WEEK 5: Looking Up!

The Garden kids were learning about tall towers (and building a few of their own), while the SEEDS and OAKS worked on experiments that saw gases rising UP into the sky! Read more below…

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

Oaks to look “up” to

Mateo volunteered on Friday to help prepare the space for the storm and was quickly recruited to read to the 1st grade Seeds.

GARDEN - Pre-K and K

This week at the Garden for worship time we learned about the Tower of Babel. God allowed confusion between the people as He caused them to speak different languages. They had no choice but to spread throughout the world. God did this because they were not honoring and obeying God and thought their ways were better and that they did not need God.

We also learned about Abram and Lot. God commanded Abram to leave Ur and its people. Abram obeyed God even though he did not know where God was guiding him. Lot and Abram had many animals, but they did not fit together in the land they were staying. Abram was very kind to Lot and let him choose between two lands. Lot chose what looked best for him, and Abram took the one that was left. But God blessed Abram because of his obedience by promising him that all the land he could see was going to be his one day.

We need to obey God no matter what. What we do in God’s will, he will bless.

This week we were also learning about the letter “Bb”. The children learned to write it using Big line and Little curve. They thought about words starting with the “b” sound and shared it in class. To continue with the letter “Bb” theme they had a chance to build using Blocks and made tall towers representing the Bible story of the week. “Podemos hacer una Torre Gigante juntas!” - Hallel

It was another great week at The Well.

SEEDS - Grades 1-6

*The importance of using our words to BUILD each other up.*

Bible- We took an extra week to work on how we use our WORDS. We focused on Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Mrs. Vivi demonstrated two small cups with baking soda that represented the anger that we all struggle with. Then Mrs. Vivi added vinegar to one cup to represent a harsh word that can be said. The kids joined in giving examples of what those words may be. Then, she added water to the other cup to represent a gentle word that might be offered instead. It allowed them to see that even though they may feel angry, the way they respond with their words has the power to calm the anger and not stir it up. Some kids were even surprised to hear that even Jesus got angry at times but refrained from sinning. We were all encouraged that he is the one who can help us too! Try doing this experiment again at home and let your children explain to you what we learned.

History - After learning all about the states that border the US, we hopped into our “time machine” (see photo in gallery) and shifted this week to learning about Puerto Rican History. Beginning by learning that there are 20 municipalities that go along the northern coast, we also looked at the past, to the years between 1850 and 1860. Puerto Rico was still a colony of Spain and the island of Vieques was added to become part of Puerto Rico at that time. We will be looking at this time in History for the next few days as we build toward the Spanish-American War. In the meantime, go over the northern coast song that you can access through the Youtube link.

Science - I wish you all could have joined us for “tea time” in Science this week as we wrapped up our lesson on the states of matter! Using a tea kettle, we studied the boiling point of matter and saw how the water turned into steam…and we made chai tea for Mr. Jared and Mrs. Viviana. :-). This proved to be a great way to show how one state of matter can change into another by adding heat energy.

To give the students a visual of the condensation point of matter, we looked at a frozen bottle of water and discussed how the warmer water from the air condensed into droplets on the sides of the colder bottle.

To show all three states of matter, I lit a candle so the students could discuss the solid wax, melted wax, and the smoke (and smell) from the evaporating wax.

We finished our day on Friday with a bottle of soda and some pop rocks, but only as a demonstration! We put the pop rocks into a balloon, secured the balloon onto the mouth of a bottle of soda, dropped the pop rocks into the soda and observed the carbon dioxide expanding the balloon (slightly). The students definitely seemed to enjoy this one!

In the side image, is a review of the states of matter of water and the temperature at which it changes into a different state.

Arts - Have you heard your kids singing the familiar tune of “Oh, Susannah”? This week in Studio Time we continued to learn about Stephen Foster and the impact of his music around the world. There were giggles in the classroom as we heard the song “Oh, Susanna” sung in many different languages including Spanish, French, and Greek. Since the banjo is considered to be one of the most distinctive sounds in American music, we sculpted banjos with modeling clay and drew some on our clipboards while listening to several other pieces. Check out the great sculptures shown in our photo gallery.

OAKS - 7+

In OAKS worship this week we read “The Forbidden Path,” which was a fantastic short story that reminded us of how Jesus took our punishment, and paid the price for our sins, as foretold in Isaiah 53. The little girl in the story disobeyed counsel and got into a dangerous situation. Her mother was there to not only save her, but she happened to receive the consequences of her daughter’s poor decision. This story created a great conversation among the kids and we were challenged to approach the Lord with more gratitude for what He has done for us. The students also had the opportunity to work on icons, or symbols for each of the stories we have read so far.

BIBLE readings:

Isaiah 53:4-6

A Young Person’s Guide to Knowing God

P. 57 - The Forbidden Path

Gas became the final topic in our study of the states of matter. We learned that gas has no specific shape or volume, and that it is the state of matter where the atoms are the most active. After discussing what the boiling point and condensation point of matter are, Mrs. Vivi confessed her love for Miss Frizzle and The Magic School Bus and promised to add the link to the water cycle episode so they could watch over the weekend. We finished the week with an interesting experiment adding pop rocks candy to soda. Before pouring candy, the kids had to give their hypothesis and explain it. They loved watching the balloon fill up. Next up, we will learn about atoms and the different elements in God’s creation.

In preparation for our performance on Tuesday, we rehearsed our play “EUREKA! Archimedes’ Big Discovery” by adding costumes and props. We discussed the importance of layering elements in a production as the time to perform for an audience gets closer. The kids have done a wonderful job learning their scripts and we are counting down the days to share this fun piece with you all!