In September, when I started Kindergarten with Juanito, we began learning some hymns along with the stories of the hymn writers. I thought that it would be fun to adapt these stories to letters for our Compassion kids, and to make sure to include sheet music because Jill, who blogs at Compassion Family, pointed out that someone at the project might be able to read and play the music! The hymn stories are combined quotes from Hymns for a Kid's Heart and Hymnary. In November, I sent Holy, Holy, Holy, and this month I am sending A Mighty Fortress is Our God.
Juanito, Rosie and I are learning some hymns and we are also learning about the people who wrote the hymns. I thought you might enjoy the hymns and stories also. Today I would like to share the hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."
John Julian wrote: "[Martin Luther was] born at Eisleben [Germany], Nov. 10, 1483; entered the University of Erfurt; became an Augustinian monk, 1505; ordained priest, 1507; published his 95 Theses, 1517; translated the Bible into German, 1521-34; and died at Eisleben, Feb. 18, 1546."
Bobbie Wolgemuth wrote: "A boy named Martin Luther had a beautiful voice and loved to sing. He was sad that people didn't have Bibles and that they didn't sing at church. Only the boys who knew Latin could be in the choir. Martin Luther was so filled with God's music that he couldn't help but sing all the time. He wanted his friends who spoke only German to be able to sing too. Martin used his beautiful voice to sing all around the town to anyone who would listen... As Martin Luther grew up, he continued to use his musical talents and carefully listened to God. God gave him a wonderful idea. Martin knew how to put the words of Latin into Germano so all the people could read the Bible and sing songs in their own language. Then God gave Martin the courage to print Bibles and hymnbooks. Luther told dads, moms, and children that they could read and sing God's words in their own homes anytime they wanted to, from their own Bible and hymnbooks. He told them they didn't have to pay money for God's free gift of salvation. This made some of the selfish people very angry. They wanted to punish the parents. They made a law saying that anyone caught with one of these Bibles or hymnbooks could be put in jail. Sometimes they knocked on the doors of homes where parents were reading the Bible or singing from the hymnbooks and took the books away and threw them into a big bonfire. Isn't that sad? What would you do if someone took your Bible away from you? What if they told you you couldn't sing Christian songs? I'll tell you what Martin Luther and all the other brave Christians did. They just printed more Bibles and hymnbooks. They told the people to trust God, read the Bibles, and sing hymns. Their ideas changed the church forever in a moment called the Reformation."
Much love,
Hannah
You can find the sheet music and lyrics on Hymnary. And I created the pretty sheet of lyrics using Canva (if you would like to download my design for yourself, click here).
For our animal, I wrote about beavers since my friend Helen had sent me some fun photos that she had taken! I find beavers fascinating and thought the kids might enjoy hearing about them too. The information is from BioKids and National Geographic Kids and the activity page can be found here.
Dear Name,
I wanted to share some about an animal that is native to my country, called a beaver! My friend Helen took some very nice photos of beavers that she saw, and I thought you might enjoy them too. I used to see beavers and their dams frequently when I lived in Massachusetts. I have not seen them since moving to Florida. My uncle used to have a lot of trouble because there was a river outside his house. Beavers liked to build dams in the river, and the river would flood his house! Finally, with the help of others, he caught the beavers and moved them to another location.
National Geographic Kids writes, "Beavers are the largest rodents (gnawing animals) in North America and the second largest in the world, behind the South American capybara. Beavers are powerful swimmers that can swim underwater for up to 15 minutes. As the beaver dips underwater, the nose and ears shut to keep water out. Transparent inner eyelids also close over each eye to help the beaver see."
And BioKids says, "Beavers live in lodges. They will either live in one built on an island, one built on the shore of a pond, or one built on a lakeshore. The lodge has one main room with its floor above water. There are two entrances to the lodge. The lodge is oven-shaped, and is made of sticks, grass, moss, and mud. The inside room may be 8 feet wide and up to 3 ft high. Over the years beavers add more sticks and mud. This makes the lodge larger. The floor of the lodge is covered in bark, grass, and wood chips. The pond lodge is built either a short way back from the edge of the bank, or partly hanging over it, with the front wall built up from the bottom of the pond. The lake lodge is built on the shelving shores of lakes. To ensure adequate water depth surrounding the lodge, beavers dam streams with logs, branches, mud, and stones."
Do you have a rodent that is native to your country? We have many rodents in the USA including beavers, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, gophers, prairie dogs, mice, voles, porcupines, and shrews!
Love,
Hannah
Happy Writing!
