Week 29: April 15-19 - "Art for Education"
“Art for Education”
This was one of those weeks when the beauty of multi-age learning was on full display. An impromptu art project by the Oaks became a great Bible object lesson for the Seeds, while the Garden kids celebrated Miss Nicole’s birthday in style. To top it all off, we all had great fun celebrating a Japanese tradition: “Children’s Day!” Read below for more details.
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 24: 1-28; 29-51
Window on the World
pp. 134-135 - Russia
Additional Read-Aloud for this week:
Living World Encyclopedia
pp. 73; 76-77
THE GARDEN
Jesus is coming back! This week we learned that after Jesus was risen, he visited his friends and followers. He opened their eyes and they were able to recognize Jesus. After Jesus spent some time with his friends, He told them they were going to receive a special gift, the Holy Spirit. Before He ascended, He told them that He would be back again. Can’t wait!
This week at the big park the children learned to do the hokey pokey. They also played, “Simon Says.” They had fun playing and dancing together.
This week the kids got to explore some new materials. They used magnifying glasses to see the preserved bugs. They were very interested in learning their names and types. We also used clay. “This is mommy pancake, daddy pancake, sister and brother pancake and baby pancake”, said Gillian. She had made a pancake family out of clay. They also made a small bowl out of clay with a lid on Tuesday and then on Thursday after they were dry, they painted them beautifully. This activity on Thursday added to an already special time of celebrating Miss Nicole’s birthday. The kids all hid in the wonderfully decorated room to surprise her when she walked in.
SEEDS
Worship
Matthew 23 is a sobering chapter. In it, Jesus cries out “Woe to you, scribes and pharisees!” and we learned that despite the strong rebuke he charges, these warnings are really acts of kindness on the part of the Lord. Whenever the Lord corrects mankind, it is for the sake of repentance which leads to restoration. For it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. We see this clearly in this chapter and in the first chapters of the book of Revelation, as Jesus speaks directly to the churches. Interestingly, there are seven woes listed here and seven churches identified in those chapters. An art project made by the Oaks students became a board game for the Seeds students to review what we had learned in this chapter.
Geography
In our study of Japan last week we talked a lot about the natural features and phenomena that are part of Japan's geography. Japan is a country, made up of over 6,000 islands, that has experienced many types of natural disasters including volcano eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. Some of the students asked if a tsunami could happen here in Puerto Rico given that Puerto Rico is an island like Japan. While we did talk about the possibility of this type of event in Puerto Rico, we also explained that a tsunami like the ones that have hit Japan haven't affected Puerto Rico in its history. Trusting that whatever occurs, the purpose of the Lord can always be trusted, we moved on to other activities. The students enjoyed coloring their student sheets, which once again featured traditional clothing and John 3:16 in Japanese. We also learned a little bit of the song “Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord” in Japanese.
SCIENCE
Puerto Rico is full of so many ecosystems and it has been awesome to see how many we are blessed to see around the sun throughout the year. This week was no different as the focus was on beaches and estuaries. It was hard for some of the students to believe that there are many children around the world that have never been to a beach since it is such a familiar sight and experience for them. We learned about sandy beaches and rocky beaches. Rocky beaches are of particular interest because of the formation of tide pools. Many shared that they had played in tide pools and loved seeing the creatures there, particularly in Escambrón beach in Old San Juan. On Friday, we moved on to estuaries. One of the most remarkable estuaries in Puerto Rico is the estuary system in the Bahia of San Juan. One of the most known locations for this is the Condado lagoon, where many claimed to have spotted manatees. Estuaries are very productive ecosystems where salt and sweet water mix. Animals need to be well adapted to survive the changes in salt concentration. Many remembered from the field trip that manatees swim up to the estuaries to drink fresh water, as they are unable to drink saltwater. We spent time discussing mangrove forests and trees as they are also prevalent in Puerto Rico. We looked at pictures of popular animals that enjoy the mangroves such as hermit crabs, violin crabs, and many different birds.
Art
The kids were thrilled to bring in their favorite toys to share with the class. They took turns sharing and were great at listening to each other. I explained that many people in Japan collect dolls and that in “Girl’s Day” (March 3) it is traditional to make and gift dolls while in “Boy’s Day” (May 5) which is now considered “Children’s Day” families hang banners of koi fish outside their home to show the amount of members in their family and their appreciation for children and the parents that raise them. We saw a short video and pictures of the traditional kites or banners and then began to make a version of them ourselves. They designed the pattern of scales they wanted on their fish and painted them however they like it. This week we will put the finishing touches on them.
THE OAKS PROGRAM
WORSHIP
The Oaks students were commissioned to create an art piece based on the seven woes listed in Matthew 23. Each one was assigned “a woe” and they studied the passage individually (after we had read it together as a group). After their study, they looked for words to inspire an art piece. On very long pieces of paper, the Oaks students worked to create something that is truly incredible. This piece was so good that we used it for the Seeds teaching on Friday. Great job guys! May we take these words seriously as we receive correction in our own lives from the Lord.
GEOGRAPHY
The Oaks students once again took the time in Geography class to work on their research papers. The teams made great progress in finishing up their references and learning how to insert footnotes in their Google Docs. Many of the students enjoyed seeing their research come together and now are in the phase of beginning to make their points flow from one to the other. We have the goal of having our first draft ready by next week.
SCIENCE
This week we did a quick overview of beaches and estuaries. The student watched a video on estuaries and completed reading in their science books in preparation for our discussion this week.
ART
We learned about Children’s day in Japan and shared our favorite toys with each other. This week, they will make their koi banners like the Seeds students began last week.
Memory Verse #27
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
