Week 12: Getting the "Motors" going!
WEEK 12: Getting the “Motors” going!
Fine motor skills and gross motor skills are always areas we want to develop in our programs. So from sewing in The Garden to dancing in SEEDS and OAKS, this week was full of opportunities to sharpen some skills.
Scroll down to see the supplemental readings for the week, galleries of our latest photos, and our current memory verse.
SEW much fun!
Elena shows off the work
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 Story of the World
P. 117 - The War of the Pacific
P. 123 - The Suez Canal
P. 129 - The Iron Outlaw
GARDEN - Pre-K and K
On the swing where we often play the “Maquinas” game.
“God cares for me, in my Bible book I read that God cares for me!”. That’s what one of this week's worship songs said. We saw God’s care, protection and provision through Gideon. God had chosen Gideon to deliver His people from the Midianites. Gideon was surprised that a common man like him was chosen for such a task. God promised him that He was going to be with him through it all. When God kept asking Gideon to send men home from their army, he was surprised. They did not have as many soldiers as their enemies to start with and God left him with only 300 men. Even though Gideon thought that having less men was not the best approach to war, he obeyed God and trusted in His plan and guidance. They followed God's guidance and as promised, He led them to victory! We can always trust God, especially when we don’t understand how He will come through with His promises. He is eternally faithful!
Miss Vivi made a fun obstacle race for the children in the parking lot. They enjoyed it a lot! The kids also shared some time together on the swing. They could be on the swing the whole park time; they love it! In a joint effort, they built a house/fort using sticks, flowers for decoration and the black crates we use in the drama area. During park time, Emma made crowns for the children out of oregano leaves. They all looked like royalty, they are indeed God’s princesses and His prince.
This week’s letter was “Hh”. Hallel was happy we got to practice her letter. They all wrote it with the chalkboard and practiced forming it with the wooden figures. For activity time they all had a chance to sew. They were very concentrated and at some point all you could hear was, “Sube, baja, sube, baja”, as they found the rhythm to work the string and needle. They’ll get the hang of it in no time!
SEEDS - Grades 1-6
Reading from “Arlo and the Great Big Cover-up”
We honored Alicia for her birthday this week and read from her birthday book during worship time.
Science
My children tell me that their favorite thing about visiting Grandmother (my mom) is when she sprays the whipping cream in their mouths! I figured that it would be worth making a similar lasting impression in science class if it meant that the kids learned about this foam colloid, an example of a homogeneous mixture that has gas mixed into a liquid. Other examples of colloids are:
Aerosols: gas or liquid mixed into a gas (like spray oils),
Gels: solids mixed into a liquid (like pudding & peanut butter), and
Emulsions: liquids mixed into liquids (like paint, milk, mayo).
Also this week, the students learned the phrase, “Oil and water don’t mix”
Water is a very effective solvent because it is a polar molecule, being positive on one side and negative on the other. Other polar molecules can easily dissolve into it. However, nonpolar molecules, like oil, do not dissolve into water and need another nonpolar molecule, like soap, to help it dissolve. Hopefully, the children at least remember why it is important to use soap when trying to wash away the germs and dirt that tend to get stuck in the natural oils of our hands.
Studio
From finishing up our pineapple paintings inspired by Francisco Oller to learning about the danza dance style, Studio was a time to celebrate Puerto Rican culture this week. On Wednesday, the children came back excited to add color to their sketches. We practiced cleaning our brushes well between colors as well as using the point of the paintbrush without crushing down on the paper. The end of the week challenged our large muscles and our coordination as we learned the very elegant and national dance of Puerto Rico. Brought to Puerto Rico by the Spaniards, the movements of the danza are very different from some of the other popular dance styles like bomba and plena. Mrs. Vivi taught the parts to both boys and girls separately and at the end of the day, Oaks students Olivia and Joshua demonstrated the correct position for partner dancing that they had learned in their Studio Time the day before. Many other kids wanted to try dancing with a partner so we had an unexpected dance party after our prayer for dismissal. So fun and memorable!
History
Getting on the Time Machine and singing our song is such a highlight of History Class. This week we "traveled" to Bolivia and Egypt. We learned about two very important geography facts: what is a country that is landlocked and what is a canal. For Bolivia, a country that was founded by Simon Bolivar, becoming landlocked was a result of it's war with Peru and Chile. Once they had access to the Pacific Ocean, but now are completely surrounded by other countries. Access to water wasn't a problem for Egypt, that lies along both the Red and Mediterranean Seas. But in the 1800s, the country accomplished connecting the two by way of the Suez Canal. This completely changed world commerce as now boats were able to send their merchandise without going around the entire continent of Africa. Even just last year in 2021, a boat stuck in the Suez Canal affected the supply chain for many countries around the world. We worked on making our own canal with a clay model outside (One side said “Med” for Mediterranean Sea and the other said “Red for the red Sea.)
Check out the new recordings of our PR songs, sung by the Seeds students!
OAKS - 7+
Worship
Honoring Isaí for his birthday.
This week, we honored Isaí for his birthday and what a privilege it is to see these Oaks transforming into young men and women. We prayed for him and reflected on the work of the Holy Spirit in all of our lives as we seek to grow to love God more and to love others by His power. The students also worked on their next set of icons depicting the stories from our book.
A Young Person’s Guide to Knowing God
P. 119 - The Defaced Likeness (Bible connection: Titus 3:3-8
Science
We had to put our thinking caps on this week to learn about polar and non-polar molecules! As a point of departure, we discussed that water is polar and oil is non-polar. Oil and water don’t mix because like substances (ie. polar or non-polar) dissolve like substances. When asked why we needed soap to wash our hands they were puzzled and wondered why soap even mixes with water in the first place. We learned that soap is actually bi-polar so it attracts both the oil and the water, helping to wash off the oil in our hands in the same way it attracts and washes off the germs on our hands. To illustrate this, we did a fun experiment on Friday with milk, food coloring, a cotton swab and dish soap. The dish soap kept pushing around the water and the fat in the milk, making the food coloring swirl in such a majestic way in the cake pan. “This is art!!” Mateo said enthusiastically. God certainly placed beauty in the molecular level as well!
Studio
What joy to see the beautiful colors of the sunset come together in the oil pastel versions of Claude Monet’s “Sunset in Venice.” These are definitely pieces that are getting displayed at our house! After finishing up these pieces we moved on to doing some dance in our Studio Time. After a brief introduction to the Danza Puertorriquena, we got on our feet and began learning the basic moves at slow tempo. The boys were mirroring the girls as they danced and at the end they were invited to try to dance with a partner. Mrs. Vivi explained what the closed dance position was and where the boys placed their hands in order to be respectful and where the girls placed their hands in order to maintain the distance they felt comfortable with. They were hesitant at first to try it out but after a while they started to try. We will learn a few more steps this week before moving on to our preview study of The Nutcracker.
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?”
