December 7

Candy Canes

I shared the story of the candy cane with your children through story and art.


Look at the candy cane,
What do you see?
Stripes that are red,
Like the blood shed for me.

White is for my savior
Who’s sinless and pure,
“J” is for Jesus, my Lord,
That’s for sure!

Turn it around
And a staff you will see,
Jesus my shepherd
Was born for me!

December 3

Book Review

While I was traveling over Thanksgiving, I read The Bronze Bow.  I enjoyed reading a well-written piece of children’s literature that helps children understand the life and teachings of Jesus.  This book is usually read in Middle School, but I know many of you have older children, so I wanted to share it with you.

Overview
He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. –from the Song of David (2 Samuel 22:35)
The Bronze Bow, written by Elizabeth George Speare (author of The Witch of Blackbird Pond) won the Newbery Medal in 1962. This gripping, action-packed novel tells the story of eighteen-year-old Daniel bar Jamin—a fierce, hotheaded young man bent on revenging his father’s death by forcing the Romans from his land of Israel. Daniel’s palpable hatred for Romans wanes only when he starts to hear the gentle lessons of the traveling carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth. A fast-paced, suspenseful, vividly wrought tale of friendship, loyalty, the idea of home, community . . . and ultimately, as Jesus says to Daniel on page 224: “Can’t you see, Daniel, it is hate that is the enemy? Not men. Hate does not die with killing. It only springs up a hundredfold. The only thing stronger than hate is love.”

Words from the Author:
I was teaching a Sunday School class at the time, and I longed to lift the personality of Jesus off the flat and lifeless pages of our textbook. I wanted to give my pupils,and others like them, a glimpse of the divided and turbulent society of Palestine, an occupied country with many parallels in our own day. And I wanted to stir in them some personal sharing of what must have been the response of boys and girls who actually saw and heard the Carpenter from Nazareth.

See the source image

Interest Level- Grades 6 – 8
Reading Level
Grade level Equivalent: 6.5
Lexile Measure®: 760L
Guided Reading:  U

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November 22

Persuasive Turkeys

We are learning to put together a paragraph with a main idea, supporting details, and a closing sentence. Our first published attempt was this persuasive paragraph. So pleased with their first effort!

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