• You will need bandages, plasters, slings, dressings, in a first-aid box.

1. Ask the children what they think ought to be in the first-aid box, and go through the items inside.
   
   
2. Ask them to put their hands up if they have recently hurt themselves in some way - fallen over, burnt themselves, trapped their fingers, etc. What happens? How do we deal with these situations? With a first-aid box.
   
   
3. Demonstrate on a volunteer how to care for a grazed knee, with a bandage or dressing. This is hurt on the outside, that we can see.
   
   
4. Read the first part of the poem:
   
   Grazes heal, scars outside disappear,
   Soreness and bruises fade away.
   In hours, days or even weeks
   New skin grows so that
   No one knows where the hurt has been.
   
   
5. Ask the children about being hurt in other ways, like hurting people's feelings, being hurt inside. How do we do that? With bullying, unkind words, etc. Can this hurt be treated with the first-aid box? Can we bandage up hurt feelings? How long do they take to heal? Who can help us when we hurt inside? Parents, teachers, friends.
   
   
6. Continue with the poem:
   
   Hurt feelings, scars inside unseen,
   The hurt remains and even grows
   For hours, days, weeks and maybe years.
   It hides inside us, locked in a secret place
   To which only we have the key.
   
   
7. Compare the two kinds of hurt - outside and inside. Emphasize the need to be very careful about what we say to people in case it might hurt their feelings, because inside hurt takes a long time to heal.
   
   
8. Read the whole poem:
   
   Grazes heal, scars outside disappear,
   Soreness and bruises fade away.
   In hours, days or even weeks
   New skin grows so that
   No one knows where the hurt has been.
   
   Hurt feelings, scars inside unseen,
   The hurt remains and even grows
   For hours, days, weeks and maybe years.
   It hides in us, locked in a secret place
   To which we only have the key.
   

Dear God,
Please help us to value the people around us,
our family, our friends,
the people we meet every day of our lives.
Help us to realize that we are all special,
that we all have feelings
and can feel hurt both outside and inside.
Amen.

Song

'Join with us' (Come and Praise, 30)