Welcome back from BREAK WEEK! It’s a time we rejoice in the truth that God tabernacles with us (Emmanuel) and He has given us His Word! Before we left, the Oaks boys enjoyed some music in the park which has become a joyful pastime there. How great it is to see young men raising their voices in praise to the Lord. We are thankful and praise Him for the wonderful 8 weeks He’s given us. Please read below for more.

SUGGESTED AT-HOME READINGS VARY PER PROGRAM. PLEASE GO TO THE SECTION OF YOUR PROGRAM TO SEE THE SELECTED PAGES.

The Garden

This week we continued to enjoy learning and seeing how God is the vine and we are the branches and how we must stay close to God and His word. We got to place fruits on the branches and view how we can grow and produce something wonderful if we stay close to the vine (God) who helps us grow strong and safe.

Since we’ve shared how “God created us in His own image and likeness” (Genesis 1:27), the students did a self-portrait by looking at themselves in a mirror and drawing the image as they saw it. They thought doing that was lots of fun and they did their best. They also created the front cover for their creation books by painting coffee filters, using droppers and colored water to resemble “The World” (earth), as we sang together, "He's got the whole world in His hands.”

They also got to play with the sensory table full of rice and pour it through a funnel to make red balloon apples and played outside with them.

At the park, they enjoyed learning how to use a large frisbee by swinging it up high, then trying to catch it before it hit the ground. We have all been practicing hopping on one foot to learn good balance and then trying it with both feet. We also enjoyed trying to balance, pretending the apples were on our head while we hopped.

The story this week was: Ten Apples up on Top

The Seeds Program

It was a very exciting week in that we finally began our reading of the New Testament, beginning with the stories of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The students were amazed to see the prophecies we have been reading over the last few weeks finally come to pass in these accounts. The younger Seeds students especially enjoyed acting out these stories in History class. They also loved the surprise of our dog Shari, coming to the center on Friday as we celebrated her birthday.

BIBLE Readings

DK Illustrated Bible
- pp. 212-223
- pp. 224-225
Bible
- Luke 1:1-80; Luke 2:1-38
- Matthew 2:1-15

SCIENCE

We returned to our study of the sense of hearing this week. On Wednesday, we focused on the parts of the ear and how sound travels through waves and gets interpreted by our brain. We learned that it moves from the outer ear or pinna, through the earl canal where it reaches the middle ear by way of the eardrum. In the middle ear we find the smallest bones in your body, the ossicles. These tiny bones vibrate with the sound and carry it to the cochlea in the inner ear. The hairs in the cochlea move and produce the electric signal that goes to the auditory nerve. The nerve carries the signal to the brain where the sound is interpreted. On Friday, we emphasized that the ear is not only for hearing but for balance as well. The semi circular canals that are found in the cochlea, help to interpret movement and are filled with liquid. When we spin, the liquid spins with us and when we stop, we feel dizzy until that liquid settles down. At the end of the lesson, each student was able to sculpt the “snail-like” cochlea and even challenge themselves to make the three little bones. Everyone had a blast! Noah P. worked hard to make them close to life- size. They did a wonderful job with this!

SCIENCE Readings

Encyclopedia of the Human Body
- p10-11
The Body Book
- The Ear

History

We covered the life of Augustus Caesar (who was also mentioned in the Book of Luke) and although he did come through our time machine, we learned about him through different notes we read together. As we colored his portrait, we learned that he ruled for 45 years, and was a much more successful emperor than any other that came after him.

Studio Time

We put our sense of hearing to good use by learning more about composer Joseph Haydn. We learned that he was considered the father of the string quartet since he wrote almost 70 compositions for them. Therefore, we focused on the different instruments that make up the string family: the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass, and the harp. After hearing in a video how the different instruments sounded like and why, we listened to “Emperor” which was one of Hayd’s most famous string quartets. It was even an inspiration for the hymn “Great things are Said of Thee” by John Newton! As we listened to the original version and the adapted hymn, we colored a sheet with a student playing the cello.

The Oaks Program

Science

In Pre-Physics, the Oaks students learned about the four states of matter and how matter moves between the different states. They also learned the difference between heterogeneous mixtures and homogeneous mixtures. Finally, they learned about standard temperature and pressure and how it’s important for scientists.

In Chemistry, the Oaks students learned about electrons and their significance when it comes to ions. They learned that the valence electrons, the electrons in the outer shell of the atom, are responsible for determining the electrical charge of the atom. And to get more comfortable with this concept, some students were able to show on the whiteboard how an atom can achieve stability by either gaining or losing electrons.

History

In History class, we

HISTORY Readings

Streams of Civilization
- pp. 189-190 - Foundations of Christianity (stop before The Teachings of Jesus)
- Pp. 182-183 - Life in the Roman Empire (stop before Living conditions; pp. 186-187 - Education