Let’s Go Fly a Kite

Lots of activities to enjoy!

by Janice Ross

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To celebrate the many things we enjoy doing as recreation.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a way to record the answers that the children give in the first part of the assembly.

• Have available the song ‘Let’s go fly a kite’ from the film, Mary Poppins, and the means to play it during the assembly. It is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA-g8YYPKVo and is 2.50 minutes long.

• Optional: you may prefer to have the extra verses of ‘Let’s go fly a kite’ displayed for the children and ask someone to play the music.

• (You may wish to sensitively tie in this assembly with Father’s Day on 19 June.)

Assembly

1. Ask the children what they enjoy doing most in the world. Are there certain things that they enjoy doing most with certain people?

   Make a list of the children’s responses.

2. Adults can be very busy people. They have many responsibilities at work and at home. They sometimes come home late because they have to travel a long way to work. Often, they have to do work in the evening. Sometimes they have little time to stop and play. Time together is very precious. Sometimes we only have this quality time with adults who are close to us when we are all on holiday.

3. Ask how many children have seen the film, Mary Poppins. It is about a nanny who is employed to look after two little children whose home is a very busy one. The children’s father is quite a severe man who doesn’t stand for any nonsense and has never had much time for fun. He has a very important and stressful job at the bank and some very severe bosses. The children’s mother is a very busy lady who is involved in all sorts of projects, but particularly in campaigning for women to have the right to vote in elections.
   However, Mary Poppins is no ordinary nanny. When she first arrives at the children's house, she flies in on an umbrella! Following this, all sorts of magic seems to happen around her, and eventually Mary even works her magic on the children’s parents. At the end of the film, the family goes off to have some fun together flying a kite.
   Let’s watch what happens.

   Show the video clip at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA-g8YYPKVo

4. Ask if any of the children enjoy flying kites and ask them to share some experiences of this.

5. Remind the children that, as well as kite flying, there are many other activities we might enjoy with other people. Show the following new verses to the Mary Poppins song and, if possible, sing these with the children.
   You may wish to ask the children to make up some verses of their own!

   Let’s go fly a kite
   Up to the highest height
   Let’s go fly a kite
   And send it soaring
   Up through the atmosphere
   Up where the air is clear
   Let’s go fly a kite.

   Let’s go kick a ball
   Up against the garden wall
   Let’s go kick a ball
   And send it soaring
   Up into the clear blue sky
   Just watch that football fly
   Let’s go kick a ball.

   Let’s go ride a bike
   Let’s plan a summer hike
   Let’s go feed the ducks
   And send them quacking!
   Let’s go to a nearby zoo
   Take all the family, too
   Let’s go ride a bike!

Time for reflection

Ask the children to think about their favourite activities and about which adults join in with these activities or enable the children to carry them out.

(You may wish to refer to Father’s Day on 19 June 2016, but this should be done with sensitivity, taking into account the situations within your school.)

You may wish to display a large kite in an area of the school and invite the children to write activities that they enjoy on the tail pieces.

Ask the children to close their eyes and imagine that they are carrying out their favourite activity. In the quietness, ask them to say thank you for the adults who help that activity to happen.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for adults who help us.
For those whose work is stressful, we ask for your peace.
For those who cannot find a job, we ask for your hope.
For those who cannot provide food and shelter because of war, we ask for your help.
We thank you that you are our loving God who always watches over us.
Thank you for adults who watch over us and keep us safe.
Amen.