Winter Workings
An assembly in the ‘Hello, Scruff!’ series
by the Revd Sylvia Burgoyne
Suitable for Reception / Key Stage 1
Aims
To consider that God’s hand is behind all creation.
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 a packet of seeds or some bulbs.
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! - It had been a very cold day. During playtime at school, Lucy Jane had been glad of her warm hat, scarf, mittens and boots. Back home on the farm, she went to bring Scruff in from the field.
‘I think you’ll need a warm blanket on tonight, Scruff,’ she said, stroking his nose.
‘Hee-haw, hee-haw!’ Scruff agreed, nodding his head. The cold had made him very hungry. - Pause to ask the children, ‘Do you feel hungry when it’s cold? What do you like to eat to warm you up?’
Listen to a range of responses. - Continue with the story.
Scruff was delighted when Lucy Jane gave him an apple and an extra-big carrot to munch. She gave him a big hug too, and then ran across the farmyard to the kitchen, which was lovely and warm.
When it was time for bed, Lucy’s dad filled a hot-water bottle for her. As she snuggled down under the bedclothes, the world outside seemed very quiet and still. All of the animals and birds were sound asleep. Soon, Lucy Jane was asleep too.
When she opened her curtains in the morning, she couldn’t believe her eyes. - Pause to ask the children, ‘Can you guess what Lucy Jane saw?’
Listen to a range of responses. - Continue with the story.
The world outside was dazzling white. Everything was covered in a thick layer of snow. Lucy Jane quickly pulled on some warm clothes and ran downstairs.
‘Mum! Mum!’ she shouted. ‘Have you seen the snow?’
‘Oh, yes!’ replied Mrs B, smiling at Lucy Jane’s excitement. ‘The snowflakes must have been falling all night without making a sound. While we were fast asleep, everything was being coated in a beautiful covering.’
It was Saturday, so there was no school, which meant that Lucy Jane had all day to play in the snow. She quickly ate her breakfast, pulled on her wellies and ran across the farmyard to the stable.
‘We’re going to have lots of fun today, Scruff!’ she shouted.
‘Hee-haw, hee-haw!’ Scruff replied. However, when he stepped outside, he wasn’t sure that he liked so much deep snow. After all, he didn’t have any wellies to wear and when Lucy Jane started throwing snowballs at him, he dodged out of the way, making a lot of noise.
‘HEE-HAW, HEE-HAW!’
The snow landed on his head and back. Lucy Jane started laughing.
‘Oooh, you do look funny, Scruff!’ she giggled.
Just then, a snowball landed on her back.
Lucy Jane spun round to find her dad laughing at her.
‘I knew Scruff couldn’t throw snowballs at you, so I thought I’d help him out!’ he said, laughing at the look on Lucy Jane’s face. - Pause to ask the children, ‘What games do you play in the snow?’
Listen to a range of responses. - Continue with the story.
‘Let’s make a snowman,’ Farmer Brown suggested.
They quickly got to work. When they’d finished, Lucy Jane ran into the stable and came out with one of Scruff’s carrots.
‘Our snowman needs a nose,’ she announced. ‘Don’t worry, Scruff, you can still eat it when the snow melts. What shall we call him?’ - Pause to ask the children, ‘Can you think of a good name for a snowman?’
Listen to a range of responses. - Continue with the story.
That night, it rained and rained. When Lucy Jane opened her curtains the next morning, she was sad to find that all the snow had disappeared, just as quietly as it had come. Even the snowman had gone, but . . . in the middle of the farmyard lay a carrot!
Take off Scruff.
Time for reflection
Jesus told lots of stories to teach us more about God. He wanted us to know that God is quietly at work all the time, just like the snow fell quietly in the story. Lucy and her family didn’t hear the snow arrive, but they saw the effect that it had.
One day, Jesus told a story to the people gathered around him. He said, ‘After someone has scattered seed on the ground, it is God who sends the frost and the snow, the wind and the rain. He makes the sun shine, and those little seeds begin to sprout and grow. Even the smallest mustard seed grows and grows until it is such a big plant that birds can rest in its shade.’
Show the seeds or bulbs to the children.
Ask the children to guess what they will grow into. Daffodils? Tulips? Hyacinths?
Point out that even the tiny seeds will sprout and grow into the plants that are shown on the packets.
Explain that, in the same way that the plants grow, God helps us to grow bigger and stronger every day.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the fun that we can have playing in the snow.
Thank you for all the seeds and bulbs, which grow into beautiful plants for us to enjoy.
Thank you that, day by day, we are growing too.
Amen.
Song/music
‘The seed song’ (Spring Assembly Songs by Mark and Helen Johnson, Out of the Ark Music). It is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da_LbBewte8 (0.50 minutes long)
