Week 29: The Renaissance! A Time to Explore the Arts and Science
Isaiah is pictured here focusing intensely on his science project. This type of focus happened all over the programs this week, as the Oaks conducted experiments, the Seeds concentrated on a “Mona Lisa” project and the Garden kids continued their study on bees and especially…honey (yum!).
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The Garden
During worship time this week, they heard the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus showed His love by dying on the cross to forgive our sins. “Jesus was innocent but died for us.” He was placed in a tomb, which was then sealed with a large stone and guarded by soldiers. On Sunday morning, women found the stone moved and the tomb empty, and an angel appeared to share the joyful news that Jesus was alive. Jesus then appeared to His friends to prove that He had conquered death and was alive. The sad part of the cross lasted only a short time, because it was followed by the happy part—His resurrection. You can read about it in Matthew 27 and 28
At Circle time, we learned what you call a person who works with bees. They are called beekeepers, and in Spanish, it’s “apicultor.” They got to see pictures of the special clothing they wear to protect themselves from being stung. They also learned C is for caterpillar, the caterpillar song and some facts about caterpillars.
Did you know caterpillars are not worms? They are insects because they are baby butterflies. They only have six real legs, and the rest are stubs that help them cling to surfaces.
For Activity time, Mrs. Doreen brought a real honeycomb for us to see, touch, and taste. We also spread honey on crackers using wooden honey dippers, they each had one. The children were very excited and enjoyed this activity very much. We were also able to use playdough to form caterpillars and used cookie cutters to create beehives, bees, and honeycomb hexagons.
Story: The Bug Hotel
The Seeds Program
This week during worship, we began learning the second part of 1 Corinthians 13. Mr. Jared led the students in acting out skits to demonstrate what love is and is not. The children enjoyed acting out the stories for ..."love is patient, kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not rude." We also worked on the new memory verse in Philippians 2: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves." Finally, we used our new wooden sticks to practice our "corito” medley.
History was our main focus this week, where we spent two days learning about the Renaissance and Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, the Mona Lisa. Mr. Jared led the children through a step by step drawing lesson while talking about different art techniques like chiaroscuro and shading. He also discussed how another empire, called the Ottoman Turks led by Suleiman I, rose to power during this time of history as well.
In Studio Time, the kids were so excited to unbox some new games and resources donated by our beloved Mrs. Aleyda, one of the first assistants in the Seeds program. Mrs. Aleyda always enjoys blessing the children even from a distance. They came up with some great creations from towers to sombreros! The marble run was another hit and a wonderful opportunity to work on teamwork and problem solving.
Finally, although the rain prevented Mrs. Michelle from teaching the full class, she gave a great introduction to muscles and the muscular system using exercise balls. This was an integrated Science and Physical Education course. We will resume where we left off next week.
Regarding the Astronomy project, the topics have been assigned to each student over the chat. Make sure you look over it and let us know if you have any questions.
New Seeds Memory Verse
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
The Oaks Program
SCIENCE
In Chemistry, the students learned more about electrolyte use outside of the human body, such as in batteries, water treatment, and agriculture. They also learned why you get so thirsty after eating a really salty bag of chips! Your body's cells send more water to the interstitial fluid to balance out and dilute the sodium concentration, therefore, making the cells deficient in water, which then sends a signal to your brain to drink more. And to see firsthand the ability of electrolytes to conduct electricity, the students performed an activity in which a concentrated electrolyte mixture completed circuits to power a light bulb and a fan.
In Marine Science, the students learned about drifters, which are buoys that have instrumentation to measure ocean currents, wind, temperatures, and pressure. Different countries deploy these drifters to help study the ocean trends and climate. Each buoy needs a transmitter that communicates with a satellite and a high quality battery to transmit information for as long as possible. The students also learned about the deep-sea bottom in their Marine Biology Coloring Book. Creatures such as brittle stars and vampire squid have been uniquely created to live in such harsh environments where there is no sunlight and very high water pressure.
HISTORY
The Oaks students also studied about the Plague of the Medieval Period and traced the spread of it by labeling a map. In fact, the students learned that between 1343 and 1358, the spread of the disease was widespread, seemingly traveling up from the south and moving north over a decade. Some areas were hit harder by others and as this was caused by a bacteria, the impact of the disease was more severe in warmer climates.
SUGGESTED READINGS
The Story of the World
P. 215-218; 223
P. 253, 257
Streams of Civilization
P. 393-395
P. 385-386
