End of Unit 3 Celebration!

On Tuesday, March 4, Tapestry of the Desert celebrated the end of Year 4, Unit 3.  We have learned a lot this unit.  We learned about the post-war 1950's and it's relative peacefulness.  And, we learned about the turbulent, chaotic 1960's with the Civil Right's protests,  the Vietnam War, the war protests, and the assassinations of many leaders including John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.  The kids did a great job reciting their memory work and then we had a great time sharing all the work we did this unit.  Fabulous job everyone!

Co-op in Review: March 6, 2014

This week, our history classes studied the later part of the 1960's.  The Vietnam War is in full swing, we are sending over troops and the evening news is broadcasting images of the fighting and deaths.  Racial tensions are heating up in the cities--especially in the north.  As farms mechanize, many of the black farm workers in the south are crowding into cities, without jobs or money.  Lyndon Johnson's dream of a great society has become a nightmare.  College campuses are teeming with war protests and war protesters.  An entire counter culture is developing--we know them as hippies--protesting for peace, living together and listening to a brand new type of music.  And, on top of it all, the hero of the Civil Rights movement has been assassinated.  Martin Luther King is killed at his hotel in Memphis.  The country couldn't be more tense and seems to be on the brink of falling apart!  The Dialectic class spent their time making a huge craft.  They made Vietnamese dragons.  They really used their creativity!  The Upper Grammar class learned more about the hippies.  They tie dyed bandanas and learned about the most popular musical group of all times--The Beatles. The Lower Grammar class did some tie dying of their own.  They used water color paints and dyed coffee filters. The Five in a Row class read the book, The Salamander Room."  They then made their own salamander room dioramas out of shoe boxes!

Co-op in Review: February 27, 2014

All of the Tapestry classes studied the beginnings of the United State's involvement in a war in a far off land--Vietnam!  Our involvement started with us sending weapons and training soldiers in South Vietnam, but after a while, we were sending troops to fight in the thick, tropical jungles of Vietnam.  The kids learned about this country--it's people, culture and geography, and enjoyed doing activities in co-op to learn even more!  The Dialectic class had a real treat, they had a guest speaker come and talk to them.  Lt. Col. Thomas Waldron visited the class and told about how he flew rescue and recovery missions in Vietnam.  The kids loved learning directly from a war hero and asked many questions.  The Upper Grammar class researched and created lap books all about Vietnam.  They also had a pizza and cookie party!  The Lower Grammar class made adorable Vietnamese peasant hats, like those work by rice farmers in Vietnam.  The Five in a Row class read the book, "The Story of Ferdinand."  It's the story of Ferdinand, a bull in Spain, who is picked to be in the bull fights, but would rather be sitting under a tree smelling the flowers!  They made adorable little Ferdinand figures out of toilet paper rolls!

Co-op In Review: February 20, 2014

This week in Co-op we studied some events at the beginning of the 1960's.  Charismatic John F. Kennedy had been elected president in 1960 and he soon faced his first major crisis.  It was a nuclear weapons stand off in nearby Cuba, a communist country just miles from Florida.  The Soviets ended up removing their weapons from Cuba and the crisis and potential war had been averted.  Kennedy also promised to send a man to the moon in the decade of the 1960's.  This milestone was achieved, but Kennedy did not live to see it.  The kids also studied more of the events and turmoil of the Civil Rights struggle in the southern states--learning about how children were involved in marches and just how awful things were for black citizens living in Birmingham.  The Upper Grammar class completed a Cuban Missile Crisis simulation in their class.  The Soviets, American and Cubans all strategized and tried to outwit each other.  The Upper Grammar class also studied the Cuban Missile Crisis, making neat Cuba Cubes--and learned many interesting facts about Cuba.  The Lower Grammar class studied the space race and made awesome space packs to help them on their journeys to the moon!  The Five in a Row class read the book, "Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car."  Mr. Gumpy goes for a ride and everyone wants to go with him!  The kids then made their own motor cars and took a ride around the church campus!