March 4: Commandments, Snow, and Cooperation

This week the RE kids learned about the Ten Commandments, snow, and cooperation. The K-2nd and 3rd-6th graders sang and acted out the Bible story; the preschoolers played with snow inside; and, the infants and toddlers read “Little Red Hen” and worked together on a task.

The K-2nd and 3rd-6th graders started their lesson together today to sing the classic spiritual, “Go Down Moses.” Then they each did their own reenactments of the delivery of the Ten Commandments.

Before their reenactment, the 3rd-6th graders had an extended sharing of joys and concerns. Larry and the kids had a lot of catching up to do! Then they made idols out of play dough and a village out of pillows.

The K-2nd graders went outside for their reenactment. They reviewed some of Moses’ life before getting to the Ten Commandments. William found baby Moses in the basket (in a flower bed instead of a river). Lauren was a staff that turned into a snake. Nick parted the Red Sea. Jocelyn and Molly danced in worship of a duck puppet (closest thing to a golden calf in the toy bucket!) while Leah walked up the Memorial Garden and brought back the Ten Commandments. Then the class talked about rules and responsibilities and what rules they would make if they were the leaders of a people. Not harming animals and making everything free were discussed 🙂

In the Pre-K room, Sandy made it snow! Well, she couldn’t do that, so she did the next best thing: brought shaved ice in a cooler. Jake and Owen had a blast playing with the cold snow. Sandy even built a snowman with it. Then they read stories about snow, like Keats’ The Snowy Day, and played with snow globes. They also played an I Spy memory game. Fun times!

In the nursery, Katherine and Rylee read “Little Red Hen.” Then they worked together on a block puzzle and built a tower together to knock down. It was much easier when they cooperated and combined their efforts. After their mini lesson, they played with toys, ate a snack, and colored.

If you would like to extend these lessons at home, here are some suggestions: For K-2nd and 3rd-6th graders, talk with them about the rules of your house and the responsibilities you all have as family members. When do we need rules and when is our sense of responsibility enough? For preschoolers, you can have a pretend snow day by eating crushed ice snow cones, making snow dioramas with cotton balls, and throwing homemade snow (i.e. ripped paper) in the air.  For infants and toddlers, ask for their help when you are doing household tasks. They’ll enjoy feeling important and you’ll appreciate the help!

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