Today was a "quick" week for school. Since we started our school year a bit earlier than I had originally planned for (when I spent time this summer mapping out the year) I initially didn't have any thematic unit planned for this week. We spent Monday at the Museum of Science & Industry, and since Fridays are always co-op days, we had just 3 days at home. Even so, we had a good week of learning. We focused on the 7 Days of Creation, found in Genesis 1.
Brainstorming Web:
To start off our unit, the kids brainstormed different ideas about what God has made. We could have spent an hour on this, and they had no shortage of ideas, but we stopped here....(don't mind my quick and very amateur drawings. Yes, those are my drawings, not one of the kid's.)
Nana and Papa bought Meredith this Bible for her birthday....
...and it actually goes through each day of Creation, separately, with nice pictures, so this is what we've been reading through.
Contact Paper/Tissue Paper Earths:
The kids love this type of craft (it just entails sticking scraps of tissue paper to the sticky side of contact paper), and they look so pretty catching the sun through the window. During this craft, we talked about what the colors represent (green = land, blue = water), and how the Earth is comprised of more water than land. And of course, we talked about Genesis 1:1, our theme verse - In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.
Even Shane was able to get in on this one.
It's hard to see, but the banner attached to the top of the Earth has Genesis 1:1 on it.
Creation Hunt:
We took a bike ride/walk through our neighborhood in search of God's creation.
While
we are always in the habit of talking about the things we see and all
that God has made, this time I was extra-intentional.
The kids love to collect things. And inspect things.
They searched for and filled their grocery bags with all sorts of evidence of God's amazing work - pinecones, rocks, leaves, flowers, dirt, sticks, etc.
They also threw lots of leaves. At Mommy. Funny stuff, clearly. =)
And this little buddy ate dirt. And apparently it didn't taste all that bad to him, because he kept trying to get more. I realize that it was nearing lunchtime, but seriously?
Back at the house, checking out all that they collected!
After our little excursion around the neighborhood, Meredith drew a picture of some examples of God's creation that we saw. Her picture is comprised mostly of pine cones, leaves and flowers...I think? She wrote "PINECONES" at the top, and "LEAF", twice, at the bottom
Caleb put together a mini-book called "God Made". Each page says God made the _________ (something we saw on our Creation Hunt) and he had to read the words and illustrate.
Pinecone Birdfeeders:
With some of the many pinecones we collected, Caleb and Meredith made bird feeders.
Smear the PB on the pinecone, roll the whole thing in bird seed...
...and VOILA! Bird feeders. Hoping some feathered friends actually partake.
Creation Numbers:
This was a fun and very visual way for the kids to understand the 7 days of Creation.
Day 1 - Light & darkness
(white glitter to represent the light against the dark)
Day 2 - Sky & seas
(blue watercolors, cotton ball clouds and some foam wave stickers)
Day 3 - Land
(green watercolors, foam stickers)
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| Caleb's |
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| Meredith's |
Day 4 - Sun, moon, stars
(black crayon, foam stickers)
Day 5 - Fish & birds
(blue watercolors, foam fish, and cut out bird)
Day 6 - Land animals & man
(green watercolors, face, foam stickers - they got a little sticker happy with those animals!)
Day 7 - God rests (in Heaven)
("streets of gold" glitter designs and "z"s for rest)
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| Caleb's |
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| Meredith's |
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| My initial "plan" for day 7 was for us to talk about Heaven and have the kids illustrate what Heaven might look like. While we did talk a little about Heaven, Caleb was very adamant about Heaven being filled with gold, so that's what we went with instead. They love glitter, so it's hard to deny them this little pleasure! |
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| Finished days 1-6 |
Creation Fingerplay:
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| Again, Meredith loves singing/acting out these little songs, and Caleb loves that he can read them all by himself! |
Creation Songs:
We have been singing an adaptation of this song as we learn about each day....to a catchy little tune to help us remember what God created on which day!
We also have these two songs on CD, which we have been listening to a LOT: In the Beginning, by Jaime Soles and In the Beginning, by Miss Pattycake (#13)
Bible Verses:
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth.
We also have these two songs on CD, which we have been listening to a LOT: In the Beginning, by Jaime Soles and In the Beginning, by Miss Pattycake (#13)
Bible Verses:
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth.
