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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.