Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a blessed and safe Christmas. I pray that brighter days are ahead for this next year of life. Nevertheless, we will continue to march forward and focus on the many blessing God has given us. Here are the updates for this week. As you might imagine, the only quizzes this week are memory verses for the sixth and eighth grade religion classes.
6th Religion
This week we will be finishing up our second unit with three very exciting lessons on the fall of Jericho, Deborah, and Samson- always a crowd favorite. The common theme among these three lessons is to trust God above all. His plans might be unconventional, but He is always at work for the good of His people. The memory verse for this week shares this message, “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established,” Proverbs 16:3. As usual, the quiz will be on Thursday.
6th Social Studies
In social studies this week, we are beginning a very exciting new unit: Ancient China! We will start with studying the geography, and then work our way through the Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties. The student will also attempt Chinese calligraphy.
7th Social Studies
I have waited for this week in seventh grade social studies all year- We will finally get into the early days of the movement toward independence and the American Revolution. We will start off with the inaccurately named French and Indian War, which sets up the colonies for a movement toward independence due to all the taxes levied by the British government. In this chapter we will hit some of the highlights of early American history- the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere’s ride, and the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
8th Social Studies
This chapter in eighth grade social studies is yet another of my favorites: The Progressive Era. We will study the changes made by Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, William H. Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. This chapter really establishes many ideas and laws that brought the U.S. into the modern age- women’s suffrage, food and drug safety, empowerment of voters, and empowerment of consumers.
8th Religion
This week we will be starting fresh with the first lesson of unit 3: The conquest of Canaan. In this unit we will get into studying the book of Judges, and the people God used to lead His people. We will see how God uses unlikely people and means to accomplish His will, as seen in the stories of Deborah and Gideon. The memory verse for this week is very encouraging and goes along with this theme, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,” Joshua 1:9. As usual, the quiz will be on Friday.