Bags of Money' from the Lion Storyteller Bible.  It is basically the story from Matthew 25:14ff and is the parable of the talents.  After the story I explained a bit about the meaning of it for us today.  I reminded the children that a parable is an earthly story that has a heavenly meaning.  The story we read is the earthly one but what Jesus was saying is that we should use wisely the talents, gifts and blessings that we have been given by God.  Some of those gifts might be sport related, some performing arts, others being a good friend etc.  I encouraged the children to think about the parable and to use whatever they have so that others may get a benefit from it.  To close and as a special treat for the year 6 leavers we sang the Chicken Dance.  Then I closed in prayer and finished with The Lord's Prayer.

Crosthwaite School

Our final assembly of the day was over at Crosthwaite School.  Sarah and I again did the ship wrecked story of Paul, but before that we sang Great Great Brill Brill.  After the story I again explained a few things about it and pointed out once again that God is with us as we go through changes and challenges too.  I displayed the verse from Joshua 1:8 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid for God will be with you wherever you go.  At the end of the assembly we sang the Chicken Dance song as a final treat for the year 6 children.  Then afterwards we got the children settled down for a final prayer.

Low Furness School

After the assembly at SJB Sarah and I went to Low Furness School for the last assembly of the school year and the last assembly with year 6 and Grace.  It was a little sad I have to say knowing that it was Grace's last assembly with Mum and Dad.  To start off the assembly we sang Inright Outright then Sarah told the story of Paul's shipwreck from the Lion Storyteller Bible.  The was a response for the children to say- every time they heard 'was Paul worried' the children needed to say 'no not at all'  after a quick practise they got the idea.  Following the story I fill in some other details about it like how many people there were on the ship 276 the fact that the storm lasted 14 days.  I did ask who had been on a ship on the sea and also asked if they had ever been in a storm at sea.  I recalled a time when we got caught in a storm when Grace was a baby.  I reinforced the point we made during the transition assembly a few weeks ago about God being with us wherever we go, using the passage from Joshua 1:8  Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid for God will be with you wherever you go.  At the end of the assembly we sang the Chicken Dance song as a final treat for the year 6 children.  Then afterwards we got the children settled down for a final prayer.

Sir John Barrow School Transition Assembly

This morning Sarah, Vic, Andre and myself went to do the transition assembly about Paul to the year 6 classes at Sir John Barrow School.  After a brief introduction by Sarah we performed the drama about Paul and about how he changed after he had met with Jesus on the road into Damascus.  I played the Mr Change part a person that thinks change is good while Vic played Mrs Same who thinks things should remain the same.  We were the travel agents called Move It and Saul later called Paul came to us as he wanted to travel, Andre played this part.  During the drama Paul acted out the dramatic events on the road and we all stood around as sound effects played (Sarah).  So we all took part.  The point was that we all face changes at some point in our lives and those changes could be really big like the complete change Paul went through to little changes like getting some new school shoes.  Some changes can also be challenges as well a bit like the change the year 6 children will face in September.  We wanted to encourage the children that no matter what we face God would be with them like he was with Paul.  We used a verse from Joshua which says Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid for God will be with you wherever you go. Josh 1:8.  At the end of the drama we all shared a good and bad memory from school.  Alan Bing the vicar and the new curate Matt were in the assembly and they too shared good and bad memories.  Then Alan closed in prayer.  We then gave ever child a Move It booklet to help them as they move to secondary school.

Penny Bridge School

Following the assembly and lesson at Pennington school this morning we went along to Penny Bridge school to do it all again.  We did the lesson first and followed it with the assembly.  The year 6 children responded very well to what we were doing and seemed to enjoy the lesson.  During the assembly we again acted out the Paul story. At the end of the assembly we prayed with the school.

Pennington School

This morning Sarah, Vic, Andre and myself did the first of two transition assemblies and lessons.  The whole school was in for the assembly as we once again acted out part of the story of Paul.  We discovered what changes he went through during his life as he took the gospel message to people far and wide.  After the assembly we set up the hall for the transition lesson.  The children moved round the hall and reflected and discussed about their move to secondary school.  They looked at moving on, homework, getting lost and bullying.  We tried to encourage them as they move on to their new schools and told them that we would be praying for them during the first weeks in September as they settle into their new schools.

Our Lady's

This morning I went along to Our Lady's in Dalton for the assembly.  To start with we sang Great Great Brill Brill although we have done this one before it was a long time ago so I reminded the children of the actions as well as pointing out that the word 'wicked' in the song is in fact street talk for good.  After the song I told the story of Paul being shipwrecked on his way to Rome.  I did fill in some of the details of the story before I started though to explain why he was going to Rome.  Following the story I again filled in some other details about the story like how many people were on the boat and about how long the storm lasted for.  I explained to the children that in life we all at some point face changes as well as challenges and the story we had heard was about a big challenge that Paul faced.  However God via an angel assure Paul that all would be well with the people on the ship even though the ship was going to be lost everyone would be safe - and they were saved and the ship did get lost.  I tried to encourage the children that as they journey through life and as they see changes happen like moving up a school year or in the case of the year 6 children moving school, that God will always be there and he will protect them as he did Paul.  I also said that they could ask God to help them as Paul did whenever they face difficult times.  To finish we sang Wonderful Lord as that talks about God being our shield and protector and that he is always there looking over us.  During the song I said a prayer for all the children as they move on and in particular the year 6 children.

St Marys Dalton

Today we went to St Marys in Dalton.   It was our first visit to the school.   We went to do our transition assembly and we followed it with the transition lesson.  We had a great time at the school and I think the children did too. We started by singing Geat Big God then at the end of the assembly were asked to ding another song so we sang Great Great Brill Brill. After the aassembly I said a short prayer.   The lesson that followed went very well afterwards.

Croftlands Infants School

This afternoon we made our last visit of this school year to Croftlands Infants School.  It was great to see all of the children and they greeted us so well as we arrived.  After singing Great Great Brill Brill I told the Daniel story using some of the children to act out the various parts - Sarah directed them as needed to the correct places as we heard about how Daniel continued to worship God even though some of the officials that he was in charge of tricked the king into making it illegal.  Daniel eventually end up in the lions den but he didn't stay there for long as the next day he was taken out un harmed and those that plotted against him became cat food.  Sarah explained how God had protected Daniel and how he still protects people today.  She linked what she was saying to the words for Wonderful Lord which we sang at the end.  I said a prayer part way through as usual.

Croftlands Junior School

This morning Sarah and I went to do our last assembly of this school year at Croftlands Juniors.  We only had the year 3 and 4 classes in as the rest of the school do swimming.  So to start with we sang Great Great Brill Brill then I went on to tell the story of Daniel.  We selected some children to come and play the various parts.  We had a fun time as the story rolled out and as the actors acted out various bits of it.  Then Sarah explained at the end of the story about how Daniel was a man of God and that he trusted God.  She also explained how God protected Daniel and how he still protects people today.  This led to our second song Wonderful Lord, during which I said a short prayer.

Broughton School

This afternoon we made our last visit of the school year to Broughton School.  It is sad to think that when we go back in September the year 6 children will have left and be at various secondary schools in the area.  To start the assembly we sang Great Great Brill Brill pointing out that the term wicked in the song is street talk.  Then Sarah using the Lion Storyteller Bible told the story of Paul being ship wrecked.  After the story I explained a little about Paul and about how he faced many changes as well as challenges in his life but God was always there to protect him and look after him.  I wanted to encourage the year 6 pupils as they leave and say no matter what they face in the future they should look to God and he will help.  After the talk we sang Wonderful Lord because it talks about God protecting us and looking after us.

Croftlands Juniors Transition Assembly and Leson

Today Sarah and I were joined by Vic and Andre and together we took the assembly at Croftlands Juniors.  The theme was change, we started by singing God Can do Anything then between us we did a short sketch about Paul and the changes he went through as he changed from someone who hated the Christians to someone who spoke to more people about Jesus than anyone else at that time.  The focus was on the fact that he had changed and we can change too.  We sometimes get stuck in the same routine day in and day out like what time we eat, what we wear to the things we like doing.  This was demonstrated during the drama sketch as there was Mr Change who kept on changing his hair to Mrs Same who didn't change anything including her socks.  Paul visited their travel agent shop and told everyone how he had changed, Paul kept coming back to make travel plans as he went on to more and more places.  Following the assembly we did the transition lesson with year 6 which took about an hour.  The children moved around the hall and visited four stations each one looking at a different aspect and potential problem in a new secondary school.  Then at the end we summed up what the lesson was about said a prayer and dismissed the group.

BX OT5 Pennington School

Had a great time this afternoon at Pennington School finishing off the Bible Explorer with the year 5 class.  They all responded well to the lesson and joined in with all the actions.  There was a lot of excitement each time I went to the prop box to get out more props as the children wanted to be part of the story and wear the crowns or the lions head or just to be part of a story.  During the lesson today we cover one of my favourite stories which is Esther.  Once the lesson had finished and everyone did all the hand signs I was able to give out their certificates.

St Peters Ireleth

This morning Sarah and I went over to St Peters again.  To start we got a lovely welcome from the children as they said good morning to us.  Our first song today was Great Great Brill Brill, we haven't sung it much in recent months but it kind of fitted with what we wanted to talk about in that it says 'He's always there, he always listens when I talk to him...' After the song Sarah read the story of Paul's shipwreck using the Lion Storyteller Bible.  There was a response for the children to say when ever Sarah said ...was Paul worried... the response was... no not at all.  After the story I spoke to the children and explained that the storm that caused the ship to be wrecked had lasted 14 days.  I asked who had been on a boat at sea and asked if they have ever been in a storm.  I told of the time when we were coming back from Ireland when Grace was a baby and the boat ran into a storm, the shop was closed but we could hear all the bottles and jars crashing to the floor and there was people being ill and it was a little frightening.  I also told the children that on the boat there were 276 prisoners which Paul had been told would survive the ship wreck.  It would have been easy to throw them over the side to make the ship a little lighter but instead they throw the cargo, the ships tackle as well as the anchors into the sea and as God had promised to Paul all hands were saved.  I encouraged the children by saying that in life we do go through difficult times and we should do as Paul did and look to God and Jesus to help and protect us if you like through the storms of life.  God is our shield and our protector and he will look after us through whatever we face each day.  This was a cue to a song so I asked who knew what the song was and a hand went up and Wonderful lord was the answer.  During the song I said a prayer.  Then after we closed the assembly.

Low Furness School

This morning Sarah and I went to Low Furness School for the assembly.  We decided to do a plug for the Urswick Holiday Club today so we sang one of the more upbeat action songs Great Great Brill Brill Wicked Wicked Skill Skill, point out that the word wicked was street talk.  Then I told the story of Daniel in the Lions Den.  I used children to act out the parts as I recalled the story with a bit of humour which caused the children to laugh.  After the story I then explained that it was just one of the stories that will be told at holiday club this year although I will not be telling it in that particular way.  Sarah also continued to talk about the holiday club before explaining that God was looking after and protecting Daniel during his time in the lions den so to close we sang Wonderful Lord, during which I said a prayer.