Sharing
An assembly from the Culham St Gabriel archive
Suitable for Whole School (Pri) - Church Schools
Aims
To develop an understanding of the importance of sharing.
Preparation and materials
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Have available a packet of sweets. (Note: you will need to check the school policy about sweets prior to this assembly. If necessary, adapt the assembly so that the race in the ‘Assembly’, Step 4, involves collecting a bean bag.)
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You will need two volunteers who will have been prepped before the assembly to pretend to push each other out of the way during the race. They should also snatch the sweets or bean bag from each other.
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Optional: you may wish to use a starting whistle.
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Have available the Bible story, ‘The feeding of the 5,000’, which is found in Matthew 14.13-21.
Assembly
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Ask the children to guess what is hidden behind your back. Show them the sweets and point out that you are feeling generous, so you are going to have a competition to see if someone can win the sweets.
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Ask for volunteers, and then ask the two prearranged volunteers to come forward.
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Explain that the volunteers are going to stand at the back of the room (or where appropriate). When you say, ‘Go!’, they are going to race to where the sweets are positioned. The person who ends up with the sweets can keep them.
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As the volunteers race, they should gently push each other. When one of them gets the sweets, the other should try to snatch them.
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Following the race, ask the children whether they thought the two volunteers had set a good example. Point out that you had spoken to the volunteers before the assembly and had asked them to behave that way. Explain that they would never have snatched in this way if they had not been asked to do so.
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Give the sweets to one of the volunteers and ask the other volunteer to sit down. Ask the children if they think this is fair. Ask the children what the fair thing to do would be. Hopefully, they will say that the two volunteers should share the sweets.
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Ask the children for examples of when other people have shared with them.
Listen to a range of responses.
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Ask the following questions.
- Is it important to share?
- Why is it important?
- How do you feel when people don’t share?
- How do you feel when people are generous? -
Retell or read the story of the feeding of the 5,000, from Matthew 14.13-21.
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Ask the children who shared in this story. The answer is the little boy, but also the disciples and Jesus as they handed the food round to the crowd.
Time for reflection
Ask the children to close their eyes and think about a time when someone shared something with them. Ask them to think about how it made them feel.
The little boy in the story must have been very hungry, but he was still willing to share. His little gift to Jesus made a difference to more than 5,000 people! He must have been totally amazed when he saw what happened.
A verse in the Bible (Hebrews 13.16) says, ‘Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.’
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for everything we have.
We know that we are fortunate.
Please help us to learn to put others first.
Please help us to share.
We are sorry that we find it easier to take than to give.
Help us to learn that sharing is more important than getting.
Please help us always to be grateful.
Amen.
Song/music
‘The best gift’ (Come and Praise, 59)
