All Special

All different and all important

by Janice Ross

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To consider that a school is made up of people who are all different and all equally important.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a string of beads that are different shapes, sizes and colours.
• You will also need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (All Special) and the means to display them.

Assembly

1. Show the string of beads to the children.
   
   Explain that what makes this string of beads beautiful is that the beads are all different shapes, sizes and colours. The differences make it very special and beautiful.
   
   Explain that God made us a beautiful world of differences too.
   
   
2. Show Slide 1.
   
   Ask the children to look at the birds and see whether they can name them. (Going clockwise from the upper left, the answers are curlew, barn owl, toucan and robin.)
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   Explain that God didn’t make only one kind of bird. Instead, he made all kinds of birds with many different features.
   
   Discuss the different beaks on the birds on the slide. How might the differences in the birds’ beaks affect how and what they eat?
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   
3. Show Slide 2.
   
   Ask the children whether they can name the different types of flower. (Going clockwise from the upper left, the answers are rose, daffodil, daisy and snowdrop.)
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   Ask the children to look at the flowers in detail and explain their differences.
   
   Remind the children that God didn’t make only one kind of flower. Instead, he made a huge variety of them.
   
   
4. Show Slide 3.
   
   Ask the children whether they can name the different types of animal. (Going clockwise from the upper left, the answers are lion, zebra, giraffe and fennec fox.)
   
   Can the children describe the animals’ features? What might make these animals good at running or hearing and so on?
   
   Remind the children that God made tiny insects that we often don’t even notice, as well as huge animals. God loves things to be different.
   
   
5. Ask the children to look around them. Each person is different and that is wonderful! Each teacher looks different, has a different personality and enjoys different things. The same is true for each child, even twins and triplets!
   
   
6. Show the string of beads again.
   
   Remind the children that being different is something special. We all have an important part to play in this school and in the world.

Time for reflection

Ask the children to look around and say the words ‘you are special’ as they do so.

Encourage the children to take some time today to think about the reasons that they are special. Encourage them to treat others in a way that tells them that they are special too.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that each of us is different.
Thank you that this makes the world a better place.
Thank you for the variety and creativity in the world.
Please help us to treat the world in a good way.
Please help us to care for the environment.
Please help us to treat others in the way that we would like to be treated.
Amen.