Mrs. Green shared: “We are just leaving the prayer vigil for Israel and I wanted to send you this picture. It was a beautiful service where many Jewish people and non Jewish people gathered to pray. In the picture below is our friend Rabbi Moshe. Thank you for teaching your students to pray for this broken world.”
Current Events
Presidential Inauguration
After completing our chapter on the writing of the Constitution, the inauguration this week offered a perfect opportunity to discuss government together. On Thursday and Friday, we enjoyed a broadcast of the inauguration made especially for children, which included side trips to the Library of Congress to view primary documents showing the Presidential oath and the draft of Lincoln’s inaugural speech. We only had time to watch bits and pieces, so the link is here if anyone wants to watch more. We especially enjoyed the music, the National Mall of flags, identifying the branch of government of each speaker, White House pet trivia, and the poetry recitation by the Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman.
Our White House: An Inaugural Celebration for Young Americans
We loved viewing a 1789 copy of the Constitution signed by George Washington. Here is that 1:34 excerpt separated from the big program. Two hundred thirty-two years later, we heard these words again.
Library of Congress Presidential Oath of Office
We noted the great speaking techniques of Amanda Gorman, as we are beginning to memorize a poem for public speaking. We found some interesting parallels between her poem and the speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that we listened to pieces of on Monday.
“The Hills We Climb” by Amanda Gorman
We also got a bit of a chuckle over the way our Vermont United States Senator Bernie Sanders has been a big news item this week with his chair memes from the inauguration, featuring his warm New England coat and fuzzy, homemade Vermont mittens.
Even Pastor Huebner got in on the fun, with the Huebner’s pet house rooster joining in too.
. . . . And Pastor Goeppner at Riverbank has a new keyboard player!
Ships Around the World
Another current events connection , as we looked at shipping routes around the world. Using this website, you can actually choose a ship, zoom in, and see its progress hour by hour.
See ships at sea right this minute.
(Worldkids, September/October 2020, “Ships Around the World”)
As we looked at this image of a time lapse of ships on the world’s oceans in 2012, we noticed you can see the outline of the continents even without the map behind the ships! Cool.
Our current events discussions are lively and full of wonder.
Follow That Turtle!
Today in current events, we discussed an article from WorldKids called “Follow That Turtle!” Maisy is a rare hybrid sea turtle because she is a combination of green sea turtle and hawksbill sea turtle. Scientists put a satellite tracking device on Maisy when she was released back into the ocean after time in a rehab center. Here is the link to check out the live tracker for Maisy and some other sea turtles. It is pretty cool!
Sea Turtle Conservancy Sea Turtle Tracking
(Image by Pixabay)
Our Sailor Says Hi
My nephew Benjamin, who visited our class to share about the Navy and its nuclear powered ships for Veterans Day, attended the christening of the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy. He will be part of the team running sea trials as the carrier gets ready to go on missions for our country.
Teachers Have the Most Fun
Today’s current events discussion included information on why you should NOT hold in a sneeze:
“A man in Leicester, England, turned up in the emergency room. He had a hard time swallowing. He felt a popping in his swollen neck. Eventually, the patient lost his voice and spent a week in the hospital eating through a tube–all because he pinched his nose shut and closed his mouth when he needed to sneeze! . . . . . God designed sneezes to get viruses and bacteria out of our bodies. And sneezes move at about 150 miles per hour! . . . .” (World Kids, Vol. 4, No. 4, March/April 2018)
Overheard as he was walking away from our discussion:
“Ewww, I SO did NOT need to know that!”
START: Current Events Around the World!
Connection
Question: What is footy?
Answer: Australian style football! Check it out!
This week’s START featured Sports Around the World, with plenty of art, acting, and teamwork from us. A theme of thought is emerging, as each week we discover that people around the world have so much in common even if they don’t speak the same language. Human beings around the world all appreciate music, have a love of beauty, and enjoy all kinds of play. Once again, START was a highlight of our week.
Reading various types of graphs, charts, and tables is an important reading skill for us.
This photo expresses the utter engagement of START. Look at those thinking faces!
Our tremendous volunteers in action!
Current Events Around the World: Festivals!
START inspired us once again with a tour of some of the world’s festivals, including an ice sculpture festival, one on mime, and the Chinese New Year. We tried some of our own mime and sculpting, then ended by adding another verse to our world traveling song.
Music Around the World
Have you ever wondered what is number one on the music charts in Germany, India, or Peru? Well, in the grand kickoff of our “Current Events Around the World” START session, Elizabeth, Laya, and Max inspired us to move and groove to some international tunes. We did some comparing and contrasting, wondering, and listening, as well as a LOT of twirling, trotting, hopping, and expressing. Thank you, START volunteers, for sharing your passion for the beautiful world!
