Week 16: We are God's Workmanship
WEEK 16: We are God’s Workmanship
We have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works. And there was SO much good work done this week before closing for our December break.
Scroll down to see the supplemental readings for the week, galleries of our latest photos, and our current memory verse.
Unto us a child is born
This is a painting for the cover of one of the stories the OAKS group has been reading. The story, “The Messenger” points to the Son of God, Jesus, who brought to us the message of salvation for all people.
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 as to what to cover based upon the ages of your children.
SEEDS and OAKS Programs
Review Memory Verse (See bottom of page)
HISTORY
The Last 500 Years / World History from Ancient to Modern Times
P. 64-65 / 260-261
The Story of the World
P. 209 - The Boxer Rebellion
GARDEN - Pre-K and K
Juan Diego celebrates winning a game of ground basketball.
What an amazing and special semester we’ve had in the Garden. One of the days was extra special since it was EXTRA long. The Garden kids met for the morning and afternoon, with more activities, quiet time, lunch and the kids STILL ended up saying, “Weren’t we supposed to have a long day today?”. They were having so much fun, they didn’t even notice. That to us means they enjoy being in the Garden and time flies by for them.
This long day started with worship. We sang and discussed the story of the birth of our King Jesus. God loves us so much that He gave us His son so that we can spend the rest of eternity with Him. We were saying how we can’t physically see God right now with our eyes but one day we will and it will be glorious. Elena said: “Pero lo podemos ver con el corazón”. Yes indeed Elena!
Afterwards we had park time and the long awaited nap/quiet time. The children got cozy and comfy, Emma read them a story and they were excited to lay down on the mats they brought to the center.
Later in park time #2, they enjoyed watching the Oaks kids practicing their presentation song for the final day. They cheered them on and at the end of their practice, Elena and Hallel threw some grass up in the air as confetti to celebrate them!
In the afternoon meeting we practiced our last letter for the semester, the letter “Kk” that stands for King. Our King Jesus! To finish off the king theme, the children painted beautiful crowns and we were so proud of their pieces of art. They took their time and were patient painting all the details.
Our last day was special and unique, the parents got to watch how we do our worship routine and got to worship God with us. The songs we sang are on our favorites list. Afterwards, we had an all girl picnic, as we missed Juan Diego. We enjoyed our snack in the shade, with shoes off enjoying the breezy beautiful day God gifted us with. We talked and laughed so much. It was a sweet and special week. We wish you all a very merry Christmas, as we celebrate our Savior being born, our King that is to come again!
SEEDS - Grades 1-6
Kids learn about physics in Mrs. Jenny’s class through Hotwheels racetracks.
Science
In science, we wrapped up the semester by exploring Newton’s third law of motion and reviewing all three laws of motion in a creative way.
The students and I had a blast using the stomp rocket to show that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. As each student took a turn exerting a force on the launcher, he/she recited this third law. I think they had the most fun watching the equal and opposite reaction exhibited when Joshua chose to send the rocket launching into himself! :-)
On our last day, we reviewed all three laws of motion along with the outside forces of gravity and friction as we propelled cars through a hot wheels track. The goal was to help the students see that Newton’s laws, or should we say that God’s way of setting up the world that Newton discovered, happen naturally all around us, every day, at every moment (even when we are playing)!
History
This week in History, we reviewed our binders and completed some work that we had pending. We also looked at how much the world was changing at the “turn of the century,” as the 1900’s began. Theodore Roosevelt was the President of the United States during this time and as an integrated art activity, the students learned how to sketch large realistic portraits using a picture of President “Teddy.” The students learned a bit about the president as they also learned about horizontal and vertical guide lines when drawing. Everyone, from the 1st graders to the biggest ones, enjoyed this activity and did GREAT work!
Studio
The students worked together to decide how they wanted to sing their verses for the special worship time on Friday. We practiced how to be a good audience and how to walk on and off the stage during a performance. How should our bodies move? Why? How do we care for each other and work together to perform something? I loved hearing their ideas and integrating them into the plan for the final day.
OAKS - 7+
Final practice of our danza puertorriqueña
Worship
The OAKS did an amazing job of leading us in worship at our end of the year celebration with their rendition of “Awesome God/We Believe.” They also finished presenting their “I BELIEVE” books, based on the stories of “A Young Person’s guide to Knowing Go.” From this book, the students had to choose one art piece and create a large format version in our painting studio session.
History
In OAKS, the students learned how European countries tried to squeeze into China throughout the 1800s, just as they had Africa. The Chinese rebels began to fight against the Western invaders within their secret societies. Officially named “Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists,” the Western nations called them “Boxers” because they were so good at fighting with their martial arts. Once again, we saw how much war and fighting marked the 19th and 20th centuries.
Science
This week it was time to go outside to test Newton’s laws of motion. We had to run in a line and try to drop a ball and hit a target that was drawn on the ground. The kids were not allowed to throw the ball at the target. Rather, they had to open their hand and let it drop. The challenge was a lot harder than they expected. They had to figure out what was the right moment to drop the ball so that it could hit the target. We then added a basket to see if they could make it work that way. They discovered that dropping the ball a little bit before the target would be just right. Most of the kids were successful. After reviewing what we learned outside, we went back inside and worked in our science journals.
Studio
This week we finished our study of the danza puertorriqueña. After learning a new move, Mateo, Joshua, Anaiah, and Olivia were brave and took the challenge to do the choreography in partners. The girls even wore long skirts along with their fans. They practiced doing the traditional entrance or “paseo” and then did the short choreography. It was delightful to watch them dance. On Friday, they designed and painted what they thought would be a great book cover for their favorite story from A Young Person’s Guide to Knowing God. Check out their designs in the pictures!
Memory Verse #7
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
