Hello
Introduces children to their new classmates and helps them understand how we are all connected (SEAL theme 1: New beginnings).
by Janice Ross
Suitable for Reception / Key Stage 1
Aims
To introduce children to their new classmates and help them understand how we are all connected to one another (SEAL theme 1: New beginnings).
Preparation and materials
You will need a ball of thick, bright wool.
Assembly
- Ask the children to sit in a circle. Explain that this is a very special day. You have been looking forward all holidays to meeting your new class. You had a list of all their names before the summer holidays and you wondered what they all looked like. Now you have met them and it is time for them to get to know all the others who will be in the class and, hopefully, become good friends.
- Show the children the ball of wool. Explain that they are going to be rolling this big ball of wool to each other. When each child has the ball of wool in his or her hand, it is that child’s turn to say his or her name. The rest of the class is then say, ‘Hello and welcome to you.’
Roll the ball of wool across the circle to a child. The child is then to take hold of it and say his or her name. The other children say, ‘Hello . . .’ Ask the child to keep a tight hold of the strand of wool and roll the ball across to someone else and repeat in the same way round the circle. - After all the introductions have been completed, ask the children to stand up, each holding on to his or her part of the web they have created.
Identify that we are all connected to one another.
Ask the children, ‘How many names can you remember?’ Go round the circle. Reassure the children that forgetting people’s names at first is normal, but probably by the end of the week they will all have learned one another’s names.
Time for reflection
Ask the children to look at the web they have made. You might say, ‘Sam is connected to Samira and Samira is connected to Ahmed and Ahmed is connected to . . .’ and so on.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that you made us and you know our names as we are all important to you.
Thank you for putting us in this new class.
Help us to get to know one another and become friends. Amen.
Song/music
‘He’s got the whole world’ (Come and Praise, 19)
