Unique!
We are special
by Rebecca Parkinson
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider the fact that each one of us is special and unique.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Unique!) and the means to display them.
- If possible, have available some models that you or some of the children have made and are proud of. Examples could include knitting, clay, cake and so on.
Note: try to keep the models out of sight before the assembly begins.
Assembly
- Show the slide deck to the children.
Ask the children what the pictures have in common. (They have all been crafted by people by hand.)
Listen to a range of responses. - Ask the children whether they can think of any other things that people might make.
Listen to a range of responses. - Ask the children whether they have ever made anything that they are proud of.
Listen to a range of responses.
If possible, show the children something that you have made yourself and feel proud of.
You might like to tell the children:
- when you first started making the kind of model that you showed them
- how long it took you to learn the skill
- how you feel when something that you make is finished
- what you enjoy most about your hobby - If possible, invite the children to show their models, asking them similar questions.
- Point out that when people make something, they know every little fault with it. They might see something that needs to be changed slightly . . . but it doesn’t make them less proud of their work. They still think that what they have made is amazing. Sometimes, tiny faults can even enhance something because it means that the object is different from every other object like it in the world – it is unique!
- The word ‘unique’ means ‘being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else’.
Explain that, just as the models that we have seen are unique, so is each person in this room. We all have faults, we all have things that need to be changed: none of us is perfect. We are all special, however, and our differences make us even more amazing. - Christians believe that God made each of us special and different. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, tells us, ‘God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good’ (Genesis 1.31). In the Book of Psalms (Psalm 139.14), the writer thanks God for making him: ‘Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvellous . . .’
Christians believe that God made us and he is pleased that he did!
Time for reflection
Take some time to reflect on what you like best about yourself.
It may be how you get on with others, how you play sport, how well you can read, your family or something else. Take a moment to say ‘thank you’ for these things.
Now, take some time to reflect on the things that you like less about yourself.
Let’s take a moment to remind ourselves that each of us is special. Let’s think about both our favourite and our least favourite parts of ourselves, all of which contribute to making us very special.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that you made the world.
Thank you that you made us.
Please help us never to compare ourselves unfavourably to other people.
Instead, help us to remember always that we are special and there is no one else like us.
Thank you for loving us just the way we are.
Amen.
Song/music
‘This is me’ from the film The Greatest Showman, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjxugyZCfuw (3.49 minutes long)
Extension activities
- Our fingerprints are unique to each of us, so why not have a go at being a fingerprint detective? Instructions are available at: https://tinyurl.com/srvgzd9
- Give each child a piece of paper and a small amount of paint. Ask the children to draw a simple picture in pencil, dip their fingers in the paint and then use their fingerprints to go over the pencil lines.
