Co-op in Review: September 22, 2010

This week in co-op, the Upper Grammar class discussed the animal sacrifices of ancient Israel and made the comparisons to Christ, the perfect Messiah. They then made scrolls out of parchment paper and wooden dowels. They wrote out Deuteronomy 6: 4-5 in calligraphy: "Israel, listen to me. The LORD is our God. The LORD is the one and only God. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul. Love Him with all your strength." Meanwhile, the Lower Grammar boys were learning all about the Jewish High Holy Days, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. They had a guest, Mr. Joe Simon, join them for a traditional Rosh Hashanah meal--with challah bread, apples and honey. Mr. Joe is a former Hebrew school teacher and answered the kids' questions, gave a traditional prayer over the meal and showed the kids how to blow a real shofar, which is a horn made of a ram's horn. Afterwards, the kids made their own shofars out of hose and funnels. Downstairs, our little ones in the Five in a Row class read the book Mirette on the High Wire. Then they had fun making butterflies and even more fun trying to get them to balance on a pencil. Surprisingly, almost everyone could balance their butterflies by themselves. Then they went outside to play their own balancing games. The kids did great walking forwards, backwards, jumping over rocks, spinning and racing on the curb and of course just enjoyed being outside of the room.

Arizona Museum of Natural History Field Trip!

On Wednesday, September 15, the Tapestry of the Desert Co-op took its first field trip! We went to the Arizona Museum of Natural History. The kids had a blast learning about ancient civilizations, watching the animatronic dinosaurs and they were even able to pan for gold in the creek outside! The best part of all was just being able to spend the afternoon together exploring!

Co-op in Review: September 8, 2010

This week, the Upper Grammar class took a look at the life of the Patriarchs as they acted out scenes from the lives of the patriarchs families from Abraham leaving Ur to travel to Canaan through Joseph being sold into slavery opening the path for the Israelites to settle in Egypt. They then tried their hands at weaving on cardboard looms. The Lower Grammar class studied the history of the Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Joseph. They then sat down together for a lentil stew meal. For a craft, they used a straw loom to weave yarn into a bookmark. The Five in a Row class read Ask Mr. Bear. Then the kids colored and cut out a card for their mom about giving Bear Hugs. Then they played a color matching game with different types of animals.

Co-op in Review: September 1, 2010

Today, the Upper Grammar class did a review of the Tower of Babel story, discussing what God did in confusing the languages and spreading people out across the land. Then they colored maps of Mesopotamia, Sumer and Egypt. For a craft, they made clay tablets and the kids used nails to carve their names in cuneiform. To end the class, they played a homemade board game answering questions on the Gilgamesh epic and reviewing vocabulary words. The Lower Grammar class also studied the Tower of Babel and the boys built their own towers using graham crackers and marshmallow cream. They played a game where each student made up their own “gibberish” language and tried to communicate with the other students. They understood how hard it would be to live where you couldn’t understand anyone. They discussed why God did this and how we need to be careful not to let pride take control in our lives. The FIAR kids read "A New Coat for Anna." It's the story of Anna and her mother who trade the few valuables they have left after World War II to get the things they need to make Anna a new winter coat. The kids had fun learning the steps need to make a coat and then they tie dyed coffee filters.