Writing Letters
An assembly in the ‘Hello, Scruff!’ series
by the Revd Sylvia Burgoyne
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider that sending letters and cards shows that we care for others.
Preparation and materials
- You will need a glove puppet or sock puppet of a donkey, called Scruff.
- As the assembly begins, ensure that you already have Scruff the puppet on your hand.
- You will also need some stamps, a stamp collection or an image of these.
Assembly
- Scruff waves to the children. Encourage them to say, ‘Hello, Scruff!’
If this is the first time the children have met Scruff, you will need to use the following introduction.
Scruff lives on a farm with Lucy Jane, her mum, Mrs B, her dad, Farmer Brown, and her baby brother, Tom. Lucy Jane loves Scruff. She looks after him. She plays with him and she talks to him – when she’s happy and when she’s sad. Scruff is her best friend! - Scruff was waiting impatiently in the field by the gate. Lucy Jane had been so excited when she set off to school that morning. Her class had been going to visit the Royal Mail Sorting Office to see what happens when someone posts a letter or a card.
‘Here she comes,’ thought Scruff, as the car pulled up in the yard.
‘Please will you take my schoolbag, Mum?’ Lucy Jane asked. ‘I’ve so much to tell Scruff!’
Lucy Jane ran across the yard and climbed up to perch on top of the gate, swinging her legs excitedly.
‘Hello, Scruff,’ she began. ‘You won’t believe all the things I found out today! Before we went on our visit, Mr Phillips told us that around 150 years ago, 22 countries agreed to work together to make sure that mail was delivered safely all over the world. Then, we all got on the bus and drove to the Sorting Office in town.
‘It was a very busy place, Scruff. As the mail sacks came in from the vans, the letters were sorted into different cubby holes depending on the addresses on the envelopes. Then, the postal workers put elastic bands round each pile and put them into their bags or vans, ready to go out and deliver them. The letters going to places further away were put in sacks and loaded onto big mail vans that would transfer them onto trains.
‘Then, someone showed us a display of stamps that were printed to celebrate special events like Christmas and the Queen’s Jubilee. She told us that Queen Victoria appeared on the first official postage stamp, which was called the Penny Black.’ - Show the stamps, the stamp collection or an image of them.
Ask the children, ‘Does anybody in your family collect stamps?’
Listen to a range of responses. - Continue with the story.
‘When we got back to school,’ Lucy Jane continued, ‘Mr Phillips asked us if we liked it when letters came through our doors at home. Everyone said they did! Then, he asked when we received post for ourselves, and I said I liked getting birthday cards, and I love it when Grandma sends a letter just for me.’ - Ask the children, ‘Can you remember when you last received a card or letter in the post?’
Listen to a range of responses. - Continue with the story.
‘This afternoon, Mr Phillips asked us to write a letter, so I decided to reply to Grandma. I really miss her, Scruff, since she moved away to live with my auntie. I asked her if she still has the lavender bag I made for her, and I told her all about our school visit. I hope she writes again soon. Do you think she will, Scruff?’
‘Hee-haw, hee-haw!’ Scruff nodded. He was glad when Lucy Jane sat and talked to him about all the things that she’d been doing.
Take off Scruff. - Ask the children whether they have heard of someone in the Bible called Paul.
Explain that Paul was one of Jesus’ followers and he went around telling other people about him. Paul went on long journeys, visiting many towns and cities. However, one visit to each place wasn’t really long enough because Paul had so much to teach the people about the way that they should live. Many people believed the stories that Paul told about Jesus, but he was thrown into prison more than once because the people who didn’t believe him caused riots and had him arrested for disturbing the peace. It meant that Paul couldn’t return in person to encourage the new Christians, so he wrote them letters, which his friends travelled many miles to deliver. - Some of Paul’s letters were full of joy and praise for people who were showing love and care to one another. Other letters pointed out to people that they should be living in a different way and that they needed to change. Some letters were to individuals, and some were to groups.
Time for reflection
Encourage the children to think about someone to whom they could send a card or a letter. They could send one to a friend or relative who lives a long way away. How about sending a letter to a friend who lives nearby or to a neighbour, cheering them up or sending them some news? Alternatively, they could send a card or letter to someone who is unwell or sad. People like receiving cards and letters, and it is a great way to make people feel special.
Encourage the children to write a letter this week. You may even like to ask them to do it as a classroom activity.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the people who deliver our post every day.
Thank you that we can write to people when we cannot visit them.
Thank you that we can make people feel special by the letters that we write.
Please help us to make an effort to show people that we care.
Amen.
Song/music
‘You’ve got a friend in me’ from the film Toy Story, available at: https://youtu.be/CNi02gxTI1M (2.04 minutes long)
