Week 17: Back in the swing of things
WEEK 17: Back in the swing of things
Returning from break has been a lot of fun for everyone. Between new projects and meeting new friends, there’s a lot to be thankful for this semester
Scroll down to see the supplemental readings for the week, galleries of our latest photos, and our current memory verse.
Free!
Nothing captures the joy of a perfect sunny day like spinning with friends.
SUGGESTED READINGS FOR THE WEEK
The readings are meant to reinforce the topics covered in class last week and to have parents and other siblings be a part of what we’re learning. These readings are not required for the class, but can be a good supplement. You can try to read all or just a few of the selections. Use your discretion as to what to cover based upon the ages of your children.
OAKS Program
A Young Person’s Guide to Knowing God
P. 151 - The Rescue
SEEDS and OAKS Programs
Review Memory Verse (See bottom of page)
HISTORY
The Story of the World
The Last Emperor - p. 239
The Vietnamese Restoration Society - p. 243
Persia, its Enemies, and its “Friends” - p. 223
GARDEN - Pre-K and K
Hallet collects some leaves at the big park. for one of the culinary delights This one smelled really nice!
We are back! Can you believe it is a new year already? We are definitely grateful to be back and reunite with the children, although we all miss Juan Diego who is in the states with his family. We are praying for him and his family every time we meet.
Thank you God for a great start to the Garden this week. In worship time, we read about the wise men. They followed the star and brought three gifts for the true King, Jesus. King Herod of Israel, however, was not happy, so Mary and Joseph escaped to Egypt until God told them it was safe to come back. After the evil men that wanted Jesus dead were gone, Joseph, Mary and Jesus moved to Nazareth. God is so good and faithful in protecting His own.
The girls enjoyed playing in the big and small parks while “cooking” using their imagination and what they found in nature. The “pinchos” were delicious! The girls had a great time playing Zingo with Mr. Jared. They had to learn to think quickly! In addition, the girls had time to sew their own creations as well as their names and play with blocks.
We practiced the letter “Ll” this week, our calendar, our numbers and our songs for the week, day, and months of the year. We were all happy to be back together.
SEEDS - Grades 1-6
After all the rain, a beautiful day was just what we all needed. Luke smiles in the sunshine.
Science
I asked my son Luke, “What was your favorite part about science this past week?” I wasn’t really sure how he would respond. We like to have fun learning about science but sometimes I wonder if the kids are having as much fun as I am! I was pleasantly surprised when he said “Probably everything.” He especially liked learning that gravity pulls us down to the center of the earth (instead of just the earth’s surface).
This week we talked about two forces that decrease the progress of motion: gravity and friction. Olivia brought her bike in for our lesson on friction, the resistance of motion created when materials rub together. The students got to see how the pads of the brakes create friction to slow the bike.
We also learned when it is important to increase or decrease friction. Increasing friction through traction can be very beneficial when playing sports like soccer, football, and baseball. Those knobs on the cleats are critical! Decreasing friction is helpful when enjoying the rides at a water park or sliding down a slip n’ slide.
If you get a chance, ask your child what his or her favorite part of science was this past week. Hopefully it will be science related! :-)
History
Our time machine took us all across Asia this week as we began our journey in China. At the end of the 1800’s, huge changes were happening in China that led to the Age of Dynasties ending after thousands of years. After the revolution of 1911, China became a republic. Just to the south in Vietnam, there were also times of conflict and strife. To look at both of these cultures through an artistic lens, we studied both Mandarin squares and Vietnamese Water Puppetry. Both of these artforms tell us much about the people and the time period we were studying this week and it was fun even creating our own versions of both this week in class. For a simple puppet project to do at home, check out this video link:
Studio
In Studio we took the time to appreciate the art of one of the most famous painters in history, Vincent Van Gogh. Most of the students were quick to identify the stunning Starry Night and the lovely sunflowers. I brought in copies of the paintings made by my grandmother and the children were able to imagine what the original painting might look like. We learned that Van Gogh wasn’t always famous and that nobody really wanted to buy his paintings while he was alive. They were shocked by this! We also took a look at his self-portraits and noticed the differences in colors and details in the background of each. After our discussion, we had fun exploring with color and oil pastels to prepare for our activity on Friday when the students were able to begin working on a self-portrait or a vase of sunflowers inspired by Van Gogh’s work. They will be finishing up their pieces this week!
OAKS - 7+
The OAKS test out some paper planes for physics.
Worship
While it was pretty exciting to be starting OAKS again, it certainly wasn’t the same without Esteban. Interestingly enough, our story this week to cover was The Rescue which focused on two things 1) praying for others; 2) going to the Father with all of our needs.
Our conversation about the story helped us come up with a great idea for this Spring: let’s do a podcast for Esteban, keeping him updated on the work we’re doing while he is in Philadelphia! We got to work right away, brainstorming ideas and titles (you may see some funny options as Joshua was writing the list) for the podcast and finally beginning to record on Thursday. Once it is ready, we will let you know how you can listen too. For more updates on Esteban, click on:
https://gofund.me/6c787548
History
At the end of the 1800’s, huge changes were happening in China that led to the Age of Dynasties ending after thousands of years. After the revolution of 1911, China became a republic. We focused on the last emperor Puyi and the government officials that helped lead his reign while he was a child. These Mandarins were identified by rank according to the birds they wore on their robes. Check out the drawings that the students made below.
Science
Friction is a force that is all around us! This week we learned the benefits and challenges of increasing/decreasing friction. Athletes using gloves to catch a ball, changing the oil in your car, buying new Crocs or sneakers because they have lost their traction, were some of the examples that we talked about. We also learned that drag is the force in air and water that holds back an object. Many inventions are designed to be aerodynamic or with the ability to reduce drag. God himself made many animals with this shape (like sharks) in order to make them faster. We teamed up to try out different model airplanes and see which one had a better design to “cut through” the air. We ended the week by taking the planes outside and trying them out!
Studio
We also used our Studio Time to think of ways we can collaborate to raise funds for Esteban. The OAKS students had some wonderful ideas and we will be sharing how you can help with this project soon.
Memory Verse #8
“Do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen and will help you I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”