"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing." These words have been heard in our room daily in the last couple of weeks. Over three lessons, students discovered that the images David used — green pastures, still waters, paths of righteousness — had very specific meaning based on what real shepherding looked like in the rocky, dry land of Israel. They learned that God provides for us one step at a time, and that His goodness actively pursues us wherever we go. It was a pure pleasure to see how the students have observed God providing "green pastures" in their lives💚.
Here's some questions you can use with your child at home to follow up to what we learned in school:
1. This unit took Psalm 23, a passage you might have heard before, and showed what it actually looked like on the ground in Israel — rocky hillsides, sudden floods, narrow trails. Did any of those details change the way the psalm sounds to you?
2. Your learner learned that God provides just enough for the next step, not everything at once, the same way a shepherd leads sheep from one small patch of grass to the next. Is that easy or hard for your family to trust? Why?
3. Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd — one who knows His sheep by name and lays down His life for them. What does it mean to you that Jesus knows you personally, not just as part of a group?
4. The psalm ends with the word that means God's goodness is actively chasing after us — not waiting for us to find it. Where have you seen God's goodness pursuing your family lately?
5. The three lessons covered the shepherd, the green pastures, and the paths of righteousness. Which image from Psalm 23 means the most to you right now, and why?
MATH MINUTES HOMEWORK - This coming week we will be switching from addition and subtraction to multiplication for our math fact practice at home, so please be sure your child makes that change. The mad minute will be all multiplication facts, so it is understandable if your child's score drops a bit this first week. As they spend time daily practicing the facts, we will see their scores rise (if not, we need to check on their method of practice and suggest something that yields better results😉). Thank you!
SCIENCE - We started learning about God's design of plants and people in our new science unit, Built for Survival. It has been fun to invite Maestra Damsteegt into our classroom to teach us this uint. We will continue this for four weeks total.
KINDERGARTEN BUDDIES - We are excited to share some food and fun with our kindergarten buddies over the next few weeks. First, we have a candy corn activity planned for this coming Wednesday. If you get to the store between now and then and would be willing to send in a bag or two of candy corn, we'd greatly appreciate that! Secondly, we are planning a friendship feast on November 23. Mrs. Bos has created a sign-up genius with a list of ingredients we will need for our feast. Take a look and see if/how you can help out. Thanks for your help!
DO THE HEW! - If you received a kit of energy saving supplies from the Think Energy presentation we had a couple weeks ago, there was a form called the HEW (Home Energy Worksheet) that came home with it that same day. That paper is important! Essentially it is just a survey for the company to see how much of the kit is getting used by families (honest answers are all that are required - there are no wrong answers😊, and FYI - the whole back side is optional!). But more importantly, returning that form earns our class money (like $100!). We've already decided we want to buy some cool prizes for the auction at the end of the year, so please help us meet our quota by completing that either on-line or on the paper. Bonus - every student whose family completes that form, earns a cool color changing pencil! If you've lost/thrown away your copy, please use this link to complete it on-line ASAP. Use teacher ID: 378058. Thank you! If you've already completed it, a big THANK YOU to you too! I appreciate your attention to this matter!
PAPERS THAT COME HOME - I do my best to send home much of your child's classwork so you can see how they are doing. I try to include notes on their papers to encourage them, redirect their thinking, or push them to think deeper or take another look at something. Please take time to go over your child's papers with them to celebrate their successes, and to seize opportunities to help them keep thinking/learning on that topic. I also trust that those notes and papers will help you get a feel for how your child is doing with grade level expectations. I will be working on report cards in the coming week (they will be ready by Friday the 30th), and if you're keeping an eye on your child's work, that should be an indication of what you will see on their report card. Thank you for investing this time in your child's education!
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