End of Unit 2 Celebration

On Tuesday December 3, the Tapestry of the Desert Co-op held it's Year 4, Unit 2 end of unit celebration.  We all gathered at Tumbleweed Park for a dinner of post-war era invented foods--like nachos, sloppy joes and frozen pizza!  The Upper Grammar class performed their skit--a reenactment of a Franklin Roosevelt "fireside chat.".  The kids even wrote parts of the skit themselves!  Great job, kids!  All of our kids worked really hard this unit and learned a lot, too!

Co-op in Review: December 5, 2013

We began our time together this week with a Christmas party!  What better reason do we have to celebrate than the birth of Jesus?  We ate some yummy Christmas treats and then played some games.  First we played a fun relay game where the kids had to unwrap and eat Hershey's kisses with gloves on and then we played Christmas carol Pictionary, where the kids had to sing the Christmas carol in order to get the points!  In our classes, we learned about post war America.  After the war, America needed to heal and we were ready to get back to normal!  New words like "baby boom" and "suburbia" were entering our vocabulary.  TV's were in almost every home, a car in every driveway.  And, that changed how we interacted with each other.  But, even though things were returning to normal in America, there were big problems for the Jews who had survived the holocaust.  Where would they go?  Should there be a Jewish homeland in Palestine?  And, another thing that was not normal--the Presidential Election of 1948.  Thomas Dewey was predicted and favored by all to beat Harry Truman, but work horse Harry pulled off a stunning surprise defeat on election night!  The Dialectic class studied this election in depth, and made campaign buttons of their own design!  The Upper Grammar class studied the tensions in the Middle East as many Jews desired to go home to Israel.  They made prayer journals to pray for the people of this tension filled area.  The Lower Grammar class learned about the cultural changes and inventions of the post-war era.  And, they made silly putty.  How fun!  The Five in a Row class read the sweet Christmas book, "God Gave Us Christmas."  And, they had a party and made adorable banners to celebrate Jesus' birthday!

Co-op in Review: November 21, 2013

This week, we wrapped up our studies of World War II.  The kids learned about the Allies attack at Normandy France on June 6, 1944--known to us today as D-Day.  This was the Allies's secret plan to attack the Nazi troops in France, go ashore and into Nazi occupied lands and liberate Europe.  Thanks to the sacrifice of many men, D-Day was a turning point in the War, the Allies liberated France and defeated the forces Hitler and his Nazi political and military regime.  The Dialectic class spent their time mapping out the D-Day invasion.  Each student came prepared with information about one of the five beaches that the Allies landed upon and that information was put into maps.  The Upper Grammar class learned a lot about technology and innovation.  They made homemade flashlights out of batteries.  And they worked!  The Lower Grammar class celebrated the heroes of World War II by making medals to honor the brave men and women who were willing to make the greatest sacrifice to ensure the freedom we know today.  The Five in a Row class read the classic Thanksgiving book, "Cranberry Thanksgiving".  They then made adorable turkeys out of paper bags.  Awesome job, everyone!

Co-op in Review: November 14, 2013

This week, our classes learned about the American involvement in World War II, and how our involvement really started to turn the tide of the war.  We learned about the utter brutalities of the war, the lives that were lost, the battles that were fought and the atrocities of the war--including the torture and killing of millions of Jews in concentration camps.  The Dialectic kids got out their sewing needles and made Garrison caps, like those the American soldiers wore.  The Upper Grammar class made propaganda posters, showing support for our troops and the Allied war effort.  The Lower Grammar class dug deep into the events of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, by making salt maps of Oahu, showing where each damaged battleship was located.  And, the Five in a Row class read the book, "Warm as Wool."  It's the story of a pioneer family and how they had to work hard and be very patient just to get a small amount of wool to keep their family warm.  The kids then made cute lambs out of cotton balls!