What a Mixture!
Lots of different emotions
by Janice Ross
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider that we all experience different emotions.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides accompanying this assembly (What A Mixture!) and the means to display them.
- Optional: You will need a jar containing some water. You will need a mixture of things to represent emotions. For example, bright beads to represent feeling happy etc.
Assembly
- Today we are going to be thinking about the phrase, ‘a mixed bag’.
Ask the children if they have heard the phrase before and what they think it might mean.
Listen to a range of suggestions. - Show Slide 1.
When we think of ‘a mixed bag’ we might think of different things. Maybe pick and mix sweets at a cinema or supermarket, or bags of mixed vegetables or salad that we buy. - Show Slide 2.
The last bag of ‘Pick and mix’ to be sold by the Woolworth’s chain in 2009, sold for £14,500! It contained fizzy cola bottles, pineapple cubes, white mice and jelly worms. - Show Slide 3 and 4.
Ask the children if they know what these sweets are called.
Explain that they are called Liquorice Allsorts. The sweets in this box come in all shapes, sizes and colours, but they are all have the taste of liquorice! Some people like this, whilst others don’t! - Sometimes the phrase ‘a mixed bag’ can be used in contexts other than food. A weather forecaster might talk about the weather being ‘a mixed bag'. Ask the children what they think this might mean.
Listen to a range of responses.
Explain that it means there might be varied weather -some sunshine, some rain, some wind etc. - Show Slide 5.
Ask the children if they can identify this mixture of emojis.
Listen to a range of suggestions.
Explain that being able to recognize how we are feeling, and then knowing how to manage these feelings, is something we all have to learn and go on learning throughout our lives.
Time for reflection
Show Slide 6.
Ask the children to pause for a moment and think about how they are feeling today.
Allow time for reflection.
You may wish to invite children to share what they are feeling with a friend or simply ask them to reflect to themselves.
Explain that we might sometimes describe ourselves as having ‘a mixed bag’ of emotions.
We don’t always feel the same way all day! Things happen to us that impact the way we are feeling.
Optional: Show the children a large jar containing water. Encourage the children to imagine that this represents our lives. Add the different things representing our different feelings – happy, sad, worried etc.
Shake the jar up and show how everything gets mixed together, but then it slowly settles down.
Explain that sometimes our emotions can feel all over the place. Sometimes things happen and we can feel mixed up – it can take a while for our emotions to settle down again. Sometimes when this happens, we need to talk to someone.
Explain to the children where they can find help in school if they are struggling with their emotions at the moment. Encourage them to find someone to talk to.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that you made us with feelings and emotions.
Thank you that you know how each of us are feeling today.
Please help us consider how other people are feeling.
Please help us to try to understand and to show that we care.
Thank you, that you never change.
Amen.
Song/music
‘The Feelings Song’. This can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J7HcVLsCrY
