St Mary's RC Ulverston

This morning Sarah and I went along to St Mary's Ulverston for our first visit of the new school year.  It was really good to see all the children again.  One little girl looking at Sarah said 'you're the burger lady aren't you' being slightly confused Sarah enquired a little more 'you see that song God's Love is Bigger than a Burger!!!' simply brilliant.  To start off the assembly feeling very happy we sang Be Happy.  After the song I showed the children a collection of items which in some way had a common theme like  hard hat, cycle helmet, work gloves, ear defenders etc  they all help protect us.  Sarah then read a version of Jesus calming the storm and I then drew the link between the items and the story in that Jesus is there always to protect and look after his people.  It is the ups and downs of our lives like the storm and when we are up we are happy but when we are down and don't know what to do or where to turn Jesus is there waiting for us to call to him.  I linked what I was saying to Wonderful Lord song which we sang next.

BX OT1 Low Furness School

This afternoon I did the first of five Old Testament Bible Explorer lessons.  It was with the year 5/6 class at Low Furness School.  Last year the then year 5 had New Testament and when the realised I was back in school doing the Old Testament their teacher told me they couldn't wait to hear all about it.  It was also pretty special as one year 5 girl couldn't wait for me to go in and do the lesson - that was Martha our 9 year old daughter.  The lesson went very well with all the children participating in the lesson and with the hand signs.  Then when I said do you know what happened next all the children replied what! there was an awe as I said tell you next week.  Next week the story of Moses and the laws some of my favourite bits of the bible.

St Mary's Dalton

This morning Sarah and I went to St Mary's Dalton School to do the assembly.  This is a new school to us - we have done a couple of transition assemblies and lessons there before.  We started off with Be Happy which the children didn't know but joined in as the song went along.  I then showed the children a number of items that were all different but had a common theme - as I lifted them out the bag I got some of the younger children to wear the items which were things like -  hard hat, cycle helmet, work gloves, ear defenders etc The thing they all had in common was they help keep us safe but they all protect us in some way.  Sarah then retold the story of Jesus calming the storm from a book by And Robb.  I then linked the items that protect us to the protection and help we get from Jesus.  When things are going well we feel happy (link to song) but when things are not so well we are down - a bit like a storm at sea so I reminded the children that the disciples called out to Jesus in their storm and we can too.  I linked this to Wonderful Lord which we sang next.

Lindel and Marton School

This morning Sarah and I went to do our first assembly of the new school year at Lindel and Marton School.  It was great to see all the children again, looking happy and smiling as we arrived.  To start of the assembly we sang Be Happy then I went on to open my bag which was full of all sorts of things but they did one thing in common - the items were things like a wet suit, hard hat, cycle helmet, work gloves, ear defenders etc they all help keep us safe but they all protect us in some way.  Sarah then retold the story of Jesus calming the storm from a book by And Robb.  I then linked the items that protect us to the protection and help we get from Jesus.  When things are going well we feel happy (link to song) but when things are not so well we are down - a bit like a storm at sea so I reminded the children that the disciples called out to Jesus in their storm and we can too.  I linked this to Wonderful Lord which we sang next.

Croftlands Infant School

This morning Sarah and I did our first visit of the new school year to Croftlands Infant School.  It was lovely to see all the children again and be welcomed by them.  We sang Be Happy to start off and then I showed the children a whole load of things, I said that they were all different and did different things but they all had something in common.  So as I lifted the items out I explained what they were and asked some of the children to hold them - I had a life jacket, wet suit, hard hat, ear defenders, cycle hat, gloves, boots, high viz jacket.  When I asked what the common thing was someone said safety which was correct but not what I was looking for then someone said protection which was right - they all help to protect us.  Sarah then read an account of Jesus calming the storm and I then explained that Jesus is there to help look after and protect us because sometimes we have up days and we are very happy - that's why we sang Be Happy to start but there are times when we feel a bit sad and are down - perhaps we are having a tough time at school or with friends or a test!  The disciples in the story when faced with a storm called out to Jesus for Help and he calm the storm down.  I reminded the children that we too can call out to Jesus for help when we are in a storm of ups and downs.  We finished with Wonderful Lord and I explained that some of the words say about God being our shield and protector and he watches over us even when we sleep.  During the song I said a short prayer.

Croftlands Junior School

This morning I went along to Croftlands Junior School for the first assembly of the new school year.  It was great to see all the children there as well as all the new year 3 children who have come up from the infants.  we started by singing Be Happy, I then showed the children a collection of items saying that they are all different but have one thing in common.  I asked if they could tell what it was they had in common - I had a life jacket and wetsuit, a high viz jacket, hard hat, gloves, safety glasses, ear defenders and boots also a cycle helmet.  Hands went up and the answer came that they all protect us in some way.  I explained that although these items are good at protecting our bodies Jesus can protect us in other ways.  I then used the Andy Robb 50 Weirdest Bible story book to tell the story of Jesus calming the storm.  I then explained that Jesus can help to calm the storms we might face during our time in school as we all have ups and downs - I reminded the children that the disciples in the midst of the storm called to Jesus for HELP! and we can too whenever we face difficulties at school or at home.  We finished with Wonderful Lord and I prayed in the middle for the children at the start of the new school year.

Low Furness School

This morning Sarah and I along with Grace went to Low Furness School to do the assembly.  It was our first assembly of the new school year and it was great to see all the children again after the summer holidays.  Our theme was creation so after singing Creator God I talked about creation and displayed some pictures that explained what God did on each of the days until he rested on the 7th day.  Sarah then explained that God created a perfect world out of nothing, we had a large tub of Lego bricks on the floor and Sarah looked at them - then she spoke to them and said build a house - nothing happened - she saw there was a wheel in the box so said build a train - again nothing happened - ok make an animal - nothing.  We explained to the children that God spoke and things happened we call this creation as God make things from nothing.  We can make things as humans but we can't create like God can, I displayed a few pictures like tall buildings, cars, electrical products.  I then showed flowers that had been made from silk, foam and paper - yes they are flowers and yes they are like the ones God made but they are not living.  Next I showed some animals made from paper mache and again they look like animals God made but they are not living.  We linked this to the perfect, beautiful world that God created and said we should thank him for it every day I now displayed a view of the world from space.  To finish I displayed Genesis 1:31a God saw everything he had made, and it was very good.  We then sang Great Big God before Sarah closed the assembly with a prayer.