manna momentThe psalmist challenges us to "taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). Like Sam in Green Eggs and Ham, David is appealing to his audience to try something new- to put their faith and trust in the Lord who provides both healing and refuge. Like David, we want you to do more than just hear that God is the giver of good gifts, we want you to know it for yourselves and to share it with others. Opening Activity- Five Gifts Review Cards This will be our third time to use these cards to review what we have been learning these past twelve weeks. The first time, I had them place them in order like they have in their student guidebook all the while talking and reviewing the different activities we did with them. The second time, I had them flip the cards over and try to place them in order. This time, they were familiar with the job they had to do in sorting the different science concepts into the appropriate gift and even recalling some of the manna moments associated with those gifts.
 storytime I admit, this might not be your first pick for a final week of learning about the five senses, yet there are several discussions related to the senses that you can have with your student using this book. One of the several discussions you can have is how our gift of sight plays a role in whether we want to eat something or not. Is it possible for something to look awful and taste wonderful? Is it possible to not like something you have never tasted? (Isn't this a common battle parents have with their children?). And how many times will a child like a food once they tried it? I like to use this book as an example of trying new foods. Not much to lose and so much to gain. Plus, pulling in the manna moment thinking of those that love to tell people about Jesus, they are like Sam. Always pursuing in the nicest and most polite ways. Once a person has tasted and seen the Lord, they would be saying, "Say, I love Jesus here and there, I love Him while I am in a box or with a fox" etc. Class investigation- The taste of green Do green eggs taste the same or different than yellow eggs? A little background research: Sensory organs on our tongue detect acids, sugars, and other strong tastes. Our brain manages a large and growing library of different familiar tastes. Sometimes our other senses, like our sense of sight can help our brain go to the right folder faster. Sometimes, if something doesn't quite look the way we remember it, our other senses may affect one another. The student's then had to make a hypothesis about whether the green eggs would taste the same as yellow eggs. On their investigation sheet, there is a place where they can circle. There are a few ways you can give this to the students. You can blindfold them so that they can taste both without knowing which group of eggs are green or you can do it without blindfolds and hope for the best. I love how this investigation sheet has a section for collecting data. The students in the class can raise their hand if they thought they tasted the same and we can count and document that in a blank. Then we can calculate the ones who thought they tasted different. Lastly, there is a space to draw their conclusions based on the data we gathered and a follow up question to see if their hypothesis was correct or not. Here are our results: I chose not to blindfold the students so they were fully aware of what they were eating. I made the green eggs by blending eggs with spinach. There were many naysayers in this class that were very resistant to eating the green eggs I had prepared but alas, every student did try them and 8 out of 9 thoroughly enjoyed them. Most of them said that they tasted the same as the regular yellow eggs. One said that the green eggs tasted like it had cabbage. After the students had all had their fill of eggs, I told them about the spinach and they all groaned. It was pretty funny. Kids really do like spinach deep down.
 Another student that preferred to eat the green eggs before the yellow ones.
She was reluctant and expressive yet while everyone was enjoying their eggs, she grabbed some bravery, tried them and gave me a thumbs up!!! Yay!!!  Finally, my most reluctant and most expressive student tried the eggs after I said I would take a picture to show his mom. He said they tasted like the yellow ones with cabbage. I then told him it wasn't cabbage but spinach and he didn't take another bite. Oops! i am thankful for my five gifts While I was cooking up the eggs, I had the students review one last time the five gifts and paste them to their thankful hand as an easy way to remember them. Since we just celebrated Thanksgiving last week, I thought this was a wonderful way to finish our exploration of the Five Gifts God has given us to explore His world.
jelly belly timeAs a small gift to the students for all their learning this semester, I gave them each a small bag of jelly bellies to practice using their senses with as we prepare for another unit on Creation Science. Five Gifts Curriculum Here is the full curriculum for $30 on our TpT website. Download and explore.
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manna momentEcclesiastes 4:9-10- "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!" This scripture highlights the benefits of working together. Our gift of taste benefits from working with our gift of smell. Likewise, our bodies work together beautifully so that we can play, learn, and enjoy life. The church is compared to a body, whose different parts and roles are meant to work together towards the goal of bringing the Kingdom of God here. This is mentioned in detail in 1 Corinthians 12:14-17. "For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less apart of the body..." Opening Activity: A slice of a Different appleUsing our gifts, we made observations about different kinds of apples. During this time of year, there are many apples to choose from and any assortment would work. I tried to pull out the tangiest, the sweetest, and the most crisp.
 Storytime- 3 in 1 This book relates the parts of an apple and its growing cycle to the parts of the Holy Trinity. And while this model has limitations it is a tangible illustration of who God is. The parallel reminds me of when Jesus would teach His disciples and others about the principles of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is something we can't fully grasp and yet Jesus taught in parables with everyday occurrences that the people could relate to. So that those with ears to hear and eyes to see would believe that Jesus was the Son of God.  The peel, the flesh ,and the core are all parts of the apple but it is not three apples. Those parts all have different jobs to do and they work together beautifully. Class investigation: A tale of Two senses Does my sense of smell affect my sense of taste? Sensory organs in our nose help us distinguish between different types of smells. Similarly, sensory organs on our tongue detect acids, sugars, and other strong tastes. The foods I used to discover sweet, salty, bitter and sour are milk chocolate, pretzels, unsweetened cocoa powder, and lemon slices. First, I had the students taste each food and then color the emoji face they felt like matched the taste. Then I used some nose plugs (the kind you would use for swimming) and had them again taste the foods to see if they could taste a difference.
 This student wanted to be without hearing and smelling for a time today during class. :) I have tried this activity in the past having the students just hold their nose and it hasn't been effective. I have tried it with clothespins and those hurt the student's noses. So finally, I found these swimming nose plugs with cushions and they were able to tolerate them better. Some students said that they could not tell the difference between the tastes with the nose plug and without (the unsweetened cocoa was still bitter no matter if they were wearing the nose plugs or not).
 meal time scavenger hunt It is Thanksgiving week and I am so thankful for the five gifts that God has given us to explore His world. This is a Meal time Scavenger hunt where the students can practice all the gifts we have been learning about with their Thanksgiving meal. If you are participating in this at another time of year, you can do this with any meal. Have fun and delight in the gifts of the Lord.
Manna Moment:Jesus was a fragrant offering for us both in sacrificial death and in life as he walked in love (Ephesians 5:2). Through Jesus our Savior and the Holy Spirit, we have the power to be a fragrant offering to God and others as we say kind things and serve others for Jesus. Five Gifts Review Cards Now that we know four out of the five gifts God has given us to explore His world, we will test our knowledge. I used these same cards in a previous lesson but this time, the cards will be turned over and as the students reveal what is on the other side, they will have to be like scientists and classify and sort the different gifts, science concepts and manna moments that go with each picture.
STorytime- My Five Senses by Aliki My favorite part about this book is towards the end when it gives examples of how you can be using more than one gift (sense) at a time. This opens the door for us to evaluate as a class different scenarios that we are commonly in and name the senses we are using. I made up some examples also for them to practice pinpointing which sense they were using.  I couldn't resist reading this book along with My Five Senses book for class today. It's too funny all the different adjectives for the less-than-pleasant smells that are abundant in this book. All the students enjoyed it. Scented Cloud Dough investigation Last week I had mentioned adding scents to a scent library that we have in our brains. Today, I presented three different kinds of scented cloud dough for them to play with and determine from their scent library what they smell like the most. First, we made some predictions about what we thought it might smell like from just what it looked like. Certain colors of items remind us of certain smells. Next, I had the students squish and squash their cloud dough to make a prediction about what smell is contained within the dough. They were to circle their answers on their investigation sheet.
 Making Scented Flowers We want to be fragrant offerings to God and to others by the way we love. I had the students glue mini muffin cups to their bouquet and place scented cotton balls in each muffin cup. I hope that this reminds them that they can be a fragrant offering to their moms and dads too. Smells can often remind us of warm memories that we have had with people and this is sweet.
manna moment2 Corinthians 2:15 - " For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." Offerings in the Bible were described as a pleasing aroma and a fragrant offering to the Lord. God has given us noses to be able to smell and understand how our sweetest offerings can bless Him. Storytime Rose has a tremendously sensitive nose and this difference attracted teasing from her siblings even though she used her gift to help them find their lost things. She saved the day when she found a precious little one who had gotten lost. What gifts the Lord has granted to us, that we might share them others around us. scent in a jar Using empty spice containers, make some scents in a jar. Different scents that you can use are: lemon, peppermint, and lavender essential oils, cinnamon, coffee grounds, and nutmeg. If you choose to use these scents, we have made cards that can help you with this activity. Place labels on the bottoms of the containers to identify the scents correctly.    popcorn investigation How can we use our senses to describe our observations? We made observations about the popcorn kernals before they popped, during their popping and when they finished popping. We talked about what we saw, how they felt, what it sounded like and how they smelled. We compared the taste to see if one popcorn kernal tasted the same as another kernal. God created our body to be able to collect all kinds of information about the world around us. Using our gifts/senses, we can collect this information and begin to understand a little more of our world. With this appreciation, we can give thanks, and be able to understand a little more about our world.
What a blessing to be able to share God's gifts with others!
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LEAD LEARNERWelcome! My name is Nicole Fleming and I have been leading science learning in the Bryan/College Station homeschool community for over 10 years. Archives
November 2022
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