All of Me

Passports are a form of identification that tell others some information about who we are. So to finally receive our classroom passports in Seeds and OAKS was certainly a highlight of the week that allowed for some great conversations. But we also were able to share about ourselves as we welcomed four new students to the programs! Read on for more, and make sure to scroll all the way down for information about special activities for parents this week…

Now Boarding

A casual shot of our OAKS students right before they receive their new passports.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK - Family Book Package

The readings listed below are optional, but are great ways to reinforce the lessons taught at the center and for the entire family to explore together the topics we cover from week to week.

The Links to the Bible Readings connect you to a dramatized reading of the scriptures which are great for car rides.

The Bible - the Book of Matthew

Window on the World

pp. 36-37 (Cuba)

Additional Read-Alouds:

Hero Tales - Harriet Tubman pp. 152-163
The Usborne Living World Encyclopedia
- pp. 62-63 - Up in the Canopy
- pp. 64-65 - Forest Floor

The Garden

This week we had the blessing of welcoming a new student to The Garden: Emiliano. He integrated so well, one would think he has been with us since the first week. The children were very welcoming to him. When Gillian saw the new student’s attendance picture, she kissed it and said, “Te amo mucho”.

This week for worship, we reviewed the days of creation and emphasized how on the seventh day God rested. When the sphere of Earth was shown to them Cesare exclaimed, “Es donde estoy yo!” Mrs. Vivi highlighted how rest is a gift from God. He modeled rest for us. God took time to admire His work and saw that it was good.

Later on, while reviewing what was discussed, the children engaged in conversation with Miss Nicole and some said God needed to sleep and others disagreed and said He did not need rest. We have a special book that we will be discussing with them soon addressing this topic. Praise God for He does not sleep or rests and He is always watching out for us.

This week the children enjoyed park time with and without boots. At the big park, they had fun at the spinning wheel and on the swings. When asked what their favorite part of the day was, almost all said, “la casita blanca”. They truly love our new house in the little park. “Ya se llevaron el paquete, estoy muy emocionado”, said Cesare when he checked the mailbox to see what had happened with the card he made. The children also got to jump in some puddles on Thursday after it stopped raining. Needless to say, they really enjoyed this.

This week we also used play dough and the children made food with it. “Mira, hice un pedazo de carne”, said Cesare. “Quieres algodón? Hice sopa de yogur. Está rica y deliciosa”, said Gillian. In blocks, the children worked on building an enclosure with a gate. “Esto es para los animales, para que no se escapen”, said Emiliano while building a stable for the animals with some blocks.

In the afternoon meeting, we practiced the days of the week and the months of the year songs in Spanish. When counting the days on the calendar, the children are counting very well. They also learned new songs and fingerplays with Emma like “No hay roca” and “3 Little Ducks.” Let’s keep practicing with them!

The Seeds Program

SEEDS Worship

Last week, we introduced our first memory verse from the Gospel of Matthew and this week, we gave an introduction to the disciple credited with writing the book and the ways Jesus can transform a person completely. We also learned about the author of our first hymn of the year: Frances Ridley Havergal, and her secret to being filled with joy. Frances would always be in prayer for the people around her, especially those who were “not rejoicers.” We learned the first verse of the hymn, going through the lyrics and explaining them. And, just as we got to “know” Matthew the disciple and Frances the composer, we also got to know a new family to the Seeds Program, the Guerreros. Isaiah, Isabelle, and Eli are our newest Seeds coming from New Mexico. It was great to finally welcome them to their respective groups, to pray with them, and show them what Seeds is all about. Make sure you introduce yourselves to them this week if you see them at drop-off or pick-up.

SEEDS Geography

Hands down the most exciting this week has been the arrival of the “My Father’s World” passports to our classes. The kids enjoyed seeing that their applications were approved and that they are all set to travel the world this year. First stop North America! After our departure, we spent time studying our North America map and learning about the countries that makeup North America, using the code of 4-7-6 to help us remember them: 4 for the “Big ones”, 7 for those in Central America, and 6 in the Caribbean (including Puerto Rico).

We also had a lot of time to do many geography games. The first and second graders worked really well together to complete a U.S. Floor Puzzle, while the other groups had some fun times shooting geography question and answer free throws in the basketball area.

SEEDS Science

What comes to mind when you think of a forest? Plants, animals, and of course TREES! The main thing that makes a forest a forest is the abundance of trees.

This past week we focused on the six layers in a forest:

Emergent layer—the top layer with the tallest trees that poke through the canopy to get the most sunlight.
Canopy—the roof of the forest with the mature trees. The branches and leaves are so full that they block most of the sunlight from getting to the rest of the forest.
Understory—contains young trees that will eventually become part of the canopy, as well as shorter trees that have adapted to lower levels of sunlight.
Shrub layer—includes the bushes and large plants that can thrive on less sunlight.
Herb layer—comprises the small plants like grasses, flowers, ferns, and seedlings.
Floor—also called the litter layer which has all the dead leaves, lichens, mosses, and fungi.

The students worked on a poster representing the six layers of the forest and had a great time drawing animals and coloring.

We will be studying tropical rainforests, deciduous forests, and coniferous forests in the upcoming weeks.

SEEDS Studio

The art of cutting paper is so very satisfying! After looking at several pictures of children from around the world, the students got to work cutting their paper chain people. On Friday, we worked on coloring them in and putting the final touches to our beautiful group poster. This week, we will be doing a watercolor painting activity.

OAKS MIDDLE YEARS

OAKS Worship and Geography

This week, we discussed the importance of Bible translation within the work of “Going and Making Disciples.” This is the theme for this year as we dive into the book of Matthew. Jesus taught his disciples that His kingdom was at hand and they were to go and make more disciples (Matthew 24). Since we have this command to look forward to when we get to the end of the book, it helps us focus the way we read the rest of it. We also watched a video from the Bible Project, which gave us a fantastic visual introduction to the Book of Matthew.

The Oaks students (and even the 5th and 6th graders of Seeds) spent time doing research within our classroom books to highlight interesting information about the United States to present to their peers. Developing research skills will be an important part of our study this year in the Geography classes. We also had the opportunity to play both indoors and out. A sunny afternoon on Tuesday brought out the football to toss around, while the rain on Thursday was great for Spot it and Dominoes.

OAKS Science

This week we zoomed into our first biome of the year: forests. We began the discussion by looking at what all kinds of forests had in common. Trees, of course, were at the center of our discussion. We also studied the six layers of the forest as noted by Mrs. Jenny’s Science section above. The students made their own drawing of the layers of the forest in a blank sheet of paper. We then explored that the kind of forest changes depending on the latitude and climate of where the particular forest is located. We will first learn about temperate deciduous forests. Our last task wast to make a diagram of the trunk of a tree labeling the heartwood, rings, inner bark, and outer bark, among others. We borrowed one of The Garden’s new cute tree bark cushions that they use for sitting and gathering on the floor as an example.

OAKS STUDIO

Our OAKS students also worked on making paper dolls from around the world. Unlike the Seeds students, they began without a template and had to figure out what worked when it came to folding and cutting their paper chains. This proved to be a challenging activity but some of them were able to figure it out. On Thursday, I brought in a template and they were relieved to have this extra help. They will finish decorating their people this week.