12/16

SCIENCE:
This morning we leaned into the wonder of Christmas from the very start. Student who wanted to were able to share what was on their heart this Christmas and other students volunteered to pray for them. The students shared some heartfelt requests and what a beautiful sound to hear their peers lifting them up! We talked for a brief minute about Joseph and how he likely felt like a failure that first Christmas when he couldn't find a place for Mary to give birth to Jesus. It likely felt broken and not how it should be. For some, this Christmas might feel like Joseph's. But, plot twist - God was quite literally right there creating beauty in the midst and He is still Immanuel (God with us), creating beauty in our chaos as well. We reflected on the rain (precipitation) this week and made some observations about what happens to the water once it lands on the ground. This was a perfect transition to our investigation of groundwater. We then made our own groundwater models, one with thicker sand laters and one with thicker gravel layers. We hypothesized about what might happen when I added the water, then we experiments noting the infiltration, water table, saturation and other observations. When we completed the experiment we colored and labeled a diagram of groundwater together. We enjoyed two encore country projects and enjoyed the delicious treats that accompanied them! Then we worshipped through our Bible verse song celebrating the coming of our Prince of Peace!

GEOGRAPHY:

To put our hands and minds on the true story of Christmas, I wrote the clue card today: "I’m the true wonderland of Christmas of old. All of the magic is yours to behold. If you follow me like the star to Egypt then East. Find a stable that holds both Immanuel & Beast." Many students quickly knew it was Israel and took the time to find the actual setting of Christmas on the map. Next we dove into studying three Christmas traditions from around the world beginning with Saint Lucia. She lived in Italy and brought food to persecuted Christians under the cover of darkness using only a wreath of lanterns on her head. Today, Sweden celebrates Saint Lucia Day on the darkest day of the year, December 13th where the oldest girl in the family dresses in white with a red sash and a wreath of candles on her head brings her parents breakfast. Next, we gathered together and read one of my favorite Christmas books "The Legend of the Christmas Stocking." Weaved within this narrative is the true story of Saint Nicholas, though it is not said so directly. We talked about Saint Nicholas Day that is widely celebrated in Europe on December 6th. Kids will leave their shoes outside the door or by the fireplace at night and find toys and candy placed inside in the morning. I told the kids we should pretend we were one of those kids and leave our shoes outside. Some were excited and others I'm certain complied by peer pressure alone. Nonetheless, thanks to a little elf, the students were shocked to find candy in their shoes when they went outside. Lastly, we read the "Legend of the Poinsettia", a story about a girl named Lucida from Mexico. The story describes a number of Mexican Christmas traditions in narrative form as Lucida's mother is asked to make a new wrap for baby Jesus for the procession. Her mother ends up getting sick and Lucida is unable to finish the wrap. She has no gift to bring baby Jesus. She ends up gathering some green weeds that bloom into flaming red flowers when she lays them before baby Jesus. The gift is in the giving. I gave each student a poinsettia plant and asked them to pray about someone that they could bless with it this week. The students were very excited and I think even made some deliveries before the end of the day.

IEW:

The students turned in their final drafts of Damocles. We began our Christmas poem. The goal was to use descriptive words to show Christmas through our five senses. I wanted you (us as parents) to see Christmas through their eyes. They were instructed to create a line for each sense (see, smell, touch, taste, hear) in any order. This could rhyme, but that was not a requirement. Many students finished, read theirs aloud and decorated it for you to see, but some were still working on their masterpiece. I invited them to take them home to complete over our break if they would like to. There were some truly profound art pieces that came to life today - what beautiful creative hearts in these little warriors. I was truly overwhelmed at the joyful generosity our students displayed today. What a perfect onramp to our Christmas break!

We missed you Nixon!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!