Week 9: October 16-20 - "On a Big Yellow School Bus"
On a Big Yellow School Bus
This week is a little different since the main focus of the newsletter covers our recent field trip to El Yunque Rainforest. The Seeds and Oaks students combined for this fun and educational excursion.
Here we go!
We left early Friday morning to get to our special destination.
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 5:43-48
Matthew 6:1-18
Window on the World
pp. 186-187 (Yanomami)
Additional Read-Alouds:
The Usborne Living World Encyclopedia
pp. 94-99
THE GARDEN
WORSHIP:
We have learned that God made us, loves us, and wants us to grow close to Him. This week, we focused on being connected to Jesus and giving fruit. In John 15 it says that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, and if we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit. We explained that it is not fruit like apples or oranges, but fruit from our spirits. Mrs. Vivi asked what they thought that fruit might be. We answered the question later in the week. The fruit we needed to give and offer was: love. We kept reminding them throughout the week that we needed to be loving. Help us Jesus.
TUESDAY:
It was a joy to welcome back Hallel on Tuesday. She was greeted with hugs and great hospitality. Mr. Jean also spent the whole day with us as Miss Nicole was out sick. We walked to the big park together and played catch in the playground. During activity time, we played with the costumes and kitchen in the drama area. The girls were thrilled that Emma brought in a ballerina costume just like the one that they saw in the play. They took turns dancing around the room. Blocks were also open and Mr. Jean was giving the students building challenges. They loved having him with us as well. Mr. Jare read from the book we are going through to learn about the different jobs and professions: What do People Do All Day? By Richard Scarry.
THURSDAY:
For activity time, the children had the opportunity to paint fruit. The fruit we chose to start with was an apple. They enjoyed this time with Mrs. Vivi. They practiced cleaning the brush and switching colors without mixing the colors. The kids also enjoyed building with blocks, made creative structures with the colorful cubes and did some puzzles.
We also played bowling at the park and they all played together and had a blast!
SEEDS AND OAKS MIDDLE YEARS
SEEDS
This week, we finished our time in North America by traveling to Canada. We learned so much about the land, the people and the culture. The vast landscape of Canada (consisting of 13 provinces) provides so many forests and other places to explore and serves as great habitats for lots of different animals and plants.
Speaking of forests, the highlight of the week was certainly our field trip to El Yunque. Beginning on a big yellow school bus, the students started their journey very excited. When we arrived, we marveled at the beauty of the El Portal Visitor Center. Our tour guides were excellent and taught us so much about the amazing rainforest we possess here in Puerto Rico. But the pictures say it all, so enjoy the photos!
Science
Most organisms in nature are involved in some type symbiotic relationship. Symbiosis is any relationship between two different species living in close connection with each other. In class, each student received a mismatched term and a definition below. Once they each found the correct definition, they drew a picture depicting the relationship and then explained it to the rest of the class.
Mutualism—both organisms benefit
Crocodile and the crocodile bird that removes bits of food from between its teeth
Parasitism—the guest benefits while the host is harmed
Lice , fleas, and leeches suck the blood of another animal
Commensalism—the guest benefits but the host is unharmed
An orchid attached to a tree
Competition—two different species competing for the same limited resources (food, sunlight, space, nutrients)
Wolves and foxes both competing for the rabbits and rodents in the same ecosystem
Neutralism—neither species benefits and neither is harmed
A moose 🫎 and a mushroom 🍄
The students did a great job and got to practice presenting information in front of the class.
Studio Time
Bonjour! I hope you children had the opportunity to share with you some of the French they learned in class this week. It was a joy for me to “dust off” my French and teach them a language I love so much! We learned to say our name, our age, and how to count to 10. I told them I will teach them more when we travel to Europe and learn about France.
To end our class we enjoyed two traditional desserts from Canada. I prepared a blueberry crisp using blueberries from Canada (thanks Costco!) and served it with a “snowball” of ice cream drizzled with pure maple syrup. The kids were amazed to find out that 80% of the world’s maple syrup comes from Canada. The dessert was a success and many seconds were served up by my assistant chef Olivia.
OAKS
View from the Center
Our journey began at the El Portal Visitor Center in El Yunque National Park located in Rio Grande.
Oaks Science
Last week, we looked at how animals relate to each other in terms of the flow of energy in food chains and food webs. This week we learned that another way to look at animal relationships is in terms of symbiosis. Animals living together are in symbiotic relationships. These relationships vary and are classified according to the benefits (or lack thereof) that each animal receives as a result of the relationship. I split the group into three smaller groups and assigned them each one of three relationships: parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism. The groups worked together to prepare a poster and present what they had learned to the rest of the class.
Oaks Studio
French class with the Oaks students was super fun. They have good pronunciation skills! After reading John 3:16 in French, we learned common greetings and how to say their name and age. We will deepen our studies when we study France. They also finished their time off with a tasty treat. In their case, Olivia made fried Canadian bannock bread to share. This bread is served with pure maple syrup that was, of course, from Canada. 🙂
Homework for Oaks: Read Tropical Rainforest lesson in Properties of Ecosystems and fill out the worksheet given.
Memory Verse #7
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
