Loving Ourselves
Noticing and celebrating
by Janice Ross
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To encourage us to celebrate who we are.
Preparation and materials
- Have one or more volunteers ready to read the Narrator parts in the ‘Assembly’, Step 3.
Assembly
- If possible, begin the assembly with a Circle Time activity. This can be done in a circle in the classroom, or along a row in an assembly. If this isn’t possible, ask for a few answers from any of the children.
Explain to the children that you would like to hear what they think about being thankful.
Ask them to complete the statement, ‘Today, I’m thankful for . . .’
Listen to a range of responses.
End the activity by giving your own thankful statement. This can be an opportunity for teachers to celebrate what they appreciate about those children who would particularly benefit from some encouragement.
- Today, I am thankful for [insert name], who smiled and said, ‘Good morning.’
- Today, I am thankful to [insert name], for offering to . . .
- Today, I am thankful that [insert name] is back at school and feeling better. - Ask the children, ‘How do you think people feel when they have been noticed and celebrated?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Suggestions might include words like ‘surprised’ and ‘happy’, but identify ‘embarrassed’ as a possibility. - Explain that we are now going to spend time thinking about what makes us feel good about ourselves. What makes us feel special and of value?
Receiving a compliment
Ask the children what a compliment is.
Explain that a compliment is something nice that someone says about us. It could be about the clothes we are wearing or our hairstyle, or it could be about how well we did at an activity.
Narrator: But there can be a problem. People don’t often give compliments to others.
Having friends
Having friends can make us feel special, especially when they cheerfully rush up to us in the morning or ask us to join in their game.
Narrator: But there can be a problem. Friends can let us down; they might be having a bad day.
Hearing someone say, ‘Thank you’
Perhaps we always hold the door open for others first. Perhaps we always smile and say good morning, or thank the dinner staff at lunchtime. It’s special when someone notices and thanks us.
Narrator: But there can be a problem. Often, nobody seems to notice. So, if nobody has said or done anything nice, we feel a bit miserable.
Getting a sticker or certificate for our work
Sometimes, we make a huge effort to write neatly, or take responsibility for a shared area in the classroom. When an adult notices this, we might receive a sticker.
Narrator: But there can be a problem. The teacher might not notice us tidying away after others. They might not remember that last week, our writing was very untidy, whereas this week, it’s beautiful! - Ask the children to put up their hand if any of these things have happened to them.
Identify that often, we don’t recognize how special we are until someone says or does something kind for us.
Time for reflection
Encourage the children to think about a time when someone has said something to them that has made them feel good about themselves.
Encourage them to make a special effort today and this week to speak to people in a way that encourages them and makes them feel special.
Remind the children that the Bible tells us many things that God thinks about people. Different Bible verses tell us that we are made by God, we are special, we are loved and God cares about us.
Suggest that even if no one says something encouraging to us today, we can all know that we are special in God’s eyes.
Suggest that the children look in a mirror today and repeat these words: ‘I am special because God has made me.’
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that you made us and you love us.
Please help us to show love and care to those around us.
Please help us to look for ways to encourage people and make them feel happy.
Please help us to listen when people say kind things to us.
Please help each of us to realize how special we are.
Amen.
