Round Two…Ding!

 

Well after a nice long school holiday, the school is back open and lively with children inside.  I was thinking the transition this week would be much like the first couple weeks of school with some children being nervous or scared, but to my surprise this week was just as easy as the last week of school last term.  None of the children seemed to have any struggle coming into the the classroom or exploring the new playground out in front of the building. 

  The biggest change for the children is the new jungle gym they get to play on.  For the whole first term the children did an excellent job playing with balls and jump ropes everyday.  They were creative and had fun with each other, now they have one goal, to get down the slide before the person behind them can catch up!  Jako worked very hard to get it completed by the time we opened school Monday morning, so the monkey bars and jungle gym were functional!  The swings will hopefully be opening on Monday, maybe with the see saw as well.  What joy it is to see the children running and playing like they are…

This week the children were introduced to soooo many new things inside the classroom as well.  In the new term, Medis and I decided to add some new things to the centers and take away some things to be brought back later in the year.  One of the things that fascinated the children the most this week was the magnets in the science center.  The younger children that have never seen them before said they were “magic balls” since they stuck together without the children's help.  Some of the older children recognized them as magnets and incorporated them into the regular play.  The best part was seeing the children’s reaction when the magnets repelled each other, they had no explanation for why this is happening, but they recognized that when they put the magnets one way they “stuck together” and when they flipped one around it “moved away from” the other one. 

Another exciting moment with the children this week was watching them in the Discovery Table with water and objects that float and sink.  After assessing which ones float and which was sunk to the bottom, some of the children began to play with the whale and other fish and move the water from one container to another one.  When we asked the children why they thought some objects floated and some sunk they told us, “the ones that sank to the bottom weigh more than the ones that are floating on top.”  I am so proud of the children and the connection they make with all the items in the classroom. 

In Art Studio, the children worked very hard gluing popcorn and noodles to a piece of paper.  Since the parent conference is coming up at the end of this month, I decided to splurge and print a picture of each child working on their art work, so that the parents will be able to see what their children work on in school.  Already some parents have come in the classroom and noticed the children’s work all over the walls and have begun to ask questions about it.  The best thing in the conference will be to explain to the parents how much their children are learning at the school in their daily routines and when they play and interact with one another during the day. 

However, the highlight of my week was sharing the gospel with each child, telling them that the only way they can get into Heaven to be with God is through His Son Jesus!  We talked about the things that we some times do that God doesn’t like and why we need Jesus to help us to do the things God wants us to do.  The older children were even able to retell the story drawing the picture I drew for them and telling me how we can get to God!  What a beautiful thing to see young children understanding the truths God laid before time!  Please pray that the story will resonate with them and as we continue to tell stories about Jesus and God to them it will show them more and more who their Creator is and why they need their Savior. 

 

 

“Blessed are the feet that bring good news.”  Romans 10:13