Homeschool Night at the Ballpark!

Saturday, August 29 was Homeschool Night at Chase Field, and Tapestry of the Desert was there to cheer the Diamondbacks on to a huge 9-0 victory! We all had a great time together: watching the game, laughing, cheering and winning great prizes! It was a special night honoring Luis Gonzalez, who is returning to the Diamondbacks as the Special Assistant to the President. The kids especially enjoyed seeing Baxter, the Taco Bell characters and they loved the fountains in the pool that erupted when the Diamondbacks hit a home run! What a fun night!

Co-op In Review: August 26, 2009

Co-op this week sure did get off to a 'sweet' start! Debbie and Mitchell Woodford greeted us in the Commons with plates of delicious chocolate chip cookies! It was a very yummy way to thank us for the Art Show Benefit. Thanks Debbie and Mitch--it was not necessary to do this, but we do appreciate it! After filling up on cookies and having recess and lunch, it was time to get to work! For the first time, the Tapestry of the Desert Co-op had a time of worshipping God through song during our large group time. It was wonderful! Mrs. Reynolds brought her guitar and led the classes through 'Jesus Paid It All.' The kids did a great job singing from their hearts! After Mrs. Nail led us through our memory work and artist study, it was time for the bigger kids to head upstairs to their classes. The Upper Tapestry class talked about gold and money. The kids were able to hold an ounce of gold and we analyzed charts showing the rise of the value of gold over the past 10 years. The Lower Tapestry boys took an in depth look at the Klondike Gold Rush. They mapped the route to the Klondike, made a poster about the Gold Rush and then created newspaper headlines announcing that riches can be found in the Yukon. Then the Lower and Upper Tapestry kids joined together to hunt for gold in the hills of EVBC. They enjoyed the hike and the hunt, and sure did have it easier than the prospectors did over a hundred years ago! After returning from staking their claims, the kids designed their own coins, using clay. Downstairs, the two younger classes were having fun too! The Five in A Row class read 'The Finest Horse In Town' and they made adorable horses out of construction paper and used yarn to created the manes. The littlest class, Before Five in A Row, read 'Blueberries for Sal.' They then created original works of art using blue paint and blueberries!

Sunshine Acres Field Trip, August 19, 2009

On Wednesday, August 19, the Tapestry of the Desert co-op went on their first field trip of the school year, to Sunshine Acres Children's Home in Mesa.  We were expecting to simply take a tour of the facility. But, instead we witnessed first hand the body of Christ working to give homes to the homeless, families to those without stable family lives, and hope to children who otherwise may never hear of God's love for them.  I think we were all in awe of the generosity and sacrifice of so many people who help make Sunshine Acres the safe haven that it has been for the past 55 years. We were able to see the barn and stables, skate park, a boys' house and a girls' house and the dining hall.  Our tour guide, Marsha, was wonderful.  She gave very honest descriptions of the facility, it's residents and workers.  And was happy to answer all of our questions--all while giving the kids from the co-op just the right amount of information.  Our studies in history touched on a very sad topic this week--the orphan trains.  Around the turn of the century, there were many abandoned children living on the streets of New York City.  The Orphan Train Movement was created to provide homes for these orphans and for others, by taking them on a train ride throughout the country to meet potential new adoptive families. Our goal in taking the kids to tour Sunshine Acres was to give them a modern day context regarding orphans and disadvantaged children.  But, most of all, our hope is that their hearts would be opened to others in need and that they will learn to look outside of themselves to see a hurting world--yet know that there are many real ways that they can help.

Co-op In Review: August 12, 2009

Week 2 is in the books!  Co-op started as usual with lunch in the commons, playtime in the field and then we gathered as a large group in room 116.  Mrs. Glazier was the large group teacher. We prayed, said the Pledge of Allegiance, had a brief time of review and then continued with our artist study, Mary Cassatt.  The kids had fun trying to remember the details of her painting, "The Boating Party."  Then we split the kids up into their "class" groups.  The littlest kids, Before Five in a Row, learned all about bunnies.  They read "The Little Rabbit" and "Busy Bunnies".  They learned to act like bunnies, learned to care for bunnies and made cottonball bunnies.  The older preschool class, Five in A Row, read a Winnie the Pooh story called "The One Which Pooh and Piglet Build a House for Eeyore" and created cool 3-D dioramas of Eeyore and his home.  The Lower Grammar boys learned about a wealthy philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie.  They learned that the Bible warns us about loving money and they discussed ways to share money with others.  Then they played a trivia game to earn money, set up a store and the boys were able to shop for items that would be useful to their families.  The Upper Grammar kids compared and contrasted three influential wealthy Americans, Carnegie, Rockefeller and Morgan.  Then they made beautiful beaded bookmarks and all brought in books to donate to charity.

Tapestry of the Desert 1st Annual Art Show Benefit

On Sunday, August 9, Tapestry of the Desert had its first annual Art Show and Benefit.  Every child in the co-op created beautiful works of art, all to be sold and the profits going to benefit the Woodford family.  Mitchell Woodford is a dear friend and has a rare cancer-like disease in his bones. He will be having weekly chemotherapy treatments for many months.  The co-op raised almost $1000 to help this precious family!  It was an amazing evening.  The Fender family hosted the benefit and did a beautiful job showcasing the kids art.  The kids loved creating art, especially knowing that it was going to help a special friend.  They all looked forward to this evening and it exceeded all expectations!  Way to go kids!!

Small Group Time!

After large group time, we separated the kids into smaller groups, or their "classes".  There are four classes in the Tapestry of the Desert co-op.  The oldest kids are called the Upper Tapestry of Grace class, and they are:  Cameron, Cayman, Cheyanne, Connor, Daniel, Elli, and Justin.  The next oldest class is called the Lower Tapestry of Grace class, and they are:  Benjamin, Brayden, Caleb, Gavin and Josh.  Next is the Five in a Row class, which is just three boys: Ethan, Evan and Jadon.  And, last but not least is the youngest group of kids, the Before Five in a Row class:  Abbi, Jonah, Julia, Kade and Noah.  Each of these classes is named after the curriculum they will be studying for the year and the kids are grouped according to age and grade.  The two older classes meet in a classroom upstairs, while the younger classes stay downstairs.  It is in these classes that most of the work of co-op occurs.  This is where the lessons are taught, crafts are made, games played and activities done that are specific to the topics being studied that week.  

For the first week, the Upper Tapestry students learned all about immigration, even role playing and dressing up!  The Lower Tapestry kids studied the Statue of Liberty, making crowns and torches!  The Five in a Row boys read the story, "The Bee Tree" and made adorable bees while the Before Five in a Row children read "Jessie Bear, What do You Wear." They made cute felt bears with interchangeable outfits!  What a great start to the new school year!