Art-Pathfinders&Navigators
Tuesday, September 22

Class Overview
As we begin our adventure through Art in the Bible, the goal is to go in chronological order. Though today's focus was on the Tower of Bible, we briefly looked at two earlier references to creating:
-Genesis 4. some of the men from Cain's family tree are noted for possessing certain skills and craftsmanship
-Genesis 6, God outlines specific plans for the creation of the Ark

We talked about the Tower of Babel together, discussing how men used their skills in a prideful manner that was not according to God's design. We talked about three basic principles of architecture - Durability, Utility, and Beauty - before students jumped into the fun project of creating a tower from marshmallows, toothpicks, and spaghetti noodles. They quickly learned that a good design is essential for a successful structure!

Assignments
-Select and bring in an image of a favorite architectural structure (ancient to modern)
-If any families have ice cube trays they can spare for about a week, please bring these into class next week
-Read Exodus 1:8-14

History Timeline @ 9/22/2015

Remember to practice your timeline each week! 

Music - Pathfinders/Navigators - September 15, 2015

In class on Tuesday we began talking about Jewish and Hebrew history and culture. We will be spending some time looking at the rich musical culture of the Jewish people in the next couple of weeks.

This week we looked specificaly at the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah started at sunset on Sunday, and ended at sunset on Tuesday. It is the Jewish New Year, and much like our own New Year, it is a time of reflection. It actually starts a period of 10 days of reflection, looking at mistakes and sins made in the year, and it's a time for atonement.

A Shofar is a ram's horn that is blown like a trumpet during Rosh Hashanah. There are different sounds made with the shofar that remind people to look inward and repent.

The students began making their own Shofars in class. They have been challenged to finish their Shofar at home this week, using recycled items or things they find around the house. They need to find a mouthpiece, and also come up with their own shape and design for the body.

Also, there are 3 different distinct sounds that are made with the SHofar, each one has a different meaning. Students need to practice each one and be ready to sound them off by name in class next week.

Music - Explorers/Trailblazers - September 15, 2015

To start class on Tuesday we played around with some 'Body Rhythms'. Each student got a set of pictures with clapping hands, stomping feet, snapping fingers, etc. They arranged the pictures into their own pattern of choice, and then demonstrated their rhythm pattern to the class.

The main part of our lesson today was about the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah, which happened be celebrated September 13th through 15th this year. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, it is a special time to reflect upon the mistakes made that year. Either things that were knowingly done wrong, or helpful things that you chose not to do. 

During this holiday a shofar is blown. The sound of the shofar(a rams horn) is a reminder to look inward and repent. And the children began working on their own shofars which they will bring home next week.

Finally, we began working on our first song together. It is called 'Haida' and it is a ancient Jewish folk song. Make sure to ask the kids what Haida means. :)

I had planned on letting the kids listen to a few samples of the shofa, but we had some technical difficulties. Here is the link if you would like to listen with them..

 www.youtube.com/watchv=j8t1r2DSxsg&list=PLnG9OF7ADgElpAyEar9Yv500GYonmSR9&index=1

Treasure Hunters 9/16/15

FOCUS: God created the world. The Days of Creation.

HISTORY/ART Project: The children 'created' a Paper Mâché Earth that was kept to dry. Keep an eye out for our Earth creations next week!

READING: Bible-The Creation, Genesis 1

DISCUSSION: We played a 'days of creation' matching game. The children tried to remember what was created on each day. Try making your own at home using magazine pictures, And sorting them into which of the 7 days they were created on.

MUSIC: We introduced 'blue jello' cards
              Quarter note (blue)
              Eigth note (jel-lo) and
              Quarter rest (whisper 'rest').
Also introduced parts of the grand staff and the rhythm song :)
             

HISTORY - Class 1 9/15/15 Explorers and Trailblazers!

I am so grateful for the opportunity to fill in for Mrs. Goedecke's classes!  I learn so much each time I have the chance to do it!  The children were eager, participated well, and very polite!

In class, we discussed the roots of the people groups that settled two areas.  The Fertile Crescent and Egypt.  We looked at and worked with map skills to identify and trace the major rivers of the areas and learned some neat facts about the people that settled there.
Noah had 3 sons, Shem,Ham, and Japheth.  Shem's descendants settled the area near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The early people groups were called Sumerians and were known for developing the plow and irrigation.  Polytheism was widely practiced.  We discussed the benefits of technology in making jobs more efficient and the impact on a society as they figured these things out.  We were able to define and discuss the difference between polytheism and monotheism.  It was encouraging to hear the children enthusiastically proclaim that we believe in the "One True God!"

Ham's descendants settled the area surrounding the Nile river in Northern Africa.  Egypt was a familiar place to these children.  We read from Pages of History by Etter and Detweiler. The book gave us insight into many gods of the Egyptians as well as facts about the pyramids.  The limestone blocks used to build the Great Pyramid were as big as 5x8x12 feet!  They used over 2 million blocks to build it. The Nile river is the longest river in the world and the only river that flows from south to north!

In the Trailblazers class the question of the trinity cam up when discussing the difference between serving many gods and the One True God.  I was able to share an illustration from a book I have at home.  Holding up one apple I asked the children how many apples did I have.  They of course answered appropriately "one." I asked about the 3 components of an apple.  It has a peel or skin, the flesh, and a core.  Each part of the apple helps to make the whole apple. Even though there are 3 parts to the apple, we still only have one apple.  Like the apple, the trinity is three persons, one God.  If you would like to borrow the book, I am happy to share.  IT wasn't my intention to dive into such a deep topic, but when it came up in discussion I addressed and was grateful to have had an apple there for a snack!

Activities in class:

• Map Work
• Notebook Page
• Egyptian Paper Doll

Questions for review:

• What are the benefits of settling near a river?
• What is a descendant?
• How do we know so much about ancient times?
• Define polytheism.
• How long is the Nile river?

Assignment:

• Read history cards NT:1, OT:9-13

Art: Pathfinders and Navigators
Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Class Overview
We literally began class with "In the beginning..."  To lead into our semester of Art in the Bible, we examined how interesting it is that the first action of God we have recorded in our Bible is "Create". After clarifying the definition of create, the students listed off accounts in the Bible where there is record of something being "created". This built the jumping board of realizing that "art" is so much more then just drawing and painting: it spans everything from architecture to masonry, to calligraphy and textiles. As a class over the next several weeks, we will be exploring many of these types of arts that are found in the Bible.

Project
As a class, we created a mosaic with students identifying:
-Types of Art
-Qualities of Art

Assignments
-Read Genesis 11:1-9 before class
-Bring in a bag of marshmallows (large or minis) for each student