Why does Easter matter to Christians?
This week we began our new big question.
In year 1 we searched for signs of new life and found hidden pictures. We talked about what these things show and how they link to Easter. We then drew pictures of new life on to a grass background.
In year 2 we looked at a special Easter lunchbox. There were pancakes, hot cross buns and chocolate eggs in side. We talked about what these show and why they are special at Easter time. The children then designed their own Easter lunchbox front covers and explained what they had drawn and why.
Look at some of the beautiful drawing and writing below.
Why is light important in everyday life?
Hanukkah is the Jewish festival of light.
We found out that the Maccabee army beat the king's army and then they rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. While they were rebuilding it they found a container of oil which would light the menorah for a short time. It actually stayed alight for 8 days and 8 nights which showed that God was with them and that he is everlasting.
In year 2 we drew our own menorahs and wrote about it's importance.
In year 1 we decorated a menorah and talked about what we thought about it.
Next week we will begin our new big question!
Why is light important in everyday life?
Diwali is the Hindu festival of light, it is celebrated in November.
We read the story of Rama and Sita, and found out about why Diwali is celebrated. We were all amazed by the 10 headed demon!
Year 1 acted out the story and year 2 made diva lamps out of clay.
Diva lamps are used as the people lit these to lead Rama and Sita home. The light represents good beating evil and light beating dark.
Year 1:
Year 2:
Why is light important in everyday life?
What a busy week it's been. We've all carried out our nativity plays and we were amazing!!
In R.E we talked about our plays and why we were doing them. We discussed the characters and why the story is important to Christians.
We hope you all enjoyed the performances that we put on.
After the Christmas holiday we will be continuing our enquiry about light for the first 2 weeks back. We will be finding out about 2 festivals of light from 2 different religions.
Why is light important in everyday life?
This week we had our first federation Christingle services.
Each school had a workshop where the children found out about Christingles and then made their own. The older children helped the younger children.
The Christingle was brought to England 50 years ago by the Children's Society. The Children's Society help unfortunate children and children who are on the streets.
The Christingle is made up of different elements and each one has a specific reason:
The orange represents the world that God made.
The red ring around the orange represents the blood that Jesus lost when He died on the cross, it also represents the love that God wraps around us at all times.
The four cocktail sticks represent the 4 seasons of the year.
The sweets/raisins on the cocktail sticks represent the food that God provides.
The tinfoil represent the nails that Jesus had in His hands and feet during his crucifixion, it also represents the star that shone over the stable when He was born.
The candle represents Jesus as the Light of the World.
Here are some pictures of the Year 2 children at Sutton helping Year 1 and Reception:
Our Christingle services were very special, Mrs. Elliott came in and led Hickling's service, Catfield went to the church for their service and Mrs. Holmes led Sutton's service. It was very heartwarming listening to the children sing their Christingle song with the candles alight. 4 children from each school did a reading each too, they read beautifully and with confidence.
Below are some pictures from the service at Sutton:
Why is light important in everyday life?
We found out what happens during advent and that it is a time for Christians to prepare for Jesus' birth.
Lots of us said that we use advent calendars to count down to Christmas day. Churches and many families use an advent wreath to count down the 4 weeks of advent.
The Sunday closest to 30th November, is the first Sunday of advent. The first candle on the advent wreath is lit, another candle is lit over the following 3 weeks with a fifth one (a white candle) being lit on Christmas day. Each candle has it's own meaning.
Candles:
1: Hope “Hope is like a light shining in a dark
place. As we look at this candle we celebrate the hope we have in Jesus
Christ”.
2: Peace “Peace is like a light shining in a dark
place. As we look at the candle we
celebrate the peace we find in Jesus Christ”.
3: Love “Love is like a candle shining in a dark
place. As we look at the light of this candle we celebrate the love we
have in Christ”.
4: Joy “Joy is like a light shining in a dark
place. As we look at the candle we
celebrate the joy we find in Jesus Christ”.
5: Jesus “The
flame of this candle reminds us of that He is the light of the world and that if we follow Him, we will
never walk in darkness, but will have the true light of life”.
We collected greenery from our outside area, used florist oasis, 4 red candles and 1 white candle to work in groups to make some advent wreaths.
At Hickling, pre-school came over to join us, it was great to see them working with everyone.
