Co-op in Review: August 20, 2015

This week, our history classes switched gears a bit and took a whole week to learn about the religion Islam.  They learned about Mohammad, the man whom Muslims believe is a prophet and who founded the religion.  They learned about the 5 pillars of Islam, and what each of these pillars include.  They also learned that Islam is a works-based religion, and that the Muslims are a lost people, trying desperately and failing to please God, and that they need our prayers and they need Jesus.  The Rhetoric class spent their time discussing the theology of the Muslims, and some of the passages in the Quran.  The Dialectic class finished up their three-week-long castle project.  They put their castle pieces together and were able to see their final product.  It was huge and came to gather so well.  The Upper Grammar classes learned about Arab culture by creating models of an Arab marketplace.  They turned out great!  The Lower Grammar kids turned boxes, paper towel rolls, and sugar cones into models of a Mosque--the house of worship for those practicing Islam.  In Five in a Row, the kids stayed on topic with the rest of the classes, and they read the book, "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves."  In this classic Arab tale, Ali Baba discovers treasure, but doesn't turn greedy!  The kids then made treasure boxes of their own!

Co-op in Review: August 13, 2015

This week, our Tapestry classes learned all about the culture, geography and religion of the Byzantine Empire, or what was formerly the Eastern Roman Empire.  They also learned about monasticism in western Europe, the Great Schism--a break in the Christian Church between the Catholic church under the Pope in Rome and the Eastern Orthodox church based in Constantinople.  The Rhetoric class discussed these issues and more, in-depth.  They also previewed and got their assignments for their upcoming "Dateline" news production on the Crusades.  The Dialectic class continued to make great progress on their castle project.  Instead of making individual castles, they decided to make a gigantic "class" castle by joining all of their parts together.  Great teamwork, class!  The Upper Grammar kids made gorgeous stained glass art, like the windows in the great cathedrals of the time.  They also practiced illuminated manuscript, like the monks would have used when hand copying books.  The Lower Grammar class learned about a Byzantine art form--the mosaic.  They then made fabulous mosaics out of little pieces of paper.  They turned out great!  Our Five in a Row class read the book, "Caedmon's Song".   The book tells the story of the first known Anglo poet, Caedmon, a cow herder, and how he struggles to even write a song!  The kids made adorable cow faces.  Mooooo!

First Day of Co-Op, 2015!

Thursday, August 6! That's the day we've been waiting for all summer . . . our first day of Co-op for the 2015-2016 school year!  And, wow!  Did it ever come fast.  At least for the moms!  This year, we have 13 families and over 40 kids!  This is the biggest group in Tapestry of the Desert's 8 year history, and this year, we have 5 classes--a Rhetoric level class for the first time. We sadly said goodbye to our dear friends the Meiters and Schumachers.  But, said a happy hello to the Hwangs and Wongs. The Rhetoric class had a guest speaker, Pastor Smedley Yates of Grace Bible Church in Chandler.  He talked with the class about having a Christian worldview, especially when learning about such topics in history as the crusades.  The Dialectic class started a three week project, building castles out of pint sized cartons and construction paper.  They are looking awesome!  In Upper Grammar, the kids learned about the fall of the Western Roman Empire and they made delicious maps out of cookie dough.  The Lower Grammar class also did some mapping, but they made models of landforms out of bread.  How creative!  Finally, our Five in a Row class read the book, "Brigid's Cloak."  It's the ancient Irish story of one of their most beloved saints, Brigid.  Brigid receives a beautiful blue cloak when she is born and as she grows, the cloak (or her imagination?) takes her to a crowded city called Bethlehem! The kids then made cone dolls of Brigid!