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Happy Holy Week! 

The holiest week in the Church year!  I shared with the class the shortest verse in the Bible: Jesus wept. John 11:35.  We had discussed this verse before when talking about nouns and verbs. It tied in perfectly when reviewing all the events of Holy Week: Arrival in Jerusalem/Palm Sunday, The Last Supper, Weeping/Praying in the garden, before Pilate, the Way of the Cross, the Crucifixion. Even though Easter hasn't quite happened yet, we talked about about happy we are that Jesus came alive again. He brings us hope in His Second Coming. We will share more about Easter when we return.  So, Happy Easter everyone!

In Science, we had a blast with STEM activities: making our own sporting equipment! We talked about how we don't need fancy equipment to have fun, just some household items and some imagination. We made a croquet mallet out of paper towel rolls, tape, and a water bottle, then we stuffed newspaper into a cereal box to make a target for rolled up socks (which made great 'softballs'), we cut out holes in a small box and threw plastic eggs into it, then we set up a simple piece of cardboard on the table as a net for ping pong then bounced a ball over it (this was the favorite among many of the students), we put painters' tape on the floor which created a 'balance beam',  we opened up two larger boxes and crawled through them as part of an obstacle course, and we used an old bedsheet as a parachute! Getting exercise was never so fun! Hopefully the students went home and made some of these or other 'equipment' of their own. 

In History, we said our pledge and sang Yankee Doodle (one student was very insightful and stated, 'there's nothing mentioned about the USA in that song at all Mrs. Rivera". What a great comment! Never mind teaching them a whole lesson on the history of it being a folk song originally written as a tease of Americans by the British...we'll focus on God Bless America next time.  :)    We learned all about the Space Race and the hero John Glenn and Landing on the Moon and Neil Armstrong. America sure is proud of it's first landing on the moon. Many American little boys grew up during that era wanting to be astronauts. 

Our writing time included some Easter crafts that Mrs. Rivera found at Hobby Lobby. They took them home to finish.  

We then went outside to partake in the traditional Seder Meal. What a great way to celebrate the Jewish Passover, but tying it in to how it relates to how our Lord fulfilled all that was prophesied. Thank you Mrs. Shaw for leading this! 

Hopefully your child has taken their gift from me out of their backpack to share with you: The Tale of Three Trees book. It's one of the best Christian folktales ever. A Christian teacher friend shared it with me 25 years ago and I cry every time I read it, it's that inspirational. I hope that you will read it with your child many times. 

Well, I'm off to the Holy Land next week! My sister and I are really looking forward to walking in the steps of Jesus. I hope to share some of my pictures and experiences with you upon my return. I will pray for you all while there. 

Happy Easter everyone, Jesus has Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!!!