Co-op in Review: April 25, 2013

All of our classes are learning more about what life was like just before the turn of the century.  Life is looking more and more like life today, but it is still very different.  Life in the cities is tough, especially for poor immigrant families.  And, there are few in the country who are just getting more and more wealthy, and controlling more and more of the economy and the government.  Programs were started to help the poor, and one of those programs was the Orphan Trains.  Orphans were put on trains in the cities and taken all over the country to be adopted by families, usually in rural areas.  The Dialectic class completed their final week of their Immigration study.  This week, they were able to present their reports to the class.  They did a fantastic job!  The Upper Grammar kids put their sewing skills to work in making rag dolls, like those the poor immigrant children would have played with.  The Lower Grammar class made paper flowers, like immigrants would have made in sweat shops.  They made them individually and as assembly lines--learning that working together makes things more efficient!  They also made sandwich boards out of themselves, advertising various products of the time.  The Five in a Row class read the book, "Angus Lost".  Angus the dog learns that the grass is not always greener on the other side, when he sets off on an adventure and ends up getting lost!  The kids made cute little Angus dog puppets and headbands.