Growing up!

To help the children to welcome change as a positive experience in life (SEAL theme 7: Changes).

by Sophie Jelley

Suitable for Key Stage 1

Aims

To help the children to welcome change as a positive experience in life (SEAL theme 7: Changes).

Preparation and materials

• Create a photo album (ideally images on a large screen) of some of the following stages in one person’s life (real or fictional!): baby; toddler; primary school; secondary school; student; young professional; parent; grandparent; great- grandparent.
• A copy of the poem ‘Now we are six’ by A. A. Milne.

Assembly

1. Does anyone ever ask you the question: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ (Ask some children to tell you their answer. You could have fun asking the teachers their childhood ambitions or sharing your own!)
   
   One of the things that is for sure is that as we grow up we are always ourselves. We all start as tiny babies and go on till we are great-great-grandparents – if we get that far. (Explain the different stages using the pictures.)
2. There’s a great poem written by A. A. Milne, who was the author of the Winnie- the-Pooh stories. It goes like this: . . . (Read the poem, ‘Now we are six’, ending, ‘So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever.’)
3. When we’re six, we might think we know everything, and it’s really good that so much great learning goes on in this school, but actually there’s always more that we can learn.
   
   Christians believe that all the way through our lives we can learn new things about God and about ourselves. Every year of our lives is a special time for learning.

Time for reflection

Think about when you were a tiny baby
and how much you have grown since then.
Think about how many things you have learned so far
and how many more exciting things there are to discover in the world.

Prayer
Dear Lord,
thank you for all the changes we go through in life
from being a tiny baby to growing older.
Help us to use every stage of our lives
as an opportunity to learn new things every day.
Amen.

Song/music

‘There are hundreds of sparrows’ (‘God knows me’) (Come and Praise, 15)