Field Trip Fun!

 May 6-10  Best Choice (Repeat article)

In May, we welcome an educator from Best Choice to lead our Religion classes.  Through this program, students will be involved in active discussions about setting goals, healthy relationships, puberty, and making God-pleasing decisions. The Best Choice program is designed to encourage children to make lifelong commitments to building relationships, making informed choices, choosing abstinence before marriage, and avoiding risky behaviors.

 

To help you prepare for discussions with your child at home, here are the topics Best Choice has used in the past.   During the week of lessons, I will update you daily with our discussions.  Classes start Monday, May 3 for 4 lessons (not Wednesday).  I pray that you use these as opportunities to open the dialogue with your child and share your values with them.  Research shows parents are still the number one influence on their teens!  Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

**Goals, Risky Behaviors, and Decision Making

** Respect, Friendships, and Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships, Refusal Skills

**Male/Female Puberty  

**Media Influence, Emotional Consequences, Boundaries, and Avoidance Techniques 

**Recognizing Your Value and Shaping Your Future by Making Positive Choices 

Tuck Everlasting

WHAT IF YOU COULD LIVE FOREVER????  In Literature, students have begun the novel,  Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt.  Kids are leading small group discussions in "book club" format, with the roles of Discussion Director, Passage Picker, Connector, Illustrator, and Word Wizard.  We will be exploring the literary elements of foreshadowing, character development, motive, and universal theme as the characters ponder the benefits and downfalls of living forever.  It will be exciting to look at the novel through the eyes of faith as we discussed God's original design in Eden as well as our eternal life in the heavenly home he has prepared for us.  Students are discovering the blessings God gives us in this life through the many stages we live and even more blessings to be received in eternity with Him!  We will culminate the novel with creative projects.

READING IS INDEPENDENT for much of the book.  An audio version is available on GC through youtube (search title and chapter).  

WHAT A DAY!!

God blessed us with an overcast day an just a few sprinkles for our adventures.  Our first stop, the MO Veterans Memorial, was a powerful part of our day and the students got to see a beautiful way to honor our military.  We saw a video, learned the story of making of the wall as well as several people memorialized there, did a scavenger hunt in the museum, and used thewall-usa.com/ to find the name of a soldier, chaplain, and nurse on the wall and learn their story.    I highly recommend a trip there for your family.

Then we drove another 30 minutes to Altenburg where we toured Trinity Lutheran Church (c.1867) and the log cabin that had been the first seminary.  Our Lutheran historians were wonderful storytellers who made the history of the Saxon immigrants come to life for us.  How amazing to see God's care for his people despite many hardships.  Finally we headed to Saxon Memorial.  At the homestead, we picnicked, tried a few typical kids' chores, saw cabins, a blacksmith shop, carpentry shop and more.   Of course the kids' favorite was play time and social time on the bus.  Thanks to the parents who chaperoned and helped make the day run smoothly.  Thanks to Zion Parent Teacher League for sponsoring our comfy bus - we rode in style!