Weeks 26: March 28-April 1 - In your own Backyard
In your own Backyard
A nature walk right outside our classrooms this week resulted in TONS of amazing discoveries!
Registration for the Garden and Seeds programs for returning families continues. New family enrollment begins April 11. Click on the program links to learn more and reserve your space!
THE GARDEN
Fun creating insects with clay and pipe cleaners.
This week at the Garden we learned about Jesus’ friend, Lazarus. Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, called Jesus because their brother was sick, but by the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had died. But Jesus, who is almighty and all powerful, told Lazarus to get up and walk, and Lazarus did. He raised Lazarus from the dead! Many of the people then believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Rescuer. However, some of the pharisees and teachers did not believe in Jesus and tried to find a way to arrest Him.
On Thursday we discussed the story of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with very expensive perfume. Some of the apostles couldn't believe that she was pouring a bottle of perfume over Jesus’ feet that was worth over a whole year's salary. But Jesus knew, that she was preparing Him for His death on the cross that would soon be happening. The apostles did not know this, so they couldn’t understand. Jesus soon would offer Himself as a sacrifice for all.
One of our student’s grandmothers was a special guest this week as she helped us plan a butterfly garden. We talked about which spot would be best and what kinds of flowers would attract the most butterflies. In our other activity times, we played at the big park, made insects with clay, played in the kitchen and used the new cash register (which all the kids loved) and had a whole lot of fun with mirrors. We reviewed the 3 body parts of an insect (head, thorax, abdomen) and talked about their antennae. I wonder what they use their antennae for? Ask the children, they are becoming insect experts.
SEEDS
CURRENT MEMORY VERSE
“Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
What a tree!
This pine stands majestically just outside the sanctuary and is one of the types of trees we’ve been studying in our botany unit.
We began the week in Science by taking a nature walk outside of the center. We were able to identify a few plants and hunt for seeds. We found pinecones and flowers and observed the reproductive parts that we learned about last week. On Friday, we learned about two different flowering families: composite or “ray” flowers like sunflowers and daisies and carnivorous flowers like the venus flytrap, sundew, and bladderwort. It was interesting to note that the ray flowers are truly composed of tiny flowers in the center and thus, they can produce many seeds (up to a thousand in a sunflower alone!) We saw videos of people harvesting sunflower and daisy seeds to understand this concept further. The kids also enjoyed the video of the carnivorous plants and loved learning the different ways they catch their prey in order to get nitrogen from them.
Pasting the latest labels to our timelines.
Well we have finally come to the end of the 18th Century in History class. Our timeline sure is getting long now! This week, we talked about how the French Revolution gave rise to a new leader that would become very powerful: Napoleon Bonaparte! As he ascended to power in Europe, the United States continued to grow with the addition of Kentucky and Tennessee as official members of the Union. This week, we will see the U.S. grow incredibly with the acquisition of land caused by the Louisiana Purchase.
Before we leave for vacation week, please have your kids bring back their bird cards so we can add the latest additions to the set.
Supplemental Readings for SEEDS
The Last 500 Years
p. 44 - The Empire of Napoleon (just the first three sections)
