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What a Wonderful World!

Each person is a part of God’s creation

by Keith Griffin (adapted)

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To celebrate the wonder of the world.

Preparation and materials

  • Have available a wide selection of items from the natural world, such as fruit, vegetables, plants and seeds, in a bag or box.

  • Adapt as required so that the assembly is appropriate for the time of year and your school setting.

Assembly

  1. Begin by discussing the time of year, the current weather, the surrounding area and what the children enjoy most about the outdoors and nature.

  2. Introduce the idea that all of the things that you have been discussing are part of God’s creation. Make a joke of the idea that you wanted to bring something special to the assembly, such as a tree, a cloud or the moon and stars, but they would not fit in your bag!

  3. As it was not possible to bring in any of these big items, say that you have brought in some smaller and more manageable pieces of God’s creation instead.

    Bring out the bag or box containing the fruit, vegetables, plants and seeds.

    Ask one or two children to come forward to help pick out some items and hold them up.

    Ask the children to identify the first item. Then, talk about it briefly or maybe tell a story about it.

    Next, explore with the children what the item is good for or why they think God made it. For example, onions are useful in many recipes, potatoes fill us up, bananas are good for us and perfect for packed lunches, plants make our homes look pretty and so on.

    In a jokey manner, explain to the children that you think that we should remind the different parts of creation more often that they belong to God. So, as you or a child hold up the first item again, invite them to say, after the count of three, ‘You are part of God’s creation!’

  4. Continue doing the same with the rest of the items. With each one, remember to ask what it is good for and to get the children to shout out, ‘You are part of God’s creation!’

  5. When you have worked through all of the items, turn your focus to human beings. Speak about each of our senses. Maybe describe a walk that the children might take, asking them to imagine how they would use each sense as they walked along. For example, they may hear children playing and laughing in the playground, smell the fragrances of flowers, feel the cool breeze on their skin or the rain on their faces and so on.

    Point out that each of these things is a part of God’s creation.

  6. Ask the children what they are good at.

    Listen to a range of responses.

  7. Ask the children why they think God made them.

    Listen to a range of responses.

Time for reflection

God made us all to enjoy everything that he has given us: to make the most of the fresh air and the outdoors, to use our bodies and to look after each other.

God loves seeing children running around, having fun.

We are all part of God’s creation, just like the trees, hills, fruit and vegetables.

Count to three for the last time, changing the response to the following.

We are part of God’s creation!

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for all that you give to us.
Thank you for all of nature and creation, and for the food that we grow, eat and enjoy.
Help us to play our part in creation.
Help us to look after each other and all that you have entrusted to our care.
Amen.

Song/music

‘Autumn days’. An instrumental version with lyrics is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9mvrkQbzgc (2.13 minutes long)

Extension activities

  1. To think further about the beauty of the natural world, you could have a go at making a beautiful butterfly. Several good ideas are available at: https://tinyurl.com/yy42g9c4
Publication date: October 2020   (Vol.22 No.10)    Published by SPCK, London, UK.
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