Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood
Winnie the Pooh Day is on 18 January 2023
by Becky May
Suitable for Key Stage 3
Aims
To celebrate Winnie the Pooh Day and the benefits of having diverse friends.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood) and the means to show them.
Assembly
- Ask the students how they are feeling. Are they having a good day?
Ask the students whether their friends have made a difference to them today. Perhaps their friends have helped them, cheered them up or even annoyed them! - Show Slide 1.
Tell the students that 18 January is Winnie the Pooh Day. It marks the day in 1882 when A. A. Milne, the author of the Winnie the Pooh stories, was born. At first, he wrote the stories for his son, using his cuddly toys as his inspiration. - Ask the students whether they read any Winnie the Pooh stories when they were younger, or watched any films or cartoons about them.
Invite the students to recall any characters and stories that they can remember.
Listen to a range of responses. - Explain that each character in the stories has his or her own personality. They are all different, but they are good friends and look out for each other.
- Show Slide 2.
Christopher Robin is the only human character; he is named after A. A. Milne’s son.
Show Slide 3.
Winnie the Pooh is kind, caring and friendly to everyone.
Show Slide 4.
Tigger is always on the go and easily excited - he just can’t keep still! He is full of confidence, but often overestimates his abilities. Whatever he has to do, he says it’s ‘what Tiggers do best!’
Show Slide 5.
Piglet is shy and lacks confidence, but Pooh encourages him to be brave and have a go at things.
Show Slide 6.
Eeyore struggles to feel happy about things; he always seems sad and grumpy. However, his friends accept him as he is, and care for him.
Show Slide 7.
Rabbit is friendly, but also bossy and irritable. He much prefers doing things his own way.
Show Slide 8.
Owl is very clever and knows a lot . . . well, he thinks he does. It isn’t always the case!
Show Slide 9.
Kanga is kind and caring and looks after the other characters, especially her son, Roo. - Point out that the differences between the characters make the stories more interesting. The characters aren’t perfect; instead, they are individuals, with things that we like about them and things that we may not.
As a group of friends, they accept and care for each other, even when it isn’t easy to do so, such as when they’re annoying each other, or making it harder to be included in what the others are doing. - Ask the students to think about their own friends. Perhaps they can think of someone who is bouncy like Tigger, or caring like Kanga. Maybe they sometimes find their friends a bit bossy like Rabbit, or perhaps they find it hard to cheer up their friend, like Eeyore.
Point out that we all have differences and that isn’t a bad thing. We don’t need to try to change our friends. Our unique characteristics are the things that make us who we are. Tolerating things that we may find hard and celebrating our differences are what make our friendships so special!
Time for reflection
Ask the students to think about the different characters that make up their friendship group.
Remind them that Jesus had some close friends too. His disciples were the 12 men who followed him most closely. Some of them were noisy and excitable; others were quieter and more serious. Sometimes, they had a wonderful time with Jesus, but at other times, they found it really hard. Jesus helped this group of people to grow together. The Bible tells us that Jesus accepted them as they were, and that he accepts us too.
Optional: the Bible has a lot to say about how we are all created to be unique and different. In one of his letters, Paul explained that we all have different gifts and skills, and they all work together.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that we are each uniquely and wonderfully made, and that you know all about us.
Thank you for our friends: the noisy, bouncy ones; the quiet, gentle ones; the kind and caring ones; and the funny ones.
Please help us to be a good friend to others.
Amen.
Song/music
Disney’s Winnie The Pooh theme song, available at: https://youtu.be/xHYvpXe75b8 (2.18 minutes long)
