Tell Stories

There are stories all around us. And one of the ways we prepare the next generation is to pass down good stories to them, stories full of truth, love and beauty. At The Well Center this week, we read several great stories—from Jesus on a mountain, to a bunch of bears traveling the globe—as well as telling some new ones through crayons, paints, and blocks. There are stories all around us…go be part of one.

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. Our Memory verse can be found at the end of this page.

The Bible - the Book of Matthew

Matthew 5:11-26

Window on the World

pp. 50-51 (Garifuna)

Children’s Atlas of God’s World

pp.16-19

FOR OAKS STUDENTS ONLY

Properties of Ecosystems

pp.16-21

Additional Read-Alouds:

HERO TALES
- pp. 20-31 - William and Catherine Booth
The Usborne Living World Encyclopedia
- pp. 10-11

The Garden

“God made me, God made me, in my Bible book I read that God made me”, says the new song we are learning in The Garden. We learned that even when we were in our mom’s belly, when nobody else could see us, God saw us and loved us. When Mrs. Vivi showed a picture of a fetus, Gillian said, “Wow, cuando yo estaba en la barriga de mamá era así.” We taught them that we can live and grow in Jesus. We showed them that we can be like a tree that grows next to streams of water. God’s Word is like water that refreshes our spirit and nourishes it. When we read and think about it all day long, it helps us to grow and be more like Jesus. Ask the children to sing you the new song, “Serás como un árbol plantado…Salmo 1:3”.

On Tuesday while at the big park, the girls practiced their balance like gymnasts and they all enjoyed climbing trees. They are becoming pros! On our walk back to Garden, the children enjoyed picking some seeds from the ground and counting them to see who picked up the most. At the small park, we practiced hand and eye coordination using our giant rackets. During the activity, we enjoyed painting for the first time. They were given two colors: yellow and white to paint either light, sun, moon and/or stars. While painting Gillian was singing, “Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.” They also loved having Mr. Jared as a special storytime guest to read the book: Let there be light.

On Thursday, they worked on strengthening their grip and writing their names with some new markers. We will keep practicing and encourage practicing it at home to create independence little by little. They always enjoy being chefs and cooking spicy food for Miss Nicole, which they know she does not like. They get a good laugh out of Miss Nicole pretending her tongue is burning and they bring a refreshing beverage to make it better. “Corté el tomate y lo convertí en ketchup,” said Lucas. “Tu te vas a llamar el cocinero de habichuelas,” said Estela to Lucas who loves to pick out the beans among the rice in the exploration table.

To finish off this week, we had a sweet tender moment. Since it was raining we played indoor board games. Gillian won and Estela was sad. Mrs. Vivi said she might need a long hug and Gillian offered. Gillian gave Estela a big heartfelt short squeeze. “Mrs. Vivi dijo un abrazo largo”, said Estela. They proceeded to hug for a very long time and it was a sweet and loving moment in the Garden.

The Seeds Program

SEEDS Worship

It was a very eventful week at SEEDS! We continued learning about how Jesus began his ministry, teaching the people and healing their diseases. He taught the people about the kingdom of God and what kind of people are blessed within it. Those who were poor in spirit, in mourning, and even the persecuted were considered blessed by Jesus, because they would not be in this state forever. Rather, the kingdom that they could look forward to would be free of these things. This brought a lot of hope to the people who heard things from Jesus, that they hadn’t heard in that way before. He didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill or make sense of it.

We also got to celebrate our oldest and youngest members of SEEDS, Elijah and Elena. They share the same birthday but were honored on separate days. We hope they and their families had a great celebration.

SEEDS Geography

As we continued to study Mexico this week, we looked at three Mexican artists that were famous for their mural work. Murals are large paintings done on a wall, just like the one we have outside in our playground. We noticed that the Mexican murals often depicted lots of people so we got to thinking, “What if we could paint a mural with lots of people?” We decided based on the time we had that drawing individual pieces would be best and then we could stick them together on the computer. The result? Some fantastic crayon drawings of the kids and teachers at Seeds, coming together for one amazing mural! Some of the works are still in progress (see below), so check back soon for the final products. We also played the Geography game to review the countries (Big 4, Central 7 and Caribbean 6) of North America. The kids will be taking home a game board this week before our break.

SEEDS Science

Would you rather find a mirage or an oasis in a desert? The students learned that a mirage is an illusion resulting from hot air rising and bending the light from the sun which then causes a reflection of the sky onto the sand. An oasis on the other hand is a special ecosystem located in the desert that has an abundance of water, usually coming from an underground spring.

Water brings life to the desert! Many plants and animals that would not normally exist in the desert are able to survive in an oasis. The palm trees and other plants provide protection, food, shelter, and shade for the animals. During photosynthesis, these plants use sunlight to make food and release water through the tiny holes in the leaves called stomata. This process of releasing water, called transpiration, in turn cools the environment of the oasis through increased evaporation.

An oasis brings life and refreshment to a hot and dangerous desert environment. Kharga in Egypt and Las Vegas, Nevada are examples of oases that have been expanded to become cities.

SEEDS Studio

The Studio class can be used for different purposes, one of them being to emphasize or support what is learned in Science or Geography. This week was a perfect example of this. On Wednesday, we took advantage of the small group format to teach through the Geography Game. The kids had a chance to play it with their classmates multiple times. On Friday, we took the time to make a botanical print of a cactus. The kids were able to choose from many different cacti. They sketched lightly and began to paint their creations. They were thrilled to use watercolor pens for the first time at Seeds. It is quite fun to squeeze the brush pen and see the water come directly out without having to dip the brush in a cup. We will finish painting this week and will put the final touches, including the name of the cactus in flair pen. They are looking amazing so far!

OAKS MIDDLE YEARS

OAKS Worship and Geography

The OAKS students continued their bible study this week into the Book of Matthew. It is so great to be able to have the time with the students to really dig deep into the Scriptures the way we are doing this year. The Beatitudes, as they are known, are a famous portion of Matthew chapter 5, and we had the opportunity to understand each of the things that Jesus was teaching the people. We prayed that we would be able to correctly follow the teachings of Jesus and remember that this world, with its troubles and trials, is not our home.

In Geography, we had a great discussion about the border issues between the United States and Mexico. We talked about the fact that some people want the border to be open and free for people to cross, while others believe a wall to prevent people crossing is essential. As we learned the names of the Mexican states that border the U.S., and looking at some news reports, we were able to identify places where security at the border was fragile. We prayed for the many people at the border who are in dangerous situations and asked God to help them.

But not everything is so serious. We got outside together to play two traditional Mexican games: “Arrancando cebollitas” and “Timbomba.” For the first game, a player must pull apart the rest of the players who have formed a line. The line tries to prevent the “puller” from separating the group. Timbomba involves hitting small sticks with a larger stick to see who is able to land their stick the farthest. It was a lot of fun!

OAKS Science

In Science, we focused on a very refreshing part of the desert: an oasis! We saw different pictures and videos showing how amazing it is to see this beautiful landscape in the middle of miles of sandy and/or rocky terrain. As the water brings life to the desert, the plants and animals that can live there change as well. We see animals that would not be able to survive in other parts of the desert like warblers and orioles as well as magnificent palms and shrubs. What the students liked the most was the idea that the temperature was cooler in the desert! The variety of plants with larger stomata in their leaves increases that transpiration and allows the air to feel 10-20 degrees cooler!

We also took some time to talk about our own dry forest in Guánica and watched a short video that showed some of the flora and fauna that is found in the region. I mentioned that I found a longer video in Spanish that we did not have time to look at. You can view it here if you wish.

This week, we will study food chains. Please remind your children to come prepared with their assigned reading and food chain example.

OAKS STUDIO

For Studio Time we had the opportunity to make a botanical print featuring one of the many beautiful cacti that the Lord has created. I brought in several pictures for them to look at and explained that a botanical print is usually made on a white background and includes the name of the plant next to its picture. After taking our time sketching lightly in pencil, we began to paint using watercolors. We reviewed several techniques to blend or make the colors fade in different parts of the painting. When the paint dried, we used a flare pen to write the name of the cactus and trace around it, emphasizing its spines and/or flowers.