WEEK 32: He is our Refuge

Our memory verse at SEEDS this week made us think about all the places we seek refuge. Like the OAKS under the picnic tarp here, we can find comfort when we run into God’s shelters.

Scroll down to see the supplemental readings for the week, galleries of our latest photos, and our current memory verse.

Picnic!

Spring has become summer but picnics in the shade are ALWAYS in season.

Memory Verse #14

“God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging…

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
”

— Psalm 46: 1-3 and 10-11

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
  - P. 86 / p. 282
- The Story of the World
  - P. 493 - Trouble in the Middle East
  - P. 501 - Soviet Invasions
  - P. 506 - Terrorism

GARDEN - Pre-K and K

*The self-portraits of the Garden group.*

This week at the Garden, Miss Nicole worked on the letter Z with the kids. They enjoyed finishing the book they have been reading called Jemima Puddleduck. They enjoyed playing in the kitchen inside and also had a great time playing pretend with some of the Oaks kids outside in the playground. They pretended to be siblings and went to restaurants and the movies! Finally, they worked on their own self-portraits which will be displayed at the final showcase. The kids also had fun building and creating with the blocks. They even built a pool and water slide.

For worship, we did our last parable of the year. The Parable of the Fishnet. We compared it to the Kingdom of God, how there will be a division between the good and the bad, and the bad will be cast out. We discussed how we are made good because of Jesus, and only through Him. They were all excited to enter the Kingdom of Jesus one day!

SEEDS - Grades 1-6

Worship

*A special visitor came to see us at SEEDS this week.*

Both Saul and Carolina were honored this week during our worship time. What a privilege it is to celebrate these milestones with these kids and continue sowing the Word of God into their hearts. We hope you enjoy the books. Thank you for this opportunity!

History

We learned in History this week, that peace seemed farther and farther away in the 1960s and the 1970s. From the deaths of President John F. Kennedy and Activist Martin Luther King Jr., to Vietnam and civil rights protests, things were a mess. A series of presidents, from Johnson to Carter tried to tackle these major problems, sometimes with little progress.

Outside of the United States, places like Vietnam, which was a disaster after the war, along with Laos and Cambodia all fell to Communism. And in the Middle East, Israel was attacked by Arab countries 2 times in less than 10 years! This led to an oil crisis in the United States. Even with a new president, Jimmy Carter in 1977, more and more Amercians became unhappy, protesting more and more.

With so many places to cover in our time machine, we worked on making maps that would help us remember these events and the places in which they took place.

Science

This past week we completed our study of the six simple machines with a look at pulleys and the wheel and axle.

Pulleys can be simple and used for fun things like taking snacks up to a tree house. They can also be very important. Archimedes saw the importance of pulleys as early as the 1800’s. He used a complex pulley system to show the king how powerful they can be by moving a ship into the sea using only his hands.

Our world depends on wheels and axles to such a degree that I can’t even imagine life today without them. The ancient Egyptians and Chinese used wheels and axles for chariots and carts. If you get a chance, encourage your children to list the numerous items in and outside your home that use wheels (and gears) to function.

This week we will wrap up our year of chemistry and physics by watching a couple of short videos on Rube Goldberg devices. He is known for his cartoons depicting complicated machines that perform simple tasks.

Studio

It was time to take all of the cut-up pieces of last week’s self-portraits and arrange them into a new cardboard “face.” The mixed-up Picasso style portraits turned out great! This served as the perfect practice for an even bigger collage project: a Henri Matisse inspired collage. Indeed, on Friday, after watching a brief video, I invited them to “paint with scissors” like Matisse would describe the art of collage. The students cut out different sized and colored pieces of paper and began to arrange them on a big, white piece of paper. This week, they will finish their colorful creations.

OAKS - 7+

*Elisha works with oil pastels in Studio time.*

Worship

For our worship time, we have been working on memorizing a different verse: 1 Peter 2:9. This verse echos what God told the people of Israel in the book of Exodus, that they were a chosen people called to be a light to the world. Through Christ, we too are adopted into this family of God and can be the royal priesthood, and holy nation that He calls us to be in our world. Our prayer is that these young men and women be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to take on this calling and stand as God’s special possession in their generation.

History

We learned a lot about the conflicts in the Middle East this week. In 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish year: Yom Kippur. Israel was not expecting this and this time, the Arab countries (Egypt and Syria) were supported by weapons from the Soviet Union. When the U.S. learned of this, they backed Israel. A truce was eventually reached, but it led to consequences for the U.S. OPEC, the organization that controlled the oil production in the Arab countries decided to stop selling oil to countries that helped Israel.

The Arab countries controlled most of the oil in the world and as a punishment for the U.S. for backing Israel, they cut off the American supply. Suddenly, everyone was without gas for their cars and the U.S. used a LOT of it. President Nixon, and then President Ford after him didn’t last long in office and Americans began to lose confidence in the government, while Communism continued to grow in other parts of the world. Growing threats as the Soviets invaded Czechosolvakia and Afgahistan, as well as terrorism also began to make the world feel less and less stable as the century continued.

Science

It is unbelievable that we have come to the end of our study of chemistry and physics this year! I love that we get to finish with such a practical study as that of simple machines. This week, we learned about pulleys and wheels and axles. It is hard to imagine a world without wheels, right? The kids were also blown away by the power of pulleys- the more pulleys in a system the more powerful it is! On Thursday, the students watched some videos of Rube Goldberg inspired machines and chain reactions. Mr. Jared then helped them think about a design for their own machine and what purpose the machine would serve. This week, the students will bring materials to class in order to work on their invention as their final science project.