GOD CALLS ME WONDERFUL!

PSALM 139

For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are marvelous. I know that full well.

Elementary art students spent a few weeks learning about the science and structure of snowflakes. Each snowflake is one of a kind: no two snowflakes are alike. 

We are also unique, one of a kind, created by an awesome God who doesn't make mistakes. He calls us marvelous and wonderful because He made us! 

Psalm 139 is such an encouragement, reminding us that wherever we go, God is with us. 

His thoughts for us even outnumber the grains of sand! 

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, You are there. If I make my bed in the depths, You are there. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me!"

After learning that every snowflake starts out in the same shape, a 6-sided hexagon, students tried drawing different versions of a dendrite. We drew a vertical line, an "X" through the center, and then constructed a small hexagon on this "snowflake skeleton." Students could then get creative with designing each snowflake in different ways, adding shapes or lines to make them as fancy as they wanted! 

We also enjoyed adding liquid watercolor to these drawings, mixing and swirling the colors to create a sense of movement. Salt was then sprinkled onto the wet paintings to create a textured, crystalline effect. Students were fascinated to see the salt absorbing the liquid watercolor and even more surprised to see what these paintings looked like when they dried! 

After experimenting with drawing and painting snowflakes, we tried making some cut-paper designs based on a circle template. Students folded the circle into thirds and then cut shapes out of the folds to reveal a beautiful dendrite with 6 branches. 4th and 5th graders folded theirs an extra time to make 12 branches! Every single snowflake was beautiful and unique. 

We are marvelous because God made us! He knows us inside and out, better than our parents know us and better than we know ourselves. He doesn't make mistakes! God has made each person unique, with special gifts. What makes you unique? You may not know what your gifts are yet, but they are there! Some people have the gift of encouragement, or of prayer, or of hospitality or generosity. There are many, many different gifts. God made you special and He loves you very much! Just like each tiny snowflake is unique, we are all different and beautiful. Bob the Tomato learns that he is special in the video below, "Veggie Tales: God Made You Special, Bob's Vacation."

Students chose their favorite set of snowflakes for our hallway display next to the front office. We are proud of your creativity and hard work, kids! 

You have searched me, Lord,

    and you know me.

2 

You know when I sit and when I rise;

    you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 

You discern my going out and my lying down;

    you are familiar with all my ways.

4 

Before a word is on my tongue

    you, Lord, know it completely.

5 

You hem me in behind and before,

    and you lay your hand upon me.

6 

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

    too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, 

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place, 

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thought, God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand-

when I awake, I am still with you. 

For one final experiment, 4th and 5th graders traced a paper snowflake onto black paper, then used liquid glue over these lines. When the glue dried, it made a barrier for the pastel colors, revealing an interesting snowflake design. Students enjoyed blending pastel colors on these patterns. 

PAPER SNOWFLAKE MAKER: DIGITAL ART

BIBLE CONNECTIONS: Psalm 139

MATH - fractions, hexagons, radial symmetry, pattern, shape

SCIENCE - water molecules, freezing, states of matter, effects of the environment on the shape of the snowflake (humidity, wind, air pressure, temperature, etc.), absorption when salt absorbs liquid watercolor 

TECHNOLOGY/HISTORY: Snowflake Bentley's use of a microscope and camera to capture the first images of snowflakes in the 1880's, now displayed at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.

LITERATURE: children's book - Snowflake Bentley, by Jacqueline Briggs Martin