Week 28: A Little Sunshine
WEEK 28: A Little Sunshine
It’s really a simple thing. Being outdoors, enjoying the sun and some fresh air really does make us all feel so much better. Like homemade soup (which the Garden kids enjoyed this week), the simple things in life really are the best.
Scroll down to see the supplemental readings for the week, galleries of our latest photos, and our current memory verse.
Snacktime!
One of the highlights of the day is ejoying our snacks in the park.
Memory Verse #13
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Come see many of the SEEDS and OAKS students perform this weekend in “Charlotte’s Web” at the Teatro Raíces in Hato Rey.
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 Story of the World
P. 429 - Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh
P. 434 - The Korean War
P. 441 - Argentina’s President and his wife
GARDEN - Pre-K and K
Watching the vegetables go for a “swim.”
How delicious was the vegetable soup that the Garden kids made this week! Teachers, children, Oaks students and even parents were in awe of the tasty soup the Garden children had delighted us with. Hallel, Elena and Juan Diego cut their carrots and celery with Miss Nicole’s help. They did an amazing job and were so excited to try the soup. They waited patiently for the soup to cook and while they mixed and poured ingredients, a great idea crossed their minds: Juan Diego said, “los vegetales están nadando, están cumpliendo su sueño”. This all sparked an idea in them and they all sat down together with Emma, to write a short story about how vegetables ended up swimming. It was a team effort all led by them. We hope to release the final draft soon. Good teamwork children!
The children had fun at the park, using playdough and drawing pictures for Miss Nicole’s birthday. Miss Nicole said she felt so happy and thanks everyone for making her day feel so special. Also, this week’s special treat was Elena’s reading of our “end of the day” story, an all-time favorite, Vegetables in Underwear. Elena did such a great job and was so proud of herself for doing it.
For worship this week we had the Parable of the Sower. The children learned the different soils and said they wanted to be the seeds in the good soil bearing much fruit. With Jesus’ help and connecting with Him daily, He can help us bear much fruit.
SEEDS - Grades 1-6
Worship
The kids enjoy playing hand coordination games in the park.
This week, we began our 13th memory verse of the year, from Matthew 6:33, which tells us that when we seek FIRST God’s kingdom and His righteousness, then we can KNOW that ALL the things that the Father knows we need will be given to us too. We also read the verses that come before the verse, as Mrs. Vivi reminded them that it is always important to read the section that come before a verse if it begins with the word “but.” Mrs. Vivi asked them, “but what?” She then read a part of the sermon on the mount that comes right before verse 33. We noted that there are references to birds and lilies in the passage just like in our hymn, Juntos Cantaremos. We then played a seeking game to remind them that they are to seek God before anything else. It was a fun and practical way to hide this Word in our hearts.
Science
This past week was all about circuits. Electricity flows in a circular pattern called a circuit. We learned about the three things required to build an electrical circuit:
Load—the object being turned on or needing power
Power source—like a battery or generator
Wires—that conduct electricity
We actually acted out a human circuit in which two people were the battery (one the positive side and the other the negative), jump ropes were used as conductive wires, and one to two people were light bulbs. We demonstrated a simple circuit using only one bulb and then decided to make it a little more interesting and “built” two more circuits . A series circuit has all the light in line going around a circle. A parallel circuit has light bulbs that are each connected to the battery so that if one bulb burns out, the rest are still connected to the power source.
Electrons flow out of the negative side of the battery, around the conductive wires, and back through the positive side of the battery. The circuit has to be closed in order for electricity to flow through and power the bulb.
The students also had the opportunity to test an actual series circuit by touching the wires to a 6V battery to light the bulbs. 💡 What fun!
History/Studio
When you ask kids about “superpowers,” they immediately start thinking! In fact, they even drew what superpower they would like to have if they could pick. But the superpowers we were talking about this week were a different kind: the United States and the USSR after World War II. After the war, the two countries emerged as the superpowers of the world, but their ideas were very different and therefore created conflict as both tried to influence many nations, including many in Asia like Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Communism also shaped North Korea, which led to the Korean War with the United States.
Later in the week, we took our time machine to travel to Argentina to see how political changes also affected the people under the leadership of Juan and Eva Perón.
For our activities combined with Mrs. Vivi in Studio, we ate some Vietnamese soup to get a “taste” of the chulture and and began to draw portraits of the Perón couple in the style of the well-known presidential paintings in Argentina.
OAKS - 7+
Worship
Reading outside.
We had a beautiful time outdoors this week in our gazebo reading in the cool breezes. As we continue to read our book, “A Young Person’s Guide to Knowing God,” we have begun to discuss all the sections within the book and how they focus on a particular area of who God is and what our lives should look like as we follow him. The students began to think about what section their original short story would fall into if it were also part of the book. Mateo read his this week and it was great to hear. We are looking forward for all of them to be finished soon so that they can be published. .
History
The Oaks students learned more about the Communist influence in Asia, specifically in Vietnam and the Korean peninsula. The US had originally not seen Communism as much of a threat, especially as they fought the Nazis in WWII. But by the end of the 1940s and the 1950s, it was clear that this wasn’t anything to be ignored. The Superpower of the Soviet Union was seeking to change the world.
Down in Argentina, the students learned that a new dictator, Juan Perón, rose to power. While he was a divise figure, most common people loved his wife Evita. We spent some time looking at some portraits done of the two and started an art project to mimic the style of these paintings using some colorful Argentinian paintings we found together. We will be continuing this project this coming week..
Science
“God created and electrical world” was the first thing I told the students this week. They began to chime in and ask questions as I explained that what we had learned a few months ago regarding electrons and charge was a very important part of the study of electricity. In fact, our book states that “...it’s the reason for electricity” (Lesson 12). To review the concept that opposites attract and that charge affects the transfer of electrons, we used a balloon to create static electricity. We were able to see how the hair became positively charged as it lost electrons to the balloons. Now that the balloon had extra electrons, it was negatively charged. As it approached the electrical field of the positively charged hair, they attracted each other. We also saw how this happened with some pepper on a plate. Needless to say, the kids ended up with some interesting hair do’s.
On Thursday, we learned how electricity is generated in power plants and travels through an electrical grid.. We learned that transformers in posts outside our homes adjust the voltage so that when it arrives at our house it doesn’t blow all the fuses out. Finally, we looked at the breaker box in our classroom area and noticed how the cables went to the three different classrooms as they are enclosed in tubing in our spaces. .
Registration for returning students begins on April 30.
Arts Academy
The casts of the Drama Club and the Drama Club Jr. have been working very hard to prepare for the show that is THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY!!!! Tickets are on sale now. Don’t miss The Well Center for the Arts’ first full-length production of Charlotte’s Web!
