Pause for Thought: An Attitude of Gratitude

National Winnie the Pooh Day is on 18 January 2022

by Janice Ross

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To consider reasons to be grateful for our friends.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a Winnie the Pooh soft toy or an image of him. An example is available at: https://tinyurl.com/d7cwwn4y
  
• You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Pause for Thought: An Attitude of Gratitude) and the means to display them.
• Have available the YouTube video ‘Piglet’s drawings: the mini adventures of Winnie the Pooh’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 2 minutes long and is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fJyXsdUz-o

Assembly

1. Ask the children whether any of them have a birthday in January.
   
   Ask if anyone has a birthday on 18 January.
   
   Whose birthday is the closest to that date?
   
   
2. Tell the children that you have a very important visitor. His birthday is on 18 January and he will be 96!
   
   Uncover the Winnie the Pooh soft toy or show an image of him.
   
   
3. Ask the children to tell you about Winnie the Pooh.
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   Ensure that the children know a few facts about Winnie the Pooh.
   
   - He was created by A. A. Milne, who wrote stories about him.
   - Winnie the Pooh belongs to Christopher Robin, his friend.
   - He has many other animal friends.
   - Winnie the Pooh lives in the Hundred Acre Wood.
   - He is many people’s favourite toy.
   
   
4. Show Slides 1-7.
   
   Ask the children to name the characters and tell you a bit about them. (In order, they are Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga and Roo, Owl, Rabbit and Piglet.)
   
   Point out that these characters are all best friends. They have wonderful adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood.
   
   
5. Explain that today, we are going to watch a Winnie the Pooh story about Piglet. He is a small, brave little animal who loves going on adventures with Pooh. His friends really love him, so one day, they decide to tell him what a good friend he is and how grateful they are for his friendship.
   
   As the children watch the video, ask them to listen for what each friend likes about Piglet. They will have to listen very carefully.
   
   Show the YouTube video ‘Piglet’s drawings: the mini adventures of Winnie the Pooh’ (2 minutes long).
   
   
   
   
6. Ask the children, ‘What did each friend think about Piglet?’
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   Answers might include that Tigger thinks that Piglet is thoughtful; Rabbit thinks that he is brave; Eeyore recognizes that Piglet never thinks about himself and remembers his kindness in building him a house; Pooh thinks that he is heroic; and Roo thinks that he is courageous.
   
   
7. Ask the children what they think Piglet’s attitude was towards his friends.
   
   Explain that people who have many friends are often good friends to others. Piglet was also very grateful for his friends.

Time for reflection

Show Slide 8.

‘Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.’

Ask the children to think for a moment about what Piglet meant.

Listen to a range of responses.

Ask the children to think about their friends.

- What makes a good friend?
- What are they grateful for about their friendships?

Prayer
Dear God,
We are grateful for our friends.
Help us to remember to tell them how much they mean to us.
Please help us, like Piglet, to be a good friend to others.
Amen.