For our short week this week, we are going to listen and look for the sound of Cc and play camping!
Our KDI of the week is Pretend Play- Children express and represent what they observe, think, imagine and feel through pretend play. We'll have lots of time playing in and with tents and camping equipment to pretend we are camping!
Table Activities- This week we will have Small World camping play, playing with little tents indoors, making a pretend campfire with sticks and torn tissue paper, and making smore stacks.
Small Group Activities- This week we will make our own cup lanterns and add Cc is for camping to our journals.
Large Group- A big tent will be set up outside to play in and around to pretend camp. We will be outside these two days, so make sure to wear rainboots or shoes that can get wet and send along a rain coat. We will camp even in the rain!
Books of the Week- "Fred and Ted Go Camping" by Peter Eastman and "Monster and Mouse Go Camping" by Deborah Underwood.
Bible Story- This week we see Joseph's dreams come true. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He became a slave in the house of Potiphar and was made the head slave. Then Potiphar's wife told lies about him and he ended up being thrown in jail. While he was in jail, he became the head prisoner and helped those who were in charge of keeping him imprisoned. He also used the gift of dreams God had given him to tell two others who were imprisoned what they're dreams meant. The wine taster of Pharaoh had been imprisoned. He had a dream that he took grapes, squeezed them into a goblet and gave it to Pharaoh and Pharaoh drank it. Joseph told them that his dream meant that he would get out of prison and return to working for Pharaoh. The baker for Pharaoh had a dream that he was carrying baskets of bread on his head and birds came and ate it all. Joseph told him that his dream meant that he would be put to death. That dream also came true. Then Pharaoh himself starting having crazy dreams. He dreamed that 7 fat cows were grazing by the banks of the Nile River when 7 skinny cows came out of the river and ate the fat cows but didn't get any fatter themselves. Then Pharaoh had a dream that 7 fat heads of wheat were eaten by 7 skinny heads of wheat but didn't get any fatter. When Pharaoh's whole household was disturbed by the dreams and Pharaoh's worry over them, the wine taster remembered Joseph who had told him his dream's meaning. Pharaoh sent for Joseph and Joseph told the Pharaoh his dreams and their meanings. Egypt was going to be given 7 years of plenty, lots of food, lots of rain, healthy animals. Then, they would experience 7 years of famine- no food, no rain, animals sick and dying. Joseph suggested they set up storehouses for the over abundance of food in the years of plenty and give it to the people in the years of famine. Pharaoh was amazed at such a good idea, that he took Joseph from the prison and made him second in command of all Egypt! Joseph adopted the Egyptian style of dress and appearance and oversaw all the storehouses and the distribution of food during the famine.
Egypt wasn't the only region experiencing famine. Joseph's home, where his father and brothers still lived, also had no rain and no food. The brothers heard about Egypt having extra grain for sale and begged their father to allow them to go and purchase food. He let them go, but kept his youngest son, Benjamin, home with him. When they arrived in Egypt, they had to appear before Joseph. They didn't recognize him, but he recognized them. They bowed down to him to beg for food. He treated them harshly, testing to see how they'd react. They were humbled. He made his brother Simeon stay behind. He quizzed his brothers on their family, finding out his father was still living and that his younger brother, Benjamin, had not come along. He told his brothers that they needed to return with Benjamin in order to have Simeon released. The brothers returned home and when they opened their bags of grain, they found the money they had paid for the grain returned to them.
They were spooked, they didn't know what was going on. They begged their father to let them take Benjamin. He was very reluctant. Finally, Judah gave his father his own sons in trust if anything happened to Benjamin. At last they were on their way back to Egypt. When they arrived, they were taken to Joseph's own home and seated in order from oldest to youngest and reunited with Simeon. Joseph was secretly watching how Benjamin, his father's new favorite, was being treated. He ordered his servants to feed his brothers and to give Benjamin a double portion of everything- were his brothers jealous? He saw no evidence that they were. He had one more test. He provided the brothers with their grain, put their money back in their sacks and in Benjamin's sack, put his own silver goblet. He let them begin their journey home. Then he and his security chased them down and ordered them to stop. He accused them of stealing from his home when he had been so gracious to them. They denied it and invited him to search their sacks- he did and found the money and the goblet in Benjamin's sack. What would they do? Turn Benjamin in and let him be punished? They defended Benjamin and offered themselves to be arrested, even killed in his place. Joseph finally knew they had changed! They weren't the same men who had sold him into slavery! God had humbled them and changed them. Joseph finally revealed who he was to them. They were still scared and thought he would take revenge. He assured them he would not, but sent them to fetch his father and their families so they could live in Egypt and never go hungry again!
Amazing that Joseph forgave and God changed! God can do more than we can ask or imagine!!
Some pictures from our rockin' week!
