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KS1 Assemblies and Collective Worship. Something to Think About: Midsummer - longest day of the year

Join Ben Faulks for a programme all about Midsummer - enjoying the longest day of the year; customs and traditions associated with the longest day

Before the programme

  • How is summer different from the other seasons of the year?
  • Which season do you like the best and why?
  • What do you like to do now that summer’s here?
  • How is school different in summer time?
  • What do you do after school? Is it the same in winter time? Why?
  • Look at the focus image: what do you think is happening? Why do you think the child is wearing flowers?
  • What do you think Midsummer’s Day might be about?

Programme content:

  1. Welcome and introduction: Some Something To Think About listeners tell us what they like about the long summer evenings.
  2. Feature: Ben talks to Charlotte Agren about how Midsummer is celebrated in Sweden.
  3. Story: The Crystal Sprites. An original story by Hilary Robinson. In the cellar of the local library there is a special book that is only read on one day in the year: Midsummer’s Day. Jess and Jake are shown it by Meg the librarian, who gives them permission to borrow it for just one night
when magical things happen

  4. Song. ‘Thank you for the summer morning’. (Come and Praise, no 109. Encourage the children to join in with as much as they can.
  5. Reflection. Ensure everyone is listen- ing carefully and thinking quietly as we reflect on summertime activities.
  6. Opportunity for prayer: Children can turn their thoughts into their own prayer of thanks, or use the optional prayer from these Notes.

After the programme:

Talk about the story

  • What clues at the start of the story tell you that something magical might happen?
  • Why do you think the story of the Crystal Sprites can only be borrowed on one day of the year?
  • Why do you think only Meg can read the stories?
  • What special jobs do the crystal sprites do?
  • What colour beads do you think Meg has in her necklace?
  • Why do you think Anger Sprite lives in a cold dark cave?
  • What do you think Jess and Jake did with their crystals?
  • What will happen next, after the end of the story?

Follow-up activities:

  • William Shakespeare wrote a play about some magical happenings on Midsummer’s Day (or rather, Night!) Watch and read the story here. Are there any parts of this story that are similar to the one in the programme?
  • Watch an explanation of why we get long days in summer. There’s a short clip on Newsround.
  • ‘I love summer!’ Write poems expressing the things that children love about summer time and gather into a class book for your book corner.
  • Plan some summer time activities for sun- ny play times, or lunch times: go bug-hunt- ing, make daisy chains, use water to paint on the playground, etc.
  • Make posters featuring the crystal sprites, using the descriptions in the story to help you, and display the advice they give about caring for Planet Earth.

Click to display the image full size

Focus image: a Swedish child wearing a flower crown for Midsummer
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