Growing and Changing – Babies

An assembly from the Culham St Gabriel archive

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To consider the needs of babies, and how they grow and develop.

Preparation and materials

• If possible, ask a parent with a baby to be present at the assembly. If this is not possible, you will need an image of a baby and the means to display it during the assembly. Some examples are available at: https://tinyurl.com/ybjmm9cg

Assembly

1. If a parent has brought a baby into school, ask them to come to the front. Introduce the baby and ask the parent the following questions.
   
   - How old is the baby?
   - When is the baby’s birthday?
   - How heavy was the baby when he/she was born?
   - What does the baby like to eat?
   
   Invite the children to ask questions, too.
   
   Alternatively, show the image of babies and ask the children about babies they know.
   
   
2. Ask the children to think about the needs that babies have. Ask them if they think that a baby’s needs will change over time.
   
   
3. Ask the children to think of differences between themselves and babies.
   
   
4. Remind the children that, in December, we celebrated Christmas. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of baby Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus was an extra-special baby. They believe that Jesus is God’s son, born so that mankind could be forgiven for all its wrongdoings.
   
   
5. Ask the children to suggest some equipment that might be used to look after a baby. Examples could include a high chair, a cot, a pram, a baby bath and so on.
   
   
6. Point out that Jesus didn’t have any of these things. However, some wise men visited him and brought him gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Time for reflection

Christians believe that Jesus was a gift himself. He was God’s gift to the world, showing people how much he loved them.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for babies.
Thank you for the joy they bring.
Thank you for the special gift of Jesus to the world.
We pray that all babies will be kept safe and happy.
We pray for all those who look after them.
Amen.

Song/music

‘He’s got the whole world’ (Come and Praise, 19)

‘Kum ba yah’ (Come and Praise, 68)

Follow-up ideas

1. Read about Hannah in 1 Samuel 1 and 2. Hannah wanted a baby and asked God to help her. In return, she promised to let her child work for God when he was older. It was her way of thanking God for the special gift of a child.
   
   Do we do anything to thank God for babies? Encourage children to share grateful thoughts or write simple thank-you prayers, individually or in groups, for babies in their families, babies of pets or babies in general.
   
   
2. Find out what the children know about baptism. When a child is baptized, his or her parents are promising to bring up their child knowing about God.
   
   
3. Why are babies special? What can/can’t they do? If children have baby brothers or sisters at home, encourage them to share how old they are and what they can do at that age. Use examples to illustrate how quickly babies change. Babies enter the world helpless, but quickly start being able to do things on their own. However, even then, they continue to need love and care. Use role-play opportunities to explore how to care for babies of different ages.