Croftlands Infant School

This afternoon we took Gary along to Croftlands Infant School but he
was too busy to talk to the children as he was writing a list for Christmas. He
was busy with a list for himself and one for his mum. On his list there were
lots of toys, however on his mums list there were things like sprouts,
sellotape, mince pies, chocolate, wrapping paper etc. Gary couldn't talk to the
children as he had to complete the lists in order to make Christmas really
special. Sarah pointed out to Gary and everyone else that you didn't need all
those things to make Christmas special Sarah told everyone what Christmas is really
all about. So Gary throw his list away and went off to tell Mark all about
Christmas

Low Furness School

This morning we took Gary along to Low Furness School but he was too busy to talk to the children as he was writing a list for Christmas. He was busy with a list for himself and one for his mum. On his list there were lots of toys, however on his mums list there were things like sprouts, sellotape, mince pies, chocolate, wrapping paper etc. Gary couldn't talk to the children as he had to complete the lists in order to make Christmas really special. Sarah pointed out to Gary and everyone else that you didn't need all those things to make Christmas special and showed him and everyone else a video about Christmas. The video started with Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus then lots of other things covered over the picture and the music changed too and the baby Jesus picture got completely covered over then a baby cried - it was Jesus and he slowly faded back into shot. Sarah told everyone what Christmas is really all about. So Gary throw his list away and went off to tell Mark all about Christmas.

Croftlands Junior School

This morning we did an assembly for some of the children at Croftlands Juniors. Part of the school go off on Tuesday for swimming lessons so we only have about half the school. I had taken in some pieces of safety equipment, hard hat, cycle helmet, riding hat etc. The children explained to me that they are needed to protect us and keep us safe. I then read the account of Jesus calming the storm. And went on to explain that Jesus had the power and authority to tell the wind to stop, the rain to go away and the waves to be calm - and there by protecting his friends. And Jesus can still do that today, the disciples were afraid but Jesus spoke softly to calm them down. I asked if any of them get frightened and mentioned some things that have frightened me in the past but I said Jesus does protect us and looks after us. We concluded with 'Wonderful Lord'

Low Furness School

Today we took along Harry to help us do the assembly. The children have never seen him before so it was a bit of a surprise. He was very sad though as he had changed school and some of the children didn't really like him that much because he talked funny, and wore glasses and they laughed at his clothes which his mummy had bought for him from George. Sarah told him that it was not very nice what the children had said about him, and that they didn't really understand him, someone said it was because they were jealous of him because he was a bit different. Sarah concluded her talk with Harry by telling the children about the fruit of the Spirit and that how we should try to be as Jesus would want us to be. We sang 'So many ways' to start and finished with 'Shine'

St Marys RC School

Today we went to St Mary's RC School again. As this week is anti-bullying week we decided to do a sketch with Gary. Gary had a new boy in his class and some of the other children in the class had been calling him a name. Gary joined in too, but didn't realise that the name was making the new boy upset as it was a bit of 'verbal bullying' When Gary found out he was sad - as he had just followed the crowd. The children suggested to Gary that he might say sorry to him and explain that he didn't understand. He left to say sorry and invite the new boy round for tea and a play on his Wii. Sarah then concluded the assembly by talking to the children about what Jesus would expect us to do and be like with people. We sang 'Inright Outright' to start and 'Shine' to finish.

Leven Valley School

Today we went again to Leven Valley School. It is one of the smallest schools we go to but they surely sing out the songs. We started with 'Our God is a Great Big God', then went on to tell the story from Luke of the Good Samaritan - but in a modern way. The man was on a journey just the same as in Luke but on a train instead of a donkey. The children help to set the scene by chanting 'London' to 'Birmingham' done at the right speed it sounds like a train. Some of the children also get dressed up to help us in the story. We have a police man who walks right past the man on the train who is ill (I don't tell them that in Jesus' story he was mugged by robbers), next we have a nurse who has just completed night shift and is very hungry, now I add an extra passer by in the form of a Celeb who has just got engaged and is seeking fans. The Samaritan in my story is a 'hoodie' - and like the Samaritans of Jesus' day was a good person just mis-understood. He is the one who helps the man and even hands over his birthday money so the man can buy himself a new train ticket when he is feeling better. It has the same meaning as the story Jesus told except the people are ones the children can relate to. We finished with 'Shine' then Sarah closed the assembly with a prayer.

Our Ladys School, Dalton

Today we made our second visit to Our Lady's School, Dalton. We had a great time there with the children. We sang 'Inright Outright' before telling them the modern day version of the Good Samaritan - so instead of the man travelling by donkey he went by train, he took ill wasn't mugged by robbers. We also add an extra passer by to the story. Some of the children got the chance to dress up and so act out the various parts of the story. I concluded with a few examples of how we could help out people. To finish with we sang 'Shine' before I said a short prayer.