Total Eclipse of the Sun

It's not every day---or every year---that we experience a solar eclipse, so we took advantage of a teachable moment and had a little lesson on the solar system.  Coincidentally, we were studying God's seven days of Creation, so we had an opportunity to talk about the  rotation of the Earth and its revolution around the Sun (our favorite star!) as well as the revolution of the moon around Earth.  

A Peek at our Week

In our Parkview Early Childhood Division, we strive to provide a curriculum that is academically challenging as well as developmentally appropriate.  So the goal is for all the kindergartners to read, write, and demonstrate understanding of math concepts, but they'll learn these things in a way that is appropriate for their age. In other words, they learn through lots of hands-on activities and play.

Besides Reading, Writing, and Math, the students need to learn social skills and work habits that will promote success later in life.  So this week we spent a lot of time working on Following Directions, Staying on Task, Completing Assignments, and Collaborating with Peers.  The kids did very well during this first full week.

I was encouraged by some of the sweet things the children did.  This morning one child came in a little nervous because she thought she might have to go to the doctor to get a shot.  Without any prompting, another child said, "We should pray for her." Then this little friend proceeded to bow her head and say the sweetest impromptu prayer, asking God to help her classmate not to be afraid.
Later, when another child was a little shy about reciting the Bible Verse in front of the class, one of the other children volunteered to pray that God would help his friend have the courage to speak in front of the class.

"Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will buy no means enter the kingdom.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives on little child like this in My name receives Me."  Matthew 18:3-5

In the Beginning

In the beginning…

It’s the beginning of a new school year. We have new, pointy-tipped crayons, sharp pencils with erasers still intact, and clean, shiny nametags belonging to a room full of expectant, hopeful, smiling faces. It’s a fresh start.  So, it’s fitting that our first Bible lesson looks back to the Origin of Everything and tells of a time when the universe was new, and our memory verse begins with first three words of the Bible…

.

In the beginning...

Since I’ve told this story scores of times to dozens of groups of children, and it’s so easy for me to see the Creation Story as a picture on construction paper: yellow for the day, black for the night on Day 1; cotton ball clouds for the sky on Day 2; green grass and brown land on Day 3; gold stickers for the stars God created on Day 4.  It’s easy for me to forget the magnitude, the drama, the awesome beauty of Creation.

 It’s a mind-boggling, beyond-our-wildest-imagination-and-understanding type of Event We humans have only begun to scratch the surface in understanding the complexities of the universe we inhabit. 

I started to research "the universe," which is defined as "all of space and time and all of its contents." Its size is unknown, though some scientists guestimate that its 156-554 billion light years in diameter.

Wow! That really makes me feel small.  I started reading about prevailing theories on the composition and development of the universe, but after a few paragraphs I realized that this is far too much information for me to take in at one time. One thing I did realize: theories are constantly changing, and if all the information about the universe could fill an ocean, we have maybe an eye-dropper full of understanding.

A universe so vast, so complex, could not have come into being accidentally. In his blog, heelcatcher.com, Pastor Steve Foster delves into the inadequacy of science to explain creation.

"Science still has no adequate answer for how a complex universe randomly emerged out of pure nothingness," he says. The whole article is good food for thought and can be found at 

http://heelcatcher.com/?cat=63

There are a few YouTube videos that seek to represent creation.  Watching these helps me recapture a sense of awe.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D-C4_7x9Rw

As I begin a new school year, I want to take a fresh look at the stories I've taken for granted and really try to appreciate the marvels of this life that God has given us, and to contemplate the majesty of God Himself.

This year, as your child learns lessons from the Bible, perhaps for the first time, I invite you to look again at the familiar stories and view them with childlike curiosity and amazement.

In the beginning.....God!

First Day of School

Our new school year got off to a very good start.  There were no tears (well, none from the children, anyway). The kids gave their obligatory smiles for the camera, and, though some of them were nervous about entering a new classroom, by the end of the day all  children seemed happy. 

It's important for the students to learn rules and procedures so that the rest of the school year will run smoothly. The students must learn their way around our rather large campus, and they need to learn appropriate behavior for each new setting.  We make this training fun by teaching rules and procedures as we travel around campus in search of the elusive Gingerbread Man, who has escaped from our storybook but has left us clues concerning his whereabouts.

We searched  for the Gingerbread Man in Mrs. Cathy's office.

While pursuing our lost Gingerbread Man, we met our school nurse.

We visited the art room and discussed the No Running in the Hall Rule, which our little gingerbread friend did not follow.

He wasn't in the music room, but it looks like music class will be fun.

Found him!

We worked up an appetite with all that chasing.

We spent the afternoon painting, gluing, reading, and writing.

We enjoyed as special treat at snack time.

We learned procedures for playing in centers, and we made some new friends.

It's going to be a great year.