End of Unit 4 Celebration! May 12, 2011

Our end of unit celebration for Unit 4, not only marked the end of a fantastic unit, but the end of a wonderful year together! We gathered to celebrate at Arizona Community Church with a fantastic Roman feast! And, we certainly did feast! It was great to spend time together, deepening our friendships and reminiscing about the past school year. We were all excitedly making plans for the next year, while sadly saying goodbye to our dear friends, the Canodes, who won't be joining us next year. The evening started with dinner, then we had a promotion ceremony for the three students who are moving up to a higher level next year: Ethan Keller who is moving to Lower Grammar and Brayden Nail and Jonah Mieter who are both moving to Upper Grammar. Then certificates were given to all of the students and we enjoyed a photo slide show tribute to the Amazing Canode family. Finally, the kids were able to share their memory work for the quarter and the Upper Grammar performed a play about the assassination of Julius Caesar. It was a fun, full evening of friendship, food and fun!

Co-op in Review: May 11, 2011

This was our last regular co-op meeting of the 2010/2011 school year! What a great year it has been, it's hard to believe it's almost over! Both the Upper Grammar kids and the Lower Grammar kids wrapped up their study of the Romans. This was a review week for both levels. The kids spent some time in their classes reviewing how Rome split, and learning about Rome's first Christian emperor, Constantine. Then both classes joined and the kids all made really neat standards, bearing a design for their families, their faith or just something fun! Meanwhile, the FIAR class read Corduroy, the classic tale of a department store bear who climbs down from his shelf to look for his lost button. The story has a happy ending, when Corduroy is purchased by a little girl and is taken home. Then the kids made adorable Corduroy pictures complete with removable buttons!

Co-op in Review: May 4, 2011

This week, the Upper Grammar class focused their studies on the martyrs of the early Christian church. They talked about the faith of these brave men and women, their strength and conviction. In addition they learned about modern day martyrs, prayed for those who are being persecuted and those who are being called to hostile areas to share the gospel. They also learned about Voice of the Martyrs, an organization that aids Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith. Finally, they made soap carvings of Christian symbols. The Lower Grammar class focused their studies on the games of the Romans. First, they discussed games for adults, mainly gladiator fights and chariot races. Then, they learned about some of the games Roman children might play--dice, knuckle bones and trigon. Then they took turns fighting each other in mock gladiator battles. The Five in a Row class was busy reading "Storm in the Night." When the lights go out, a young boy listens to tales from his grandfather. Without most of his senses, he must imagine how things look, feel and sound. The kids then did various activities to learn about our five senses, including making froot loop rainbows that are both beautiful and delicious!