Week 4: September 20-24 - "Jesus: Light of the World"

Jesus: Light of the World

…of rocks and trees and skies and seas,

His hands the wonders wrought!

…God is the ruler yet!

From the hymn, “This is My Father’s Word”

As I sit here writing this week’s newsletter, the all too familiar moment in Puerto Rico happens once again: BLACKOUT, APAGÓN, SE FUE LA LUZ! And immediately I remember what Mrs. Vivi taught us this week about Jesus: that HE is the Light of the World! Jesus was present at Creation, and before the sun, moon, or stars were created on the fourth day, there WAS LIGHT, because HE was there. She also showed us how in the end, the book of Revelation tells us that in eternity there will no longer be need for the sun, for HE will be our light. What a wonderful promise that we CAN trust in when everything else fails!

As we reflect on everything God has made in his wonderful creation, like Elise’s amazing whale pictured above, let us remember that what we see and experience here are but shadows of the things to come. What better reason to keep pressing forward in love, holiness, and truth as we seek to serve God in the days He has established us to live on this earth…with or without electricity.

THE GARDEN

Spheres and circles were the focus of our drawing this week as we introduced our special black drawing flair pens. On Tuesday we practiced drawing circles of many sizes. They were delighted to see designs like flowers and faces pop out in their work. Later in the week, they used what they learned for their ladybug sketches.

Finally, birthdays are some of our favorite days at The Well. We honor the children by singing a special birthday song and adding and book to our center's library in honor of that child. The children also bring a special treat to share with their classmates. On Thursday, we enjoyed a yummy outdoor picnic celebrating Elena.

And special thanks to Estrella’s mom Cecilia who brought over both real and toy worms for us as we spoke about the things important to our compost bin. Wiggly fun was had.

“She heard the beautiful music written by the man named Franz — and it changed her.”

-Mo Willems, from “BECAUSE”

SEEDS

In our study of Mammals in Science class, we began to look at the order of marine mammals. We learned that dolphins, whales, and porpoises are one group, while manatees and dugongs are in another group. We talked about their differences and the children made a drawing of their favorite marine mammal in their journals. We also introduced the next order that we will study: Primates. We are excited to have a special visit from Elisha's dad, Josue, next Wednesday to talk to us about his work with monkeys here in Puerto Rico. We encouraged the kids to come with questions for Josue on Wednesday.

In History, we continued to imagine what it was like for the early settlers of America, this time moving from Jamestown, to Plymouth Plantation, the place the pilgrims set up their colony in 1620 after sailing on the Mayflower. We spoke about the Mayflower Compact, a document written to create order and agreement among those who would live and work together for their own good and to glorify God in the process. Finally, we learned a few Indian games that these colonists must have learned too from the Native Americans that celebrated the first Thanksgiving with them. In Studio Time, we began making a large art piece inspired both by the music of Franz Shubert and our library book reading of Mo Willems’ “Because.” The children began to draw and color on the long, squiggly music stanza, anything that came to their minds as they listened to the compositions. We look forward to completing this mural soon.

SEEDS supplemental readings can be found below. Also check out the photos from this week.

Supplemental Readings for SEEDS

The Last 500 Years -
- P. 32-33 (don’t read The 13 Colonies or Wars for Land)
Guide to God’s Animals - pp. 56-59
The readings above are NOT homework. They are optional readings to reinforce and review with your children the topics covered in their previous classes. If possible, make these readings cozy, comfy, fun, and an activity that the entire family can enjoy together. Kids may even just enjoy skimming these pages on their own, and looking at the pictures. A post-it or an index card will help them find this week’s sections.