Trip a Little Light Fantastic

May 14, 2019 by Ethos Team Leave a comment

Assembly Objective:

What difference can an individual make to someone else’s emotional and mental wellbeing? This assembly examines the idea that human beings have an opportunity to bring hope and joy to those around us and to impact the wider community through our actions and reactions. The Bible contains many references to light and darkness, and Jesus is described as the Light of the World.

Film:

Mary Poppins Returns (Disney, 2019, certificate U). Click here to buy the DVD online.

Bible:

John 8:12; 1 John 1:5-7 (NIRV)

Supporting Values Education:

The value of Individual Liberty is essential to the educational goal of developing pupils as responsible global citizens. This assembly encourages pupils to consider what they can choose to do with their lives that will make a difference for the common good.
The value of Democracy and Rule of Law are based on a shared community where people feel that they belong. This assembly helps pupils begin to think about the nature of hope and joy which contributes to the understanding of belonging to a community.

OPENING ACTIVITY

In The Dark (activity)

If you have space, invite two volunteers to come to the front and take part in an obstacle race (use chairs or people to create a short, safe course). However, before you begin the race, tell them that one of them will be blindfolded and the other can see.

Once you have demonstrated the point that negotiating the course is much harder in the dark, ask another volunteer (choose wisely!) to come and lead the blindfolded student around the course.

If you don’t have space (or the desire!) to set up a course, you could play a version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Pictionary or any activity that is difficult/impossible without sight.

FILM CLIP

Mary Poppins Returns (Disney, 2019, certificate U). Click here to buy the DVD online.

Start time: 01:18:30
End time: 01:26:53
Clip length: 8 min 23 sec (if time is short, stop the clip at 01:22:56, where Jack, Mary and the children emerge from the tunnel).

The clip shows Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) and the three Banks children are walking around London in a fog (‘Too focused on where you’ve been to pay attention to where you’re going.’) The children are sad because they have upset their father. Afraid that they are lost, they are relieved to come across Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda) who asks them why they look so glum. He tells them that when he’s lost he looks for a little light to guide him. He then begins to sing Trip a Little Light Fantastic and the children and Mary Poppins join in. They then meet the lamplighters (leeries) who are lighting the city one lamppost at a time. They perform a dance routine.

TALK

Scripted Talk

Download the Mary Poppins Returns PowerPoint for use with this talk.

[PowerPoint slide 1]
- Before we begin our assembly, let’s take two minutes to talk to the person sitting next to us. Take one minute to ask the question ‘How are you?’ and listen to the answer. Now swap over.
- I wonder how many of us gave the same answer – a variation on the following phrases:
[PowerPoint slide 2]
- ‘I’m fine.’
- ‘Not bad.’
- ‘All right.’
- How would you have felt if you had asked your neighbour to tell you very honestly how they were feeling today?
[PowerPoint slide 3]
- ‘I’m feeling sad.’
- ‘I’m quite lonely.’
- ‘I’m worried.’
- ‘I’m upset.’
- What would you say to help them? Would you feel awkward? Would it make you more honest about how you are feeling?
[PowerPoint slide 4]
- In today’s assembly we’re going to think about light and dark, and about what we can do when we feel as though we’re lost. Being lost is not just about not being able to find a physical place. It can mean not knowing what to do or feeling confused about a choice that we have to make. It can mean feeling lonely or sad or anxious. Probably all of us at some point in our lives have felt as though we were lost.
- Feeling lost can feel like being in darkness. What we need is someone or something to show us some light so we can see our way out of the problem.
[PowerPoint slide 5]
- Let’s watch a clip from the film Mary Poppins Returns. Mary Poppins is a mysterious nanny with magical power who has come to help the Banks family. Things are not going well for the Banks family and it seems that they will have to move out of their house. The three children find themselves lost in the city of London, but also feeling lost emotionally. They don’t know what to do next, they feel sad and they are worried that they have upset their father.
- Play the clip from Mary Poppins Returns (Disney, 2019, certificate U)
  - Start time: 01:18:30
  - End time: 01:26:53
  - Clip length: 8 min 23 sec (if time is short, stop the clip at 01:22:56, where Jack, Mary and the children emerge from the tunnel).
- The clip shows Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) and the three Banks children are walking around London in a fog (‘Too focused on where you’ve been to pay attention to where you’re going.’) The children are sad because they have upset their father. Afraid that they are lost, they are relieved to come across Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda) who asks them why they look so glum. He tells them that when he’s lost he looks for a little light to guide him. He then begins to sing Trip a Little Light Fantastic (lyrics can be found here – https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/linmanuelmiranda/tripalittlelightfantastic.html) and the children and Mary Poppins join in. They then meet the lamplighters (leeries) who are lighting the city one lamppost at a time. They perform a dance routine.
[PowerPoint slide 6]
- I think just watching that song and dance routine has probably made us all feel a bit happier. When you feel lost or sad or gloomy, it can sometimes help to watch something cheerful, or even sing a song, but obviously that’s not the answer to our problem. When you feel like that, the worst thing in the world is for someone to tell you to cheer up.
- However, there are some practical things we can learn from the song to help us when we feel lost.
[PowerPoint slide 7]
- First of all, it’s good to talk about your problems with someone you trust. That might be with a friend or someone in your family, or it might be that you need to find a teacher or another trusted adult to help you. Sharing a problem, and how you feel about it, can be the beginning of sorting it out and feeling better. So, in ‘leerie speak’, it helps to give someone your ‘weep and wail’ (tale).
[PowerPoint slide 8]
- Secondly, bringing something into the light often helps us see it for what it is. When we worry about a situation or a choice it can make us feel anxious, and it can make the problem seem bigger than it actually is. As the song says, ‘When you’re alone in your room, your choices just embrace the gloom’.
- It can help to write down your problem so that you can explain it to someone else. It can also help to make yourself connect with your friends or get involved in doing something active as this can stop you over-thinking a situation.
[PowerPoint slide 9]
- In the days before electric streetlights, the lamplighters (leeries) had the job of lighting the streets so that people felt safe and could find their way around without getting lost. Whenever there is light there is no darkness. Light chases away darkness.
[PowerPoint slide 10]
- In the Bible Jesus describes himself as being like a light. ‘Jesus spoke to the people again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness. They will have that light. They will have life.”’ John 8:12.
- Jesus meant that he had come to the world to help people, to be with them when they needed help and to deal with the problems and the mistakes that stopped them having a full life.
- Christians would say that praying to God helps them when life is difficult, as praying reminds them that God is with them, and that he helps them.
[PowerPoint slide 11]
- In another part of the Bible, it says, ‘Here is the message we have heard from him and announce to you. God is light. There is no darkness in him at all. Suppose we say that we share life with God but still walk in the darkness. Then we are lying. We are not living out the truth. But suppose we walk in the light, just as he is in the light. Then we share life with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us pure from all sin.’ 1 John 1:5-7.
[PowerPoint slide 12]
- When someone finds light they want to share it with others so they are not in the darkness. These verses from the Bible are written to encourage Christians to help other people when they are in the dark.
- The writer is saying that if someone claims to love God and follow him, then the proof of it is in how they treat other people.
[PowerPoint slide 13]
- There are times when everyone feels as though they are in the dark. Everyone needs light when they feel lost or anxious or they don’t know what to do. We can all help each other. We can choose to be like leeries, helping our friends and families to see their way through the darkness.
- We can do that by looking out for one another, by listening well when it seems as though our friends feel sad or anxious, by giving good advice and by helping them make good choices.

Headings and Bullets

Download the Mary Poppins Returns PowerPoint for use with this talk.

[PowerPoint slide 1]
- Take two minutes to talk to the person sitting next to us and ask ‘How are you?’
- Listen to the answer.
- Swap over.
- How many of us gave the same answer?
[PowerPoint slide 2]
- ‘I’m fine’.
- ‘Not bad’.
- ‘All right’.
- How would you have felt if you had asked your neighbour to tell you very honestly how they were feeling today?
[PowerPoint slide 3]
- ‘I’m feeling sad’.
- ‘I’m quite lonely’.
- ‘I’m worried’.
- ‘I’m upset’.
- What would you say to help them? Would you feel awkward? Would it make you more honest about how you are feeling?
[PowerPoint slide 4]
- Today’s assembly is about light and dark and when we feel lost.
- Being lost is not just about not being able to find a physical place.
- Not knowing what to do.
- Feeling confused about a choice.
- Feeling lonely or sad or anxious.
- Probably all of us at some point in our lives have felt as though we were lost.
- We need someone or something to show us some light so we can see our way out of the problem.
[PowerPoint slide 5]
- Mary Poppins is a mysterious nanny with magical power who has come to help the Banks family.
- They may have to move out of their house.
- The three children are lost in the city of London, but also feeling lost emotionally. They don’t know what to do next, they feel sad and they are worried that they have upset their father.
- Watch the clip from Mary Poppins Returns (Disney, 2019, certificate U).
[PowerPoint slide 6]
- The song and dance routine probably made us all feel a bit happier.
- When you feel lost or sad or gloomy, it can sometimes help to watch something cheerful, or even sing a song.
- Obviously that’s not the answer to our problem.
- The worst thing in the world can be for someone to tell you to cheer up.
[PowerPoint slide 7]
- Give someone your ‘weep and wail’.
- It’s good to talk about your problems with someone you trust.
- A friend, family member or a teacher or another trusted adult.
- Sharing a problem, and how you feel about it, can be the beginning of sorting it out and feeling better.
[PowerPoint slide 8]
- Shed some light.
- Bringing something into the light often helps us see it for what it is.
- When we worry about a situation or a choice it can make us feel anxious.
- The problem can seem bigger than it actually is.
- It can help to write down your problem.
- Connect with your friends or get involved in doing something active to stop you over-thinking.
[PowerPoint slide 9]
- Light chases away darkness:
- In the days before electric streetlights, the lamplighters (leeries) had the job of lighting the streets so that people felt safe and could find their way around without getting lost.
- Whenever there is light there is no darkness.
[PowerPoint slide 10]
- Read the Bible verse.
- Jesus describes himself as being like a light.
- John 8:12.
- Jesus meant that he had come to the world to help people, to be with them when they needed help and to deal with the problems and the mistakes that stopped them having a full life.
- Christians would say that praying to God helps them when life is difficult, as praying reminds them that God is with them, and that he helps them.
[PowerPoint slide 11]
- Read the Bible verse 1 John 1:5-7.
[PowerPoint slide 12]
- Help other people when they are in the dark.
- When someone finds light they want to share it with others so they are not in the darkness.
- These verses from the Bible are written to encourage Christians to help other people when they are in the dark.
- The writer is saying that if someone claims to love God and follow him, then the proof of it is in how they treat other people.
[PowerPoint slide 13]
- We can look out for one another.
- Listen well when it seems as though our friends feel sad or anxious.
- Give good advice.
- Helping friends make good choices.

RESPOND

Prayer

Father God, help us to walk in the light. Help us when we are anxious and troubled to know that you are with us. Help us to be good friends to one another. Amen.

Reflection

[PowerPoint slide 14]

How can we help other people out of darkness today?

YOU WILL NEED

A copy of Mary Poppins Returns (Disney, 2019, certificate U). Click here to buy the DVD online.
Mary Poppins Returns PowerPoint.
Blindfold for In the dark opening activity.
Optional – song lyrics to Trip a little light fantastic https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/linmanuelmiranda/tripalittlelightfantastic.html

Ethos Education

Trip a Little Light Fantastic

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