Week 11: The Pencil is Mighty
WEEK 11: The Pencil is Mighty
There was a lot of drawing occurring at the Well Center this week, within all the programs. The OAKS learned about Charles Spurgeon while sketching his likeness, while the SEEDS embraced still life in the style of Francisco Oller. The pencil sharpener was very busy!
Scroll down to see the supplemental readings for the week, galleries of our latest photos, and our current memory verse.
SUGGESTED READINGS FOR THE WEEK
The readings are meant to reinforce the topics covered from last week and to have the parents understand more fully what is being covered in the classes. They are not required for the class, but a good supplement. You can try to read all or just a few selections. Use your discretion what to cover based upon the ages of your children.
OAKS Program
See below for the worship readings
SEEDS and OAKS Programs
Review Memory Verse: John 11:25-26 (See bottom of page)
HISTORY
The Last 500 Years / World History from Ancient To Modern Times
pp. 66-67 / pp. 262-263
The Story of the World
P. 15 - Japan reopens
P. 86 - Japan's Meiji Restoration
P. 93 - The Dutch East Indies
GARDEN - Pre-K and K
“Gg” is for Garden! That was the letter of the week. The children sounded out words that started with the “g” sound. They are getting better at it! Letter “Gg” is also for green, and the kids made green mixing blue and yellow. After filling a paper using only green paint with a sponge, they created another piece of art using a paint brush and many colors. This week they practiced writing the letter “Gg” using playdough and a toothpick.
This week we reviewed the 10 commandments that God gave us to relate to Him and others. We also studied the story of Jericho. As the pictures show, the Garden children made a big wall with blocks representing Jericho. To some, it may have seemed absurd that fighting meant walking around the city, but God commanded it, the Israelites obeyed, and God gave them the victory. The kids got to reenact the story with Miss Vivi and just like in the story, after marching 7 times around “the city,” the children shouted and junior assistant Emma sounded the shofar. God had once again kept His promises, and we too cans learn to trust Him always.
At park time, the children enjoyed playing freeze tag with Mr Jared and hide and seek. You will see in some pictures that they also enjoyed climbing on the monkey bars and holding tight as many seconds as they could. These Garden children are fit and ready for battle, representing God’s army!
SEEDS - Grades 1-6
Science
Studying mixtures always makes me want to bake! Mixtures are made from two or more combined substances that maintain their chemical properties (unless you bake them, of course, which causes a chemical change to occur). In heterogeneous mixtures you can see the different particles, like in chocolate chip cookie dough, while homogeneous mixtures have been mixed so well that they look like one consistent substance, like the milk you can have with the cookies. :-)
A scoop of river or ocean water is a heterogeneous mixture called a suspension, in which larger particles are suspended in a substance but tend to settle out over time. We added some dried cranberries to carbonated water and watched the carbon dioxide bubbles attach to the cranberries, grow larger, and buoy the berries to the top momentarily.
Solutions are examples of homogeneous mixtures that have a solvent, which does the dissolving, and a solute, which gets dissolved. We dissolved some salt (the solute) into water (the solvent) making a simple solution.
We finished class on Wednesday by discussing how 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes LOVE like a mixture. Love is patient. Love is kind…
On Friday, we took time to review information from the last few weeks and add to our science journal.
If you get a chance this week, ask your children to find some of the following in your home (examples are in parentheses):
Common crystals (salt, sugar, ice, quartz)
Natural and synthetic polymers (wood, cotton, silk, plastic, rubber)
Acids (vinegar, lemon juice, milk, stomach acid)
Bases (soap, toothpaste, baking soda, bleach)
Chemical reactions (baking, burning)
Physical reactions (mixing)
Heterogeneous mixtures (chocolate chip cookies, sand)
Homogeneous mixtures (milk, play dough, toothpaste)
Studio
Every artist needs to practice the art of observation. Using the different shape families as taught in the Monart style and the book Drawing with Children, the kids practiced breaking down pictures into dots, circles, and straight, angled, and/or curved lines. We used our flair pens to do some simple exercises on plain white paper. On Friday, after looking at more of the works of Puerto Rican artist Fransisco Oller, Mrs. Vivi set up a still life with fruit found in Puerto Rico just like he liked to do. Since one of his best known still lifes or “bodegónes” is one with several pineapples, ours featured two pineapples. Mrs. Vivi encouraged them to look closely and see the shapes in front of them. It was definitely a challenge but the kids persevered and the work is coming along quite nicely. This week they will add color to their drawings.
History
Our study of History this week brought us to look at the changes in Japan towards the end of the 1800’s. Although the country had closed its doors to the rest of the world for hundreds of years under the Shogunate rule, Japan now began to allow foreigners to enter. The government began modeling itself after those countries of the west, like Germany. Traditions changed. Even the ancient art of the samurai was replaced by modern weapons. We had a fun time learning a few Samurai moves as we learned about Saigo Takamori, one of the last samurai to defend the old ways at that time. Check out the video below that showcases some of the training.
OAKS - 7+
Worship
We are reading about the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in our worship time this week. Two powerful stories from our book helped demonstrate the kinds of changes that happen to a person when the Spirit begins to do the work of changing our hearts. We also read about the change that happened in the life of Charles Spurgeon when he was convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit. Even as a young man, God began to powerfully use him to preach the truth and bring many to Christ. The students sketched a portrait of Spurgeon as they listened to his story.
A Young Person’s Guide to Knowing God
P 109 - The Messenger
P 113 - A Home for Virginia
Science
We began this week by reviewing some concepts from our previous lessons using the crossword puzzle in the Science Notebook. On Friday, we began learning about mixtures, namely the difference between a homogenous and a heterogenous mixture. We discussed some common examples and how mixtures are part of our everyday life. They loved to think of guacamole and salsa as the heterogenous (or obviously different mixtures) and milk and ketchup as the homogenous ones. Our cranberries and soda suspension was a hit as we could clearly see the different particles float up to the top with the help of the carbon dioxide in the soda. Finally, we made some lemonade to illustrate what a solution is. The powder lemonade mix was the solute (what gets dissolved) and water was the solvent (what is used to dissolve the solute). It was quite a refreshing “solution”!
Studio
This week we began to learn about Impressionism and looked at the works of Claude Monet and Francisco Oller, among others. It was so cool to see how Oller traveled to Paris and brought back the Impressionistic style to the Caribbean as a result of working alongside of these master artists. At the end of the week, we began using oil pastels to create our own replica of one of Monet's most beautiful paintings called: "Sunset in Venice." We will finish these on Wednesday.
History
The students had a lot of time outdoors as they too integrated some physical training in their study of Japanese samurai culture. They participated in both an obstacle course created by one of the SEEDS students and a samurai warm-up. Check out their video below.
Memory Verse #6
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
