Friday 29 March 2019

Our Lady's School

On Thursday morning I went to do our final assembly of this term at Our Lady's School.  I asked for three children to help me I told them one of us at the front would sit down with a bag full of sweets at the end.  However they needed to make a choice of four cards an ace, two, three or a four.  Once they had made their choice I asked if they were happy or if they wanted to swap.  They chose to keep the card they had.  I exchanged their card for a coloured disc with a number on it that matched their card.  This disc represented the colour of some bags one of which had all the sweets in.  It turns out it was my bag with all the sweets - I said to the children you made the wrong choice.  They did however get a couple of sweets.  I then told the story of the wise and foolish man that Jesus told to a large crowd of people.  I explained that Jesus often told everyday stories that had a hidden heavenly meaning we call them parables.  After the story I explained further what it means and how we should make good choices and build our lives on a solid firm foundation such as following Jesus I linked it to the song Be Happy as a line in the song says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop.  So after singing the song I finished with a short prayer.

Thursday 28 March 2019

OT Mini Lesson 5 Crosthwaite School

On Wednesday afternoon I was once again over at Crosthwaite School, it was the final lesson in OT Mini.  I did a quick recap of the events so far before explaining that the united kingdom of Israel had split up into 10 1/2 tribes in the north and the remaining 11/2 in the south and that is how it was for the next 400 or so years.  I reminded the children of the role prophets had in that sometimes the people would talk to them and they would take it to God - but more often it was God talking to them with messages for the people.  I pointed out that those messages were directed to the people in the south as well as the north sometimes to both.  Moving on I then told them what happened to the people in the north when the Assyrian army came in and scattered them (as the prophets had said they would), next we heard about the Babylonians taking over the Assyrians who then took over Judah in the south putting them into exile.  The people were exiled until the Persians took control and during that time people started the return to Judah.  All the stories for this week involved people during this time period people like Daniel and then Esther.  I covered the three different groups of people that made a return Zerubbabel worked to restore  and rebuild the temple, Ezra worked to teach the people about the law and the use of the temple while Nehemiah rebuilt the walls and the gates around Jerusalem.  Here the Old Testament stops for us until the New Testament starts some 400 or so years later.  So we wait...for Christ.  I had a number of children joining in with actions and acting out various parts during the lesson which was great to see their enthusiasm.  I sent them away with a copy of Andy Robb's 40 OT Mini Bible Stories and said it is one thing to have me talk about the stories it is something else to read them and discover them for themselves.

Wednesday 27 March 2019

St Mary's RC School

This morning I went to do the assembly at St Mary's RC School.  I started by asking for three children to help me with the assembly- some hands went up so I said that they didn't know what I wanted them to do it might be drinking dirty pond water - more hands went up.  So I picked out three children and told them that it wasn't drinking pond water but one of us at the front would sit down with a bag full of sweets at the end.  However they needed to make a choice of four cards an ace, two, three or a four.  Once they had made their choice I asked if they were happy or if they wanted to swap.  They chose to keep the card they had.  I exchanged their card for a coloured disc with a number on it that matched their card.  This disc represented the colour of some bags one of which had all the sweets in.  It turns out it was my bag with all the sweets - I said to the children you made the wrong choice.  They did however get a couple of sweets.  I then told the story of the wise and foolish man that Jesus told to a large crowd of people.  I explained that Jesus often told everyday stories that had a hidden heavenly meaning we call them parables.  After the story I explained further what it means and how we should make good choices and build our lives on a solid firm foundation such as following Jesus I linked it to the song Be Happy as a line in the song says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop.  So after singing the song I finished with a short prayer.

Wednesday 20 March 2019

OT Mini Lesson 4 Crosthwaite School

This afternoon I have once again been working with the children at Crosthwaite school - it was lesson 4 for OT Mini.  We looked at the time when the people called out for a king to rule over them so we covered the stories of Samuel, Saul, David and Solomon ending as the once united kingdom of Israel split apart into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.  I explained that none of the kings in the north ever followed God or his ways and only 8 followed him in the south during a period of some 400 years.  I then explained a little more about what the role of a prophet was as they began to speak out.  Next week we look at the exile and the waiting for Jesus...

St Mary's Dalton

This morning Sarah and I went to do our choices assembly at Dalton St Mary's School. Sarah started by asking for children who had a birthday this week - we needed three children to help out.  I explained that one of us at the front would sit down feeling very happy as they would be holding a big bag of sweets - however they needed to make the right choice and to do so I had four playing cards and asked the three children to each pick one card.  I then gave them the choice to swap the card they had for someone else's card - they didn't.  Taking out a small bag which had four coloured and numbered discs in I gave each child the disc which matched their card number, next I exchanged the disc for a bag of the same colour except my bag had all the sweets in and their bag just had two sweets - wrong choice I said as they sat down.  I linked this to the parable Jesus told of the wise and foolish man. I explained that Jesus told earthly stories about every day things that had hidden heavenly meanings.  Sarah then went on to talk about the choices we make and how we should be like the wise man and build our lives on a firm solid foundation.  She also said that every day of our lives we make choices about all sorts of different things from the colour of socks we wear to.... joining in when someone is being nasty to someone else.  She encouraged the children to make good choices, she went on to mention the line in one of our songs - Be Happy it says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop which is a good choice thing to do.  After singing the song Sarah finished the assembly with a prayer.

Lindal and Marton School

This morning Sarah and I went to do our choices assembly at Lindal and Marton School. Sarah started by asking for children who had a birthday this week - we needed three children to help out.  I explained that one of us at the front would sit down feeling very happy as they would be holding a big bag of sweets - however they needed to make the right choice and to do so I had four playing cards and asked the three children to each pick one card.  I then gave them the choice to swap the card they had for someone else's card - they didn't.  Taking out a small bag which had four coloured and numbered discs in I gave each child the disc which matched their card number, next I exchanged the disc for a bag of the same colour except my bag had all the sweets in and their bag just had two sweets - wrong choice I said as they sat down.  I linked this to the parable Jesus told of the wise and foolish man. I explained that Jesus told earthly stories about every day things that had hidden heavenly meanings.  Sarah then went on to talk about the choices we make and how we should be like the wise man and build our lives on a firm solid foundation.  She also said that every day of our lives we make choices about all sorts of different things from the colour of socks we wear to.... joining in when someone is being nasty to someone else.  She encouraged the children to make good choices, she went on to mention the line in one of our songs - Be Happy it says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop which is a good choice thing to do.  After singing the song Sarah finished the assembly with a prayer.

Tuesday 19 March 2019

St Peters School

This morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at St Peters School.  We didn't start with a song as I wanted to show the children and illustration, so Sarah asked who has a birthday coming up and a few hands went up so she picked three children who have birthdays this week.  I then said to them that one of us at the front will end up being very happy as they will go away with a bag of sweets. I asked the children to pick a card each had a number on it 1-4.  Once they had their card I asked if they wanted to swap it they all decided to stick with the choice they had made.  I then took out a bag that had coloured numbered disc in it and gave each children the coloured disc of their chosen card.  After this I replaced the disc with a bag - some had two sweets in but my bag had loads of sweets.  As I gave the sweets to the children I said they had made the wrong choice.  I then told the parable of the wise and foolish man which Jesus told to a large group of people.  One man the wise one build a house on solid rock while the other built on sand - well when the rain came and the storm raged the wise man's house stood firm and the foolish man's washed away.  Linking the illustration to the story I said we all have to a some point make choices some times big ones others no so big.  Sarah then explained that we should try to build our lives on a firm solid foundation and make wise choices and follow what Jesus says in the Bible.  In the song Be happy it says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop which would be a wise thing to do.  After singing that song Sarah finished with a prayer.

Thursday 14 March 2019

Coniston Primary School

This morning I went over to do the assembly at Coniston Primary School.  I started by asking three children to help me, loads of hands went up, so I joked with the children saying they had no idea what I was going to ask them to do - what I said would you say if I was going to get you to drink water from Coniston Water - a few more hands went up!!  I picked the children out and told them they were not going to drink water but one of us at the front would go away with a bag of sweets, and they were going to choose who it was by picking one of four playing cards.  Once they had done that I gave them the choice to swap the card they had with someone else's card.  I then exchanged the card they had for a coloured disc with the same number on in which in turn was the colour of bag they would now get - they all got two sweets and I got the full bag!  I then told them they had made the wrong choice - this led into me telling the story of the wise and foolish man and how one built his house on a firm solid rock and the other just on the sand so when the storms came one stood firm the other fell down.  I explained that this was a parable an everyday earthly story that has a hidden heavenly meaning.  We all have choice's to make every day in our lives - what colour socks to wear, what to eat for breakfast etc, as well as big choice's like do I join in when someone is being nasty to someone else or do I choose to walk away and tell an adult about it.  The wise man in the story choose to build on firm solid ground and I encouraged the children to make wise choices and build their lives on firm solid foundations such as follow what the Bible teaches us.  In the song Be Happy there is a line that says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop and if we do that then we are building on a firm foundation.  We sang the song then I closed with a prayer.

Wednesday 13 March 2019

OT Mini Leson 3 Crosthwaite School

This afternoon I have once again been at Crosthwaite School doing OT Mini.  It was lesson 3 today so we have covered the story of Joshua taking over the promised land and dividing it up for the 12 tribes.  We moved then in to the era of the judges and covered the story of Deborah.  Then Gideon before finishing the era off with Samson.  Our lesson was drawn to a close as we looked at the fantastic story of Ruth.  Next week we move on to look at the first kings Saul, David and Solomon.

Lindale School

This morning I went down to Lindale School for the assembly.  The theme I had been given was the temptations of Jesus as the school are looking and working towards Easter.  So I did the illustration about choices that we have done in several schools during the past few weeks, then told the children about the events of Jesus being tempted.  I explained that Jesus had a choice to listen to the temptation or to respond in a different way, I also explained that we all get tempted at some point or other and we also are faced in life with many choices but it is how we deal with them that matters.  We should build our lives on a solid firm foundation and make good choices and not be tempted to join in when someone is being nasty to someone else instead choose to tell a teacher say.  I read the line from the song Be Happy which says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop and said that by doing that we are making a wise choice.  We then sang the song and I finished the assembly off with a prayer.

Tuesday 12 March 2019

Low Furness School

This morning we went to do the assembly at Low Furness School.  We started by Sarah asking for three people to help me - loads of hands went up so she asked for people whohave a birthday soon like this week.  I explained that at the end one of us at the front would be sitting back down again with a bag of sweets but they had to make a choice - I had four playing cards an ace, a two, three and a four.  I mixed them up and asked them to make a choice I then gave them the chance to swap their card or keep it they decided to swap the cards they had.  Next I took out a bag with coloured discs in each had a number on it I gave each child the coloured disc of their chosen card.  Now the disc corresponded to a bag of the same colour, when they looked inside their bag they had just two sweets but I had all the rest - wrong choice I said as they sat back down.  I then told the wise and foolish man story pointing out afterwards that in live we all make choices and sometimes we make good choice's other times not so good ones.  The story is a parable which is an everyday earthly story with a hidden heavenly meaning and what Jesus was saying is that we need to build our lives on a good firm foundation which is making a good choice to follow him.  Sarah talk to them about when we make a good choice then we can feel happy and at peace and in the song Be Happy their is a line which says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop which is what we now sang.  After the song Sarah finished with a prayer.

Newton School

On Monday morning I went to do the assembly at Newton Primary School.  I started by asking for three people to help me - loads of hands went up so I said you don't know what I want you to do, it might be to drink the pond water from the local pond (more hands went up!) So I had three people come out and help.  I explained that at the end one of us at the front would be sitting back down again with a bag of sweets but they had to make a choice - I had four playing cards an ace, a two, three and a four.  I mixed them up and asked them to make a choice I then gave them the chance to swap their card or keep it they decided to stick with the card they had.  Next I took out a bag with coloured discs in each had a number on it I gave each child the coloured disc of their chosen card.  Now the disc corresponded to a bag of the same colour, when they looked inside their bag they had just two sweets but I had all the rest - wrong choice I said as they sat back down.  I then told the wise and foolish man story pointing out afterwards that in live we all make choices and sometimes we make good choice's other times not so good ones.  The story is a parable which is an everyday earthly story with a hidden heavenly meaning and what Jesus was saying is that we need to build our lives on a good firm foundation which is making a good choice to follow him.  In the song Be Happy the is a line which says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop which is what we now sang.  After the song I finished with a prayer.

Friday 8 March 2019

Flookburgh School

On Thursday morning I went down to Flookburgh School for the assembly.  I started by asking three children to come out and help me with an illustration.  I said that one of us was going to get a big bag of sweets when I had finished talking.  I then gave the children the choice of picking one of four playing cards numbered 1-4.  I asked if they were happy with the choice they had made or if they'd like to swap.  Next I took out four coloured discs each with a number on and swapped their card for the disc.  The coloured discs matched the colours of the bags I had except my bag had all the sweets in it and their bags just two sweets - wrong choice I said to them as they went to sit down.  I then told the wise and foolish man parable that Jesus used and explained that we need to build or lives on good solid firm foundations by making right choices.  This led into Be Happy as a line in the song says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop.  After the song I finished with a prayer.

OT MINI Lesson 1&2 Crosthwaite School

On Wednesday afternoon I went over to Crosthwaite School to do OT MINI with the year 5/6 class.  I did a double lesson (as there is enough time to fit it all in before Easter holidays)  So I covered all the stories from creation through to the end of Moses.  At the half way point we had a short break while the children filled in their leaflets then we continued.  The children enjoyed listening and getting involved with the stories particularly when it came to dressing up in costumes and things.  They also had some interesting questions as well.  Next week we shall look at the stories from Joshua and then the judges as we learn what happened as the people took over the land that God had promised them.

Broughton School

On Wednesday Sarah and I went over to Broughton School for the assembly.  We didn't start with a song as I had an illustration which involved three children.  As the children came out to the front I told them that one of us at the front was going to go away and sit down with a big bag of sweets.  I showed the children four coloured bags and one had loads of sweets in it.  But they had to choose which bag by selecting one of four numbered playing cards.  I then gave them the choice to swap the card they had for someone else's card or my card - they decided to keep the card they had.  I then took out a small bag inside was four numbered discs in the same colours as the bags.  Giving each child the disc of the number they had, then exchanging the disc for the coloured bag I ended up with all the sweets - you mad the wrong choice I said as the children went to sit back down again (I did give them a couple of sweets though)  I then went on to tell the story of the wise and foolish man.  The wise man built his house on rock which was a good choice as when the rain, wind and storm came the house stood firm.  The foolish man built on sand and the rain washed the house away.  I explained that this is a parable an earthly story about an everyday thing that has a heavenly meaning.  Sarah then went on to talk about the choices we all make each day and how we should be like the wise man and decide to build our lives on a firm solid foundation.  This linked into Be Happy as it says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop. After the song Sarah finished with a prayer.

Tuesday 5 March 2019

Croftlands Infant School

This morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Croftlands Infant School.  We started with a small illustration that needed three people to help me, so Sarah picked out the children and I explained that one of us at the front would go away with a full bag of sweets however they needed to chose a card first.  Once they had their card they could chose to swap it with someone else's card or keep the one they had.  Then I took out some coloured discs that had numbers on them and gave each child a disc of the number they had chosen, the colour of the disc represented a coloured bag.  Once we had all got a bag we looked inside the children each had two sweets but I ended up with them all - wrong choice I said as the children took their sweets and sat down.  I then told the parable of the wise and foolish man - the wise man built a house on a firm foundation and the foolish one built on sand.  When the rain came and the wind blew the flood waters rose the foolish man's house washed away where as the wise man's house stood firm.  Sarah then went on to explain the meaning of the parable and to talk about making good choices in life ones that are built on a firm foundation.  We then sang Be Happy as a line in it linked to what we had been saying - I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop.  Sarah then closed with a prayer.

Pennington School

On Monday afternoon Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Pennington School.  We didn't start with a song as I had an illustration to do using three children.  Sarah picked out the children and I said that one of us at the front would go away with a bag of sweets.  I then got them to shoes a number so I used playing cards.  I then gave them the chance to change their minds with the choice they had made. The cards were replaced with coloured numbered discs which in turn represented a coloured bag.  As the children looked into their bag they did find a couple of sweets but I had most of them - wrong choice I said as the children sat down.  I then told the parable of the wise and foolish man one built on the rock and the other on the sand.  The rain came the wind blew and the wise man's hose stood firm while the other fell flat.  I went on to explain that in life we make choices all the time but we should try to build our life on firm solid foundations.  Sarah continue on this line as we prepared to sing Be Happy as it says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop.  After the song she finished with a prayer.

Croftlands Junior School

On Monday morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Croftlands Junior School.  We didn't start with a song as I had an illustration to do using three children.  Sarah picked out the children andI said that one of us at the front would go away with a bag of sweets.  I then got them to shoes a number so I used playing cards.  I then gave them the chance to change their minds with the choice they had made. The cards were replaced with coloured numbered discs which in turn represented a coloured bag.  As the children looked into their bag they did find a couple of sweets but I had most of them - wrong choice I said as the children sat down.  I then told the parable of the wise and foolish man one built on the rock and the other on the sand.  The rain came the wind blew and the wise man's hose stood firm while the other fell flat.  I went on to explain that in life we make choices all the time but we should try to build our life on firm solid foundations.  Sarah continue on this line as we prepared to sing Be Happy as it says I'll follow Jesus 'til the day I drop.  After the song she finished with a prayer.