Week 31: April 30-May 1 - "Righteousness and Praise"
“Righteousness and Praise”
The title this week comes from the second part of verse 11 of Isaiah 61. This seemed appropriate this week since one of the goals of the Well Center is to inspire the students to declare God’s works to their generation. We do this through praising Him and living lives that are true, noble, right and pure. The students in the Arts Academy did just that at their showcase last week. Using their talents for His glory, over 30 students in four classes presented work to their friends and family, giving Him the glory for the opportunity. We are so happy for all of them. Remember that there are classes ONLY Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. No classes on Thursday or Friday.
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 26:17-56
Window on the World
pp. 118-119 Papua New Guinea
THE GARDEN
We are hard workers! This Thursday in worship we read about ants in Proverbs 6. They are hard workers even though they do not have a leader, teacher, mom or dad to tell them what to do. They work hardest in summer to gather what they need for winter’s cold days. “Yo a veces ayudo a fregar en casa”, said Gillian. We emphasized how we always needed to be hard workers like ants.
While we were in the park, the kids made up their own ants game. The girls took turns being the queen of the ants. Each would sit on the special queen throne and the other working ants would bring them food and help her to lay her eggs. Emiliano said he was the soldier ant in charge of protecting everyone. Emiliano and Estela found sticks and pretended they were their ant antennas. To finish off park time, the kids were sliding down the little grass hill in the park. Even Cesare slid down for the first time on his own. Everyone was cheering him on. It was all giggles and laughter.
During activity time, we enjoyed making up our own version of the “Head, shoulders, knees and toes” song but with the parts of the insect. “Cabeza, tórax, abdomen…los insectos tienen tres partes…cabeza, tórax, abdomen.” Lastly, the children created their own ants and insects using playdough, sticks and beads. “Voy a hacer algo muy genial,” Cesare commented. Creativity and imagination at its finest!
SEEDS and OAKS
Worship
This week in worship we saw the total devotion a woman had for Jesus as she poured very expensive ointment over him. While some of the disciples questioned why she would do this, and even Judas after this event, went to see how he could betray Jesus, Jesus understood what was happening. She was preparing him for burial. Anointing someone in those times would be done for a king, but also for a body that was being prepared for the tomb. While it is not clear whether the woman understood that Jesus would soon give his life, she clearly recognized Him as a king. And He is The King. The King that would lay down his own life for His people.
Geography
We completed our study into Russia, finishing our art projects of St. Basil’s Cathedral and also talking about a fun dance move called the Russian Toe Touch. This very acrobatic move can be seen a number of times in the Nutcracker Ballet, specifically by the Russian dancers during their suite. We went outside to the parking lot and had a stretching session before trying this move out for ourselves. The students did a great job jumping high and touching those toes, although I heard that some were kind of sore later. Practice makes perfect!
SCIENCE
Our last lesson on the tundra covered the animals and plants that survive the harsh temperatures. We examined the pictures of the terrain and how it changed from summer to winter. Plants grow and blossom in the summer at an accelerated pace due to the reduced or lack of sunlight in the winter months. Some animals, like the arctic hare, ptarmigan and the arctic fox change colors to blend into the snow and protect themselves from predators. We saw a quick, simulated, time lapse of a fox in a video and I brought in two pictures of a hare that we hid in the “snow” made of cotton balls. It truly is amazing to see how God designed these creatures to thrive in their biomes!
The Oaks students learned about the tundra this week. They turned in their notes with their completed homework and I gave them a brief true and false quiz based on the reading. We discussed what the tundra looks like in the summer and winter and some of the adaptations that animals and plants have to survive in such an extreme environment. Their next assigned reading will be on coral reefs (p. 53-54), where they will turn in their last worksheet of the year.
Art
In studio, we learned about one of the most famous Russian artists, Wassily Kandinsky. Kandinsky moved from more traditional painting to an abstract style that became popular in his time. He particularly loved circles and thought that the dot was a central part of an artist’s work. After looking at several of his famous pieces, we began our exploration with oil pastels in order to make our own concentric circles. Kandinsky used this piece to explore colors, and used complimentary colors from the color wheel. We looked at the color wheel and planned out what colors we would use as well. This was a project that the Art Club Jr. students enjoyed and we thought it would be fun for the Seeds students as well.
In the gallery below, you can see many of the SEEDS and OAKS students who participated in the Arts Academy Showcase last Thursday.
Memory Verse #29
“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. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’”