“Reaching New Heights”

Estella makes her way on the monkey bars, high above the ground in the picture below. It seems that so many of us have been looking up this week…at basketballs and frisbees flying high in the sky; at tree branches begging to be climbed; at hills to slide down; and even at the “miniature mountains” made by the Seeds kids this week. Read below to find out more…

Attention families: registration for new students will open this friday. If you are planning to enroll in the 2024-2025 Programs for The Garden, Seeds, and Oaks, make sure you get your applications in soon.

Now Accepting Applications for the Fall

Family Book Package Readings

The readings listed below are optional, but are great ways to reinforce the lessons taught during this week. The entire family, from the youngest to the oldest, can explore new topics and enjoy great stories together.

Our Family Memory Verse for this week can be found at the end of this page.

The Bible - the Book of Matthew

Matthew 20: 29-34
Matthew 21: 1-22

Window on the World

pp. 34-35 - China

Children’s Atlas of God’s World

pp. 70-73

Additional Read-Aloud for this week:

Living World Encyclopedia

pp. 110-113

Christian Heroes: Then and Now - GlaDys Alward

HERO TALES

Pp. 140-151 - Hudson Taylor

THE GARDEN

“Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the one that comes in the name of the Lord!”. This is what we all shouted while we studied the story of when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and of all the people who worshiped him as King for the first time. Miss Nicole asked, who did they think worshiped Jesus, Estela replied, “Los israelitas que Dios salvó”.

In the big park, the kids praised God like in the story while holding a real palm branch. In the small park, Miss Nicole drove the kids around in the red wagon.

One of our highlights this week was playing with clay. “Huele a tierra”, said Gillian. They enjoyed getting their hands dirty and making balls, snakes and pancakes. Using clay helps them develop strength in their hands and work their fine motor skills.

This week the children drew a lion. We are so impressed and proud of the great little artists they are all becoming. The lions turned out great!

SEEDS

Worship

Once again, we had the privilege this week of honoring one of our students. Eden received her birthday book and we were reminded through the story that when we make mistakes, God's kindness and grace is enough to bring us to repentance and fellowship with Him and others again. We all need this reminder. In fact, in all our strivings for things, God continually speaks to us that He should be sufficient. This was the case in the parable we learned about this week in the book of Matthew. As Jesus taught about the Master who paid all of His servants fairly, we see a picture of Jesus as Master, inviting many into His vineyard and promising them good rewards there, no matter when He calls. He truly is faithful and enough.

Science

In our last week of our study of mountains, the Seeds students learned how mountains are formed. We learned about erosional, fold, fault, and depositional mountains. The most famous kind of depositional mountains are volcanoes. We watched “The Magic School Bus Blows its Top” and enjoyed watching the characters’ adventure to an underwater volcano! On Friday, we had fun using baking soda and vinegar to make our model volcano “erupt.” Finally, we looked at the map of Puerto Rico and identified the two most important mountain ranges of Puerto Rico: the Cordillera Central and the Luquillo mountain range. We learned that the highest mountain in Puerto Rico is Cerro de Punta in Jayuya and the highest one in the Luquillo mountain range is the one in El Yunque.

Geography

Closing up our study of India this week, we learned about Indian clothing, specifically the saris and dhotis many wear there. We also talked about the terrain of India, from lowlands to high mountains and created our own 3D physical maps out of clay. Finally, we read from “Window on the World” and learned about the Gonds people of Central Asia. No matter where they are, in high places or low, God cares about all people and it is wonderful to learn more about where they are in the world.

Art

This week we began learning our second song of the semester and the kids joined in so quickly! They did a great job learning the movements along with Mrs. Emily and Mr. Jean. Mrs. Emily highlighted the importance of the world “belonging.” She said that a creation always has the stamp of its Creator. In the same way, we have the stamp of our Creator and we belong to HIm. We are so excited for what will teach the children through this song.

In Studio time on Friday, we made delicious mango lassies, a common drink in India. The kids loved them so much and begged for us to share the recipe with you. When we finished slurping our lassies, we moved on to quick drawing challenge. They were invited to do a pencil sketch of the Taj Mahal using a picture provided. We talked about the pool that is in front of the Taj Mahal and how it reflects this impressive building. They had to use their observation powers to measure and plan their drawing. We are so encouraged to see how they are all getting better at drawing what they see.

THE OAKS PROGRAM

Worship

This week, in addition to our regular reading and note taking from the book of Matthew, Jean began teaching the Oaks students the song that the Seeds are learning from Mrs. Emily. This song, which speaks about our identity and purpose, is such an important anthem for kids to declare, especially in these middle school years when so much doubt and insecurity can arise. To shout that, “I belong to the Lord, I am not my own” is a battle-cry that we can all sing out in times of trouble. He truly does hold us and we can be secure in His plans and purposes for us. Pray that these truths sink deeply into each of these young men and women.

Science

The Oaks students finished watching a video about surviving Mt. Everest this week. They heard from a climber what are all the dangers to the human body as it attempts to reach the summit of the mountain. After that, we discussed their assigned reading about the types of mountains and how they are formed. We learned about erosional, fold, fault, and depositional mountains. Lastly, the students labeled their maps with the greatest mountain ranges in the world and learned about the tallest mountains in Puerto Rico. Elisha shared that she had visited Cerro Punta, the tallest mountain in Puerto Rico.

Geography

India has been a great country to study together in preparation for the country reports of the end of the year. We discussed how a country report can begin by exploring the found interests within the land. We looked on Google maps to see how many places just seem to pop out from the screen and can give us a starting point from which to begin our investigations. Also, we began looking at typical topics that can be included in the report, such as information about the economy, people, and education. We did some research in class together and began creating an outline for a paper that will serve as a model for their individual ones. The kids did a great job and we will continue this project this week as we begin discussing China.

Art

The Oaks students had the opportunity to paint this week. They were invited to make a miniature watercolor painting, similar to the Indian miniature painting tradition made popular during the time of the Mughal dynasty. They chose whether they wanted to paint a landscape, animals, or a portrait. They will be able to take these unique creations home this week.