Noticing other people

To show that we need to pay attention to each other to make our community work.

by The Revd Trevor Donnelly

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To show that we need to pay attention to each other to make our community work.

Preparation and materials

• You need the children to be seated in relatively orderly rows.
• You may want a whistle to start each wave going (but calling ‘Go’ works too).

Assembly

1. Ask the children to put up their hands if they know what a ‘Mexican wave’ is. Get someone to explain (or explain yourself) that it was started by Mexican football fans and it is where everyone stands up and sits down in turn to make crowd ‘wave’.
2. Say that you want to try it. If the children are seated on the floor rather than on chairs they will have to use their hands, reaching up high.
   
   Try the Mexican wave several times. Once they have perfected their wave from left to right, then try it from the front of the hall to the back. Praise them on how impressive it looks – ‘like the sea’.
3. Next, ask them to try doing the wave with their eyes closed tight, starting from the right side, on your call of ‘Go’. Don’t give them too long to think about it or they will realize that they will be able to ‘feel’ their neighbours moving.
4. Tell them that it was a shambles! Ask them why didn’t it work when you had been doing so well? Explain that the Mexican waves were fabulous and fun when they could see each other (and see when it was their turn to move) but when they were ‘cut off’ from the others, by not being able to see anyone else, it all fell apart.
5. Tell the children that in life if we want our classes to be fabulous and fun, or our school community to be fabulous and fun, or our town/city… or our country… or our world to be fabulous and fun - we need to pay attention to each other, to play our part, to work together.

Time for reflection

Reflection

Take a moment to think about all the communities (groups) you are a part of:

your family,

your class,

your school,

any groups or clubs you belong to,

your village/town/city,

your country,

the whole world.

In all of these communities you can make a positive contribution. You can help make harmony and peace.

Choose one community in which you want to make a difference, and take a moment to think how you will do this.

Prayer

Loving God,

Help us to work together to make communities that work in harmony,

that all people may share and enjoy the gifts you have given,

and live in peace and cooperation.

Amen.

Song/music

‘It’s a new day’ (Come and Praise, 106)