Generosity Myton Park Primary school – values – October 31st and November 1st 2016

What is generosity? I asked the children what they thought generosity meant. They came up with lost of ideas – generosity was doing something kind for somebody else, that really helps them or makes them feel good. We talked about how lucky we were with all the things we had. We watched a video about Operation Christmas Child – to help us to understand how lucky we are. https://www.samaritans-purse.org.uk/what-we-do/operation-christmas- child/ Click on the link above to find out more.

Have a banana! I explained to the children that I was feeling hungry and was ready for a snack. I said that I hoped they didn’t mind me having something to eat while I talked to them. I produced a banana from my bag, telling the children how much I enjoy bananas as a snack. They are healthy – full of potassium, which is good for my heart. I began to peel it. Part way through peeling it, I stopped and said that perhaps I was being a little selfish, and maybe someone would like to share my banana with me. I chose an older child, who I knew would cope with the following scenario and help me to make a point about sharing. I then proceeded to offer to go halves with the banana.

Have a banana – continued! I peeled the banana, and then gave the skin to my volunteer, and I began to eat the fruit, saying: Half for you and half for me. I then pretended to look disappointed that the child wasn’t eating the banana-peel, and say something like, I thought you liked bananas - what's the problem? Together, we made the point that sometimes we think we are sharing and being generous, when really we are keeping the best for ourselves and giving away what we wouldn’t really miss. There are times when that s Ok – because the other person might really enjoy something we don’t want or use any more, but we can also give something away or share in a way that suits us. Can the children think of any examples, such as sharing sweets but only giving away the ones we don't like? Christians believe that everything we have really belongs to God, and we need to be responsible with it and not greedy. In the Bible we are called to be generous and ready to share (1 Timothy 6.18). I then gave my volunteer a banana to enjoy to themselves – and we talked about how we can share well in school and be fair in how we do this.