Buzzer Game
An assembly from the Culham St Gabriel archive
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider life as a journey, with decisions to be made along the way.
Preparation and materials
- If possible, have available a buzzer game where a wire loop is guided along a bendy piece of wire without touching the loop to the wire. If the loop touches the wire, it sets off a buzzer.
If the game itself is not available, you will need some images of buzzer games and the means to display them during the assembly. Examples are available at: https://tinyurl.com/ycaq3j89 and https://tinyurl.com/yc9k6ohv - You will need to be familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10.30-37.
- Optional: you may wish to show the YouTube video ‘Giant buzzer game’, in which case you will also need the means to do so. It is 0.59 minutes long and is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTfMnMLA2ws
- Optional: you may wish to play the song ‘Journey of Life’ by Jake Owen, in which case you will also need the means to play it. A version of it is 3.41 minutes long and is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cugbmQVHyw
Assembly
- If the buzzer game is available, invite a few children to have a go at playing it. If the game is not available, show the images of buzzer games and ask if any of the children have ever played the game.
Listen to a range of responses. - Ask the children to give each other hints as to how they could do well in the game. Are there ways in which the game could be made easier?
- Ask the children how they think a person would feel when the buzzer goes off. Would they feel worried? Cross? Embarrassed? Sad? Amused?
Optional: show the YouTube video ‘Giant buzzer game’. - Ask the children to imagine that the bendy wire is like our journey through life. There is a beginning, an end and several ups and downs along the way. Sometimes, life seems easy, but sometimes, there are difficult times and we make mistakes. Some parts of our lives leave us feeling happy, whereas others leave us feeling frustrated and sad.
- Point out that we all have decisions to make in our lives. Sometimes, we make the wrong decisions, but it is important to learn from our mistakes and continue to move forward in life.
- Retell or read the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10.30-37. As you read, ask the children to imagine the man’s journey as the buzzer game. Ask them to put up their hands every time someone makes a mistake and the ‘buzzer’ might go off. Encourage them to consider the following.
- Which parts of the story would prick someone’s conscience?
- At what points did people make bad decisions?
- Using the buzzer game, how could we represent the part of the story where the injured man was helped?
Encourage the children to think about why the man who helped acted as he did.
Time for reflection
Remind the children that the journey of our lives is often bendy. There are curvy, tricky bits that we may wish we could walk away from and times when we feel uncomfortable, nervous or scared. (You might like to discuss what some of these situations might be.)
Christians believe that no matter what they face in their lives, God is always there with them and will always help them. However, this doesn’t mean that life will be easy. You may wish to remind the children of the story of Daniel in the lion’s den, which is found in Daniel 6. The story makes it clear that following God’s way is not plain sailing. However, even in the toughest times, God was with Daniel and protected him.
Ask the children to think about their lives so far, as they consider the following questions.
- Can you think of a happy time?
- Can you think of a sad time?
- Can you think of a time when you made the wrong decision? Maybe someone was being unkind to another person and you joined in.
- Can you think of a time when you felt proud?
Remind the children that the path through life will be bendy, but we can still decide to make good decisions as we walk along that path.
Prayer
Dear God,
Please give us strength to face the challenges that meet us on our journey of life.
We know that we will make some bad decisions -
Help us to hear the warning buzzer when we do,
And to change our direction so that our journey is smoother.
Thank you that you are always with us, supporting us, caring for us and loving us.
Amen.
Song/music
‘Cross over the road’ (Come and Praise, 70)
Optional: ‘Journey of Life’ by Jake Owen, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cugbmQVHyw
