Wednesday 29 June 2016

Lindal and Marton School

This morning Sarah and I with Vic and Co went to do our transition lesson at Lindal and Marton School.  We started with the assembly which featured a drama about Daniel and how he made a move to Babylon.  We covered a few issues with it like leaving family and friends as well as being in a strange new place with new sounds, sights and smells.  We then sang Great Big God before Gary from Pennington Church said a short prayer to close.  We then set up our three stations and worked with the year 6 children to hopefully help them as they transition into secondary school.  We looked at some big questions children often have like what do I do if I get lost, or if I forget my homework.  We looked at other things too like bullying, as well as things that scare us about the move.  To help us at the end the children took a sheet of paper and put down one thing they were worried about.  We made it into a paper aeroplane and flew it across the room saying God I give you all my worries, then the children took someone else's and did the same this time saying God I give you all this persons worries.  I explained that this was like a practical prayer.

Tuesday 28 June 2016

St Mary's Dalton

This morning Sarah and I with Emily and Vic went to do our transition lesson and assembly at St Mary's School in Dalton.  We started with the year 6 children in an hour long lesson to hopefully help them make the transition to their secondary schools in September.  After the lesson we went and did a whole school assembly.  In the assembly we did a drama about Daniel moving to Babylon and the changes he faced.  These changes will be similar to the children as they move on into new class's as well as new schools, we talked about the change in people, sounds, buildings, smells and the fact that they will be leaving friends behind and in some case's family members (younger brothers and sisters).  We encouraged the children with a verse from Joshua 1:8 which says be strong and courageous for I am with you wherever you go.  After this we sang Great Big God before ending with a prayer.

Monday 27 June 2016

Vicarage Park School

This morning Sarah and I went over to Vicarage Park School in Kendal for our last assembly of this school year.  It has been a while since we were last there so it was good to catch up with the staff and see the children again.  We started by singing So Many Ways to Praise the Lord then we did our assembly about Respect which includes the little clip from finding Nemo.  Sarah talked about what Nemo did and that he had been so dis-respectful towards his dad which in the end landed him in big trouble.  She linked it to the parable of the lost son explaining that he too didn't show his father any respect.  I then showed the 10 commandment about respecting our parents and explained that we could expand it out to include everyone.  Sarah then introduced our final song Shine.  After the song I closed the assembly with a prayer.

Thursday 23 June 2016

Newton School

This afternoon Sarah and I did our first assembly at Newton School.  It was great to go into a new school, to see new children and staff.  After introducing ourselves Sarah explained what we do and invited the children to stand up and sing Great Big God.  Some of the children knew the song, I did go through the actions for the children first so that they could join in.  After the song Sarah asked for two people to come out to the front.  She gave one a plate and the other some toothpaste.  Sarah explained that they were going to make some decorative art with the toothpaste - which they did.  However when asked to do a little more I gave the tube a big squeeze and loads of toothpaste came out making a real mess everywhere.  Next she asked them to put the toothpaste back into the tube - so they tried and tried and tried - tipping the plate up, turning it around but they couldn't do it of course.  I then explained that it was so easy to get the toothpaste out but very hard in fact impossible to get it back in again.  It is a bit like us when we open our mouths to speak - sometimes we say good things but there are times when we don't and once we have said it we can't take it back again - just like the toothpaste.  I went on to say that our tongue can do more damage that hitting or kicking someone.  Sarah then asked how a fire is started - by a spark she linked this to the verse in James which talks about a small spark starting a huge fire - that is what our tongue is like.  We should use our tongue for good things like giving praise to people.  After the little talk we sang Shine.  Sarah then closed the assembly with a prayer.

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Low Furness School Transition Assembly and Lesson

This morning Sarah and I with Tommy and Emily did our transition assembly about Daniel at Low Furness School.  Some of the issues that Daniel faced when he went to Babylon will be similar to the ones that face year 6 children moving into secondary school, like leaving friends and family behind, different smells, different people, new food stuffs etc.  We encouraged the year 6 children with a verse from Joshua 1:8.  After the assembly we set up for the lesson in a small classroom.  We showed the children a video which had children who are now in year 8 but was filmed when they were in year 7.  The children were asked some questions on the video about going to secondary school like what they had missed most about primary school, what was good about their secondary school etc.  Then the children in year 6 moved around three stations were they looked at other issues they might face next year.  We ended with all the year 6 children making a paper aeroplane inside the folds of the plane they had put down one thing they were worried about.  We flew the planes and as we did we said 'God I give you all my worries'  they then picked up someone else's plane and flew that one saying as they did 'God I give you all this persons worries'  We had a great time with the children of year 6.

Monday 20 June 2016

Pennington School Transition Lesson and Assembly

This afternoon I along with Vic, Tommy, Emily and Lisa went to Pennington School for the year 6 transition lesson and assembly.  The lesson went really well as the children of year 6 moved around various stations set up in the hall and looked at different aspects of moving on to secondary school.  Each child was given a booklet to help them.  They also saw a video of three young people who made the move to secondary school two years ago and they talked about some of the issue they thought they might face.  After the lesson we went on to do the assembly for the whole school.  We started with introductions and then did a short drama based on Daniel and his move to Babylon.  After the drama Vic did a summing up of some of the things Daniel would have faced as he moved to a new place.  We then sang Great Big God and closed the assembly with a prayer.

Penny Bridge Academy

This morning Sarah and I with Tommy and Lisa went to Penny Bridge Academy to do our transition assembly and then the year 6 children had a lesson with us afterwards.  We didn't start with a song so after introducing each other we got on with the drama about Daniel.  The children laughed in the right places and all seemed to enjoy it.  Lisa then did a summing up linking what happened to Daniel with children moving on in school life, as they move through the school from year to year but also moving on to secondary school.  She encouraged the children by saying God would be with them as they make the move and he will be there to protect them so they shouldn't be afraid.  We used the verse from Joshua 1:8.  We then sang Great Big God as it talks about God holding us in his hands.  After this the local vicar Brian gave each year 6 child a bible.  We then dismissed the children and went to work with the year 6 group.

Thursday 16 June 2016

Flookburgh School

This morning I went down to Flookburgh School for the assembly.  To start off we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger.  I then went on to tell the feeding the 5000 story using the Big Ministries book 2.  The story has trigger words which require the children to respond in some way, so after telling the children what to do we had a little test, then I started the story.  At the end of the story I pointed out some facts about it like the fact that it is in all the gospels and also Matthew and Mark record another feeding event - with 4000 people.  I also pointed out that the bible says 5000 men plus women plus children so we did a little bit of maths and yes 15000 people could possibly have been fed, so I asked the children to remind us how many fish and how much bread - then how many basketfuls of left overs - yes 12.  I explained that this was a miracle, I then asked if they thought Jesus and God still did miracles today - a few hands went up.  I put my hand up and explained that I think miracles happen all the time like when a dead looking seed is planted in the ground then a beautiful plant shoots up.  I then said that God can do anything and that nothing is too big for him and nothing is too small - cue for a song I think.  After the song I said a short prayer.

Wednesday 15 June 2016

Croftlands Infant School

Yesterday Sarah and I were at Croftlands Infant School for the assembly.  After singing So Many Ways to Praise the Lord Sarah invited two children to join us at the front.  She gave one a tube of toothpaste and the other a plate.  She asked the one with the toothpaste to draw with the toothpaste on the plate - which they did.  Sarah encouraged them to do a bit more which turned the plate into a mass of toothpaste or as we called it a mess.  She then asked them to put the toothpaste back in the tube, which they tried and tried to do but sadly could not do.  I then explained the purpose of what we had done.  The toothpaste is like what we say in that it is easy to come out but not easy to put back a bit like when we say something unkind or hurtful to someone.  The words come out of our mouths very easily but once they're out we can't take them back.  We also explained that our tongue can be a very dangerous thing as it can hurt people far more than hitting can.  So I encouraged the children to think about what they say and how they say it and try to praise people when ever they can.  To finish off the assembly Sarah talked about when we do those kind of things we Shine from the inside out - cue song.  After the song Sarah closed with a prayer.  We also did an ad for the holiday club during the assembly.

Monday 13 June 2016

Croftlands Junior School

This morning Sarah and I with Tommy, Vic and Emily went to do our transition assembly and lesson at Croftlands Junior school.  We did the assembly first then following a short break we did the lesson.  The assembly focused on Daniel as he was taken from his homeland to Babylon, we focused on the different sounds, smells, language that Daniel would have experienced as well s moving away from family and some of his friends - all very similar to things children experience when they move school.  To finish of our assembly we sang Great Big God then Emily closed it with a prayer.  We then did the lesson and the children of year 6 moved round 4 stations and look at some issues they may face a secondary school.

Thursday 9 June 2016

Our Lady's School

Today Sarah and I along with Vic and Tommy went to do the first of our transition lessons and assemblies at Our Lady's School.  We started by working with the year 6 pupils as we looked at some of the things they may face as the move up to secondary school.  The children moved round 4 stations before coming back to the middle for a recap.  Then we went into the assembly with the rest of the school.  We didn't do a song to start as we had a drama to do about Daniel and the things he faced as he moved to Babylon.  Then Vic summed up that part by picking bits out of the drama that had been said to reassure the children.  Sarah then introduced Great Big God song, after the song she closed with a prayer.

Wednesday 8 June 2016

St Peters School

This morning Sarah and I went to St Peters for the assembly.  As the children arrived in the hall Sarah gave each one a pipe cleaner to use later in the assembly.  To start off the assembly we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger.  Sarah then asked the children to pick up their pipe cleaner and start to bend it into shape, the shape she was after was a fish shape.  I then told the story of Jesus feeding the 5000.  Before I started I explained that when I said certain words they should do an action one of the actions was to hold up their pipe cleaner fish.  After the story I talked a little about miracles asking the children if they thought miracles still happen today - some were not too sure.  I then explained that at this time of year we can see little miracles happening in the growing of plants from seeds - seeds that look dead but have life inside them.  I also asked the children to look at each other as we are miracles too - I also asked them to sit still for a moment - then I said are your bodies moving at all - children said no, but I said they were as our hearts were beating and we were breathing too and our brain was also working very hard as well - all miracles.  Sarah then summed up what I had said and introduced our next song God Can Do Anything.  She then closed the assembly with a prayer.  She also encouraged the children to take the fish home and retell the story at home.

Tuesday 7 June 2016

Low Furness School

This morning Sarah and I were at Low Furness School for the assembly.  Nearly half the school were out on residential so it was a very small assembly with only a few from Key Stage 2 and all of Key Stage 1.  We decided to ask the children what song they would like to sing and they asked for the Chicken Dance so we agreed to sing it at the end of the assembly.  To start off though we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger.  Sarah had given everyone a pipe cleaner when they came into the hall and now she showed them how to make it into a fish shape.  Once everyone had done that I told the story of the feeding of the 5000 using a Big Ministries book.  This story had trigger words which the children could respond to like fish so they held up their fish pipe cleaner.  After the story I just talked about how amazing God and Jesus are in the miracles they are still doing today - like when a seed is planted in the ground and grows into a big flower.  I also reminded them about the number of fish and bread Jesus used to feed the 5000 and about how much was left over.  After this we did sing the Chicken Dance song and I then closed with a short prayer.  I also did a quick talk about the Urswick Holiday Club.

Monday 6 June 2016

Church Walk School

This morning Sarah and I went to Church Walk School for the assembly however Sarah was seeing Martha off on her school residential and didn't get back in time for the assembly start.  I started the assembly with So Many Ways then asked for two helpers.  To one I gave a tube of toothpaste the other a plate, I asked them to draw a picture with the toothpaste which they did and I showed it to the school, then I asked them to draw a bit more only this time I held onto the tube and gave it a big squeeze which meant loads of toothpaste came out making a mess.  I asked them to swap places and to see if they could put the toothpaste back into the tube - they couldn't of course.  Giving each a wet wipe to clean their hands they sat down.  I then explained why I had asked the two girls to do what they did - it is like when we say something it comes out of our mouths and it like the toothpaste can't go back in.  The girls found it so easy to squeeze the toothpaste out but couldn't get it back in like when we say something - at this point I shouted at a teacher which brought a bit of a laugh particularly when I put my hands to my mouth.  I asked if I could take the words back - no came the response.  I did say sorry to the teacher and did explain to the children I didn't mean what I said it was just an example.  I then displayed the verse from James - It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it...James 3:5-6 MSG I explained the verse to the children pointing out how much damage a fire can cause and that our tongue can hurt people more than a fist or kick can.  I encouraged the children to think about what they say and try to only say good things that praise people like - you look nice today, your hair looks great, you did well in that race, thank you Miss for teaching me today.  I then looked at the teacher I shouted at and said 'thank you for helping me with my assembly' to which she replied 'thank you Mark'  I then said when we do that sort of thing we can Shine from the inside out cue song.  After the song I did a brief talk about holiday club before ending with a prayer.