Jesus the Bread of Life

You may be wondering…what are the kids doing with all those cotton balls? Well, this week in SEEDS we learned that God provided an amazing provision for the Israelites while they were in the wilderness and this food was called manna. This meant “what is it?” because they had no idea what this strange bread from heaven was. But it was God’s way of caring for his people and once again saving them from destruction. The kids searched for this manna (cotton) in the sanctuary to remember this story and to reflect on a greater truth: that Jesus is ALSO bread from heaven! He said, “I am the Bread of Life. He who believes in me will NEVER go hungry.” This is an important point to remember as we tend to worry about so many things in our lives. So this week, let us remember that God provides for all of our needs, most importantly our need for salvation though his Son, Jesus.

Don’t forget, have your kids practice our hymn for this month: “Cuando Andemos con Dios” (in English - “Trust and Obey”)

“I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”

— Memory Verse: John 6:35

THE GARDEN

Painting apples and trees

Estrella and Juan Diego creating their masterpieces.

This week in The Garden we discussed how in order to produce good fruit in our lives, we (the branches) needed to stay connected to Jesus (the vine). Ms. Vivi gave each child a branch to connect it with the main vine as the kids said, “I am a branch and can give much fruit”. We talked about the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and emphasized on the fruit of LOVE. For the activity table this week, the children got a chance to play with water. Also colored marbles and containers were introduced to enhance their creativity and skills while using the water table. “Es un volcán de joyas”, said Edén. For our physical activities this week, we played hopscotch for the first time. Every child did an amazing job! Later on, the children became artists painting apples and trees. To finish off, each kid had an opportunity to plant their own tree with Mr. Jared’s help, they were all intrigued.

“Es un volcán de joyas.”

-Eden at the water table

SEEDS

As our study of mammals in Science is coming to an end, we took a look at some very interesting mammals: marsupials. Marsupials are found mostly in the areas of Australia, Indonesia, and New Zealand. Although many kids were familiar with some marsupials such as kangaroos and koalas, they were fascinated to learn how the underdeveloped babies of this group of mammals are just the size of a grain of rice or a jellybean when they are born. They marveled at the instinct they are born with that allows them to sniff their way into their mother's pouch where it may mature completely. Although we briefly discussed other interesting marsupials like wombats, opossums, and Tasmanian devils, we had fun learning mostly about kangaroos. We finished our study with a hopping challenge inspired by learning that kangaroos can jump as far as 30 feet! We laughed and noted how helpful kangaroos' tails are and how wise God is to design them this way as many of the kids slipped after they jumped. The older children also prepared to carry a baby kangaroo or "joey" in it's pouch.

And in History, the fun and games continued as we learned more about life as a pilgrim child (see the video below). We had an especially fun time playing 9 pin, a game similar to bowling that was a favorite for colonial kids in the New World.

Apart from the games, we also learned more about a sad part of our history and that was the slave trade that began when tobacco cultivation began to boom in the colonies. The terrible triangle of trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas increased the prosperity of the new world, but devastated millions of families that were captured and separated in order to work the farms in the colonies.

Supplemental Readings for SEEDS

The Last 500 Years
- P. 34-35 (don’t read Slave rebellions or Ending the slave trade)
Guide to God’s Animals - pp.16-19, p.34-35
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.