The Gift of Family

Today we had the incredible opportunity to grow our family at Journey Academy as we celebrated Siblings Day! Siblings were given challenges throughout the morning to earn “Sibling Day Hero Bucks.” Once all six challenges were accomplished, they had the opportunity to cash them in for a treat. The siblings might be tired after a long, exhaustive game of Forever Freeze Tag during P.E. too. We thank you, siblings, for visiting us this morning. We loved having you join the EMS studio today!  

Siblings Day silly pose!

Reading with our siblings!

The entomologist heroes continue to make daily observations of ants working together, mealworms resting on sweet potatoes or lettuce, and chrysalids beginning to wiggle. The transformation of metamorphosis taking place in the studio reminds us of 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV), “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” We are made new in His image!

Getting ready for butterflies!

Though the forecast on Wednesday was showing a possibility of rain for most of our trip at Blandford Nature Center, we were thankful to experience only a little bit of rain at the beginning. The heroes enjoyed getting off of the trail to search for insects under logs, on the ground, and on trees. Some of the highlights included finding what looked like small volcanoes in the meadow made by crayfish, and taking two Chinese mantis nests full of eggs back to the studio. In the next week, they should hatch.

Exploring the meadow at Blandford Nature Center!

In writer’s workshop on Wednesday, heroes read their autobiography draft to the studio. At the end of each reading the heroes gave peer edits using a “warm – cool – warm” technique (positive – critique – positive). In other news, the heroes continue to travel back in time and have entered 1600 A.D. for civilization. This week they discovered who Queen Elizabeth was, as well as learning about England’s greatest playwright, William Shakespeare.

At the beginning of the week the heroes were challenged to build an Encouragement Tower using Legos. Each time a hero wrote a character callout or say something kind about another hero, the hero that provided encouragement added a Lego to the tower. It started with nothing and grew throughout the entire week.

The EMS “Encouragement Tower!”

Have You Asked Your Hero:

1. What is happening to the chrysalids?
2. What a Chinese mantis nest looks like?
3. When and where the exhibition is?
4. How many siblings visited this morning?