Week 26: The Peace of God
WEEK 26: The Peace of God
Sewing buttons onto fabric circles, drawing flowers outside, watercolor painting with classical music…these were all some of the arts-activities we did in all three of the programs and certainly, there was a peace at the Center that was wonderful. But “the peace of God” as described in Philippians 4:6-7, is much greater than any of these. It is one that transcends our understanding, and only comes when we present our prayers and petitions to God with thanksgiving. What an amazing instruction! And it is this very verse that we are focusing on this week.
Scroll down to see the supplemental readings for the week, galleries of our latest photos, and our current memory verse.
Taking time
One of the most rewarding parts of observational drawing is slowing down to enjoy God’s creation and using our gifts to depict what we see.
Memory Verse #12
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
SEEDS and OAKS Programs 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.
HISTORY
The Last 500 Years / World History from Ancient to Modern Times
P.84 / p. 280
The Story of the World
P. 391 - Muslims and Hindus in India
P. 395 - The Partitioning of Palestine
P. 403 - The Suez Crisis
GARDEN - Pre-K and K
The Garden kids have really grown in their appreciation of reading books. They are now enjoying stories on their own.
“Zaccheus, get down from that tree!”, said Jesus. This week’s story focused on how God wants us not only to be in a right relationship with Him, but with others. It is not good to owe others and take advantage of them, and Zaccheus received the message.
This week, had fun acting out the story of Zaccheaus during park time. Back inside, they created beautiful spring-inspired decorations with Mrs. Vivi using clay, beans and flower. We also sewed buttons and it was a great time to practice our fine motor skills, patience and perseverance. The end results were fantastic and the children felt very proud of their work.
This week's highlight was the story we read and the discussion it allowed with the kids. The book was Lysa Terkeurst’s It Will be Okay. It talked about changes we go through in life that might be scary, but God is always with us and watching over us. “¿Dios no duerme nunca?”, said Juan Diego. Miss Nicole explained that God did not need to sleep like us and that when we go to Heaven we will not need to sleep either. “Vamos a tener un banquete todos juntos”, said Hallel. “Va haber mucha comida bien rica”, added Elena. They were all so joyful that we were going to be together in Heaven. Juan Diego shared how he related to the book’s lesson as he had started a new soccer class and he was afraid to go but when he gave it a chance he really liked it. He was so happy he could relate to the book and his new life event. Elena shared how when she started Garden for the first time she was a little scared and did not want to stay alone, but after the first day, she enjoyed it and then looked forward to it. Hallel shared how she had her dad accompany her to her swim classes and how little by little she wanted to be able to be brave enough to go alone like her big sister. We thanked God for watching over us and emphasized how He never leaves or forsakes us. The children pointed out that even though we can’t see God, we can feel Him in our hearts. It was a beautiful moment we all shared together. Praise Jesus!
If you would like to hear It Will be Okay , you can do so here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qf61cdaNB8
SEEDS - Grades 1-6
Worship
You know Science class will be succesful if it involves marshmallows.
We usually read books during our worship time when someone has a birthday, but this week, we read a great book together about Corrie ten Boom. Corrie and her family helped hide Jews in their house during the Nazi occupation of Holland during World War II. Since we have been studying this event, it was a great opportunity to read this story and reflect on the faith it took for this family to act so bravely, and also provide for us a practical example of our memory verse, “do not be anxious about ANYTHING!” Corrie and her family lived during a highly anxious time, and yet by prayer and even in thanksgiving, they found the strength to find God’s purpose in the situation and a peace that transcended their understanding. We also were able to review the verse with some dance movements that will definitely help everyone memorize the scripture before PROCLAIM DAY this Friday.
Science
Did someone say “Popcorn???”
Heat travels in three different ways: radiation, convection, and conduction. We can cook popcorn using all three processes!
The sun heats the earth through a process called radiation, which doesn’t require matter for the heat to travel, enabling it to move through space. This heat radiates in every direction, which is very useful when roasting marshmallows over a campfire. :-) When making popcorn in the microwave, we use radiation.
Convection involves heat transfer in fluids (liquids and gases). When using an air popper to make popcorn, we use convection. The hot air moves the popcorn around in the machine. We also have land breezes and sea breezes because of convection.
Conduction requires direct contact to transfer heat and usually involves a solid. When popping corn on the stove in a pan, we are using conduction.
We finished off the week by exploring the three things needed for a fire to burn. The students did a great job figuring out these necessary things: oxygen, fuel, and heat. This can also be called the fire triangle.
History
When Mr. Jared divided the classroom down the center with masking tape, everyone asked, “what is going on here?” Well as we studied the history of the 1940’s we learned that creating “partitions” in areas helped to solve problems between people in certain areas of the world, while at the same time creating new ones. Both India in 1947 and the Middle East, as the nation of Israel was born in 1948, saw land being divided and people not always happy with the results. For India, it resulted in a Muslim nation called Pakistan. For Israel, a battle that continues to rage even today. But the kids learned about the concept of partition, even though it hasn’t always been a problem-free solution.
Studio
The beginning of spring drew us outside to draw flowers! After reviewing the shape families and reminding the students to break up any image they would see outside into shapes that they can recognize, I invited them to bring their clipboards and materials outside. They took a seat around the flowers or the tree in our park and began to draw. On Wednesday, they were able to add more details and colors to their drawings.
I also introduced our last composer of this year: George Gershwin. We learned that his family had come from Ukraine fleeing the Nazis and had settled into Brooklyn, New York. When George was 10 years old he heard a violin player on the street and he was changed forever. He became obsessed with music and began to learn how to play the piano. He integrated the American sound of jazz music into orchestral pieces, movies, and Broadway musicals. We will hear his music and learn more about him this week.
A Weekend of Wins and Medals: Congratulations to all!
Roi won his basketball championship and ran a 5K with Jeremias, (along with SEEDS moms Dalis, Cristina and Michelle) while Emma took home some prizes at her gymnastics competition. Good work guys!
OAKS - 7+
Worship
Some of the students have already completed their original stories and began to read them out loud in class.
It has been so great to listen to some of the stories that the Oaks students are writing inspired by “A Young Person’s Guide to Knowing God.” Olivia, Elisha and Eva presented their work this week and we were all very impressed. We are talking about the importance of relationships as we grow in Christ. I am grateful that the time spent together has allowed the Oaks students to enjoy each other and spurn each other on to walking more fervently after their Lord Jesus.
History
Besides learning about partition between the Hindus of India and the Muslims of Pakistan, the OAKS students learned about tense times in the Middle East. When Israel was reborn in 1948, 5 Arab countries immediately attacked the new country. This war marked the beginning of decades of conflict between the Israelis and their middle eastern neighbors. Egypt was one of these neighbors, who by the 1950s, began to push for greater control of not only the middle east, but the world. In what was known as the Suez Canal Crisis, Egypt held the world in its hands as it closed access to the canal that supplied so much of the trade between the east and west. Although this crisis eventually passed, the tension created would last into the coming Cold War.
Science
Although we only met once this week, learning about the second and third laws of thermodynamics provided an opportunity for discussion. You see, the second law of thermodynamics states that “the universe as a whole is becoming less and less ordered or organized.” The kids loved hearing the example of their bedroom to prove this: there is only one way for it to be organized but it has MANY ways that it can be disorganized. Indeed, this “law of entropy” reminds us that everything will eventually break down. This is a truth that serves as a confirmation for our faith in the Creation of the world as God presents it in his word. We read the following in our science book: “Some creation scientists believe that the second law of thermodynamics is great evidence for creation…evolutionists believe that the world started as chaos and became more and more structured and orderly over time, eventually evolving into the beautiful world we have today.” (p.186) The students were able to quickly recognize that the evolutionist’s theory is wrong if we take into consideration this second law. The world was made by the Lord with perfect order and is slowly wearing down, not the opposite way around!
Studio
For Studio time this week, the students used watercolors to paint using the theme…you guessed it: water! This came out of our studying about the Suez canal in History and the importance of water to life. We put on some classical music and enjoyed a peaceful time of letting our brushes lead us. The students will be finishing these pieces this week and we will post the photos.
Arts Academy
As March draws to an end, we are going full force into the final weeks of production for Charlotte’s Web. Many of the students in the Oaks and Seeds programs are part of the cast. Make sure you get your tickets when they go on sale, online, April 1!
