Spreading Kindness

What a blessing to witness our heroes spread kindness wherever they go! You would hear them using kind words when they talk to their friends. One hero wholeheartedly gives compliments to her friends. Another hero joyfully offers a helping hand to another during clean up, regardless who made the mess. One hero resolves conflicts in kindness. It is so wonderful to also hear stories from home when our Journey Academy heroes spread kindness to their families.  We have been reflecting each day during our discussions on how we will try a little kindness during the day. Then we close our days with multiple reports of how their friends showed them kindness and how friends encouraged them with kind words.

Our heroes are becoming such creative and enthusiastic storytellers. They all eagerly await their turns to be the storyteller throughout the week. Every storyteller picks such engaging books to read to their friends, capturing the audience’s attention with their own enthusiasm in the way they read their books. They pick books they can read on their own from Kids a-z, followed by some comprehension questions for friends. Sometimes they pick an audiobook from epic or Starfall. Many friends also pick marine science books and share all their knowledge about their favorite ocean creatures. Then, they are eager to listen to the next chapter in Mr. Popper’s Penguins, using their imagination since chapter books do not have many pictures. Yet this does not dampen our young readers’ fascination for Mr. Popper’s Penguins.

Our heroes are becoming spelling masters when we practice spelling on the whiteboard. They are learning to stretch their words, identify their beginning and ending sounds, and listen to the vowel sounds carefully.  They are also reminding each other how to spell common sight words.

Our heroes have been discovering many marine animals in every ocean around the world. They have been researching for the most interesting ocean creatures to add to our ocean murals. They have also been adding their very own undiscovered ocean creatures and have named themselves just like how marine biologists and explorers do.

 Our field trip to John Ball Zoo was another opportunity for our heroes to spread kindness. They were sincerely concerned for the welfare of the animals that they were excited to clean up around the zoo and fill their bags with litter.

Our heroes had an invaluable time with their EMS buddies as Bible Buddies this week. Our early learners have been reading Galatians so they showed their buddies the chapters that we have finished. And what a blessing to hear the older heroes read the Word of God with love and compassion for their little buddies. No wonder Journey Academy heroes are overflowing with kindness for they are filled with the power of the Word of God!