Co-op Graduates!

This year, Tapestry of the Desert Co-op had their first ever graduating class!  These five high school students have been together in class for 8 years now, starting as Lower Grammar students and now graduating at the Rhetoric level.  Because they are moving on to take community college classes next year, they will no longer be participating in co-op.  Cameron, Cayman, Connor, Daniel, and Elli, you will be missed dearly!  But, we look forward to seeing what God has in store for your futures!

Co-op in Review: May 11, 2017

Our last week of co-op for the year!  Wow!  It's been a great year and we've learned a lot.  Now, it's time for Summer Vacation, but in a blink of an eye, it will be August and we'll be back together again!  This week, our younger classes learned about some remarkable women:  Hellen Keller and Marie Curie.  They both overcame great odds to break through barriers to women during this time. The Upper Grammar class and Dialectic also learned about the history of Hawaii and American Imperialism during this time.   The Upper Grammar class made volcanoes--like those in Hawaii.  And, they also made traditional Hawaiian percussion instruments and learned how to play them in rhythm with each other.  The Dialectic and Rhetoric classes spent time reviewing for their upcoming exams.  The Rhetoric class also gave presentations to other classes about the presidents they studied in depth this unit.  The Five in a Row class read the book, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish."  After reading this classic counting and rhyming book by Dr. Seuss, they did some very fishy crafts and activities!

Co-op in Review: May 4, 2017

This week, our classes studied a variety of topics!  The Lower Grammar class learned about the famous Klondike Gold Rush.  Then they had fun panning for gold!  The Upper Grammar class learned about the gold standard, catalog ordering of goods, and how magazines developed and flourished during this time.  They also learned about some new styles of art that were becoming popular at the time, and they did an art project in the style of Paul Gauguin.  The Dialectic class finished their study of wealthy captain of industry Andrew Carnegie and made duct tape wallets to help them keep track of all their money!  The Rhetoric class learned about the plight of American farmers during the Gilded Age and the rise of the Populist party--which sought to help the farmers and the most disadvantaged in society.  They then completed their presidential biography projects.  The Five in a Row class read the book, "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom".  They had fun with different alphabet games and activities while learning what happens when all of the letters crowd onto a coconut tree!

Co-op in Review: April 27, 2017

This week, our studies into immigration continue for all of our Tapestry classes.  The younger kids learned about the daily lives of immigrants and about the orphan trains that carried orphans to new families in rural areas of the country to join new families.  The older learned about the business ventures and practices of Andrew Carnegie and also studied the problems facing the New South--such as poverty, segregation and racial hatred--all which were occurring as the people there attempted to rebuild.  The Lower Grammar class had fun with paper dolls, which children of this time would have played with throughout their childhoods.  The Upper Grammar class made Carnegie libraries out of cardboard boxes.  The Dialectic class had a special guest, Kathy Keller, who is a genealogist and taught the kids about how to research their family histories--whether their ancestors came through Ellis Island, or came to America in some other way or at some other time.  And the Rhetoric kids continued to work on their Presidential biography projects.  The Five in a Row class read the book, "When I Was Young in the Mountains."  They then made beautiful mountain paintings!

Co-op in Review: April 20, 2017

This week, our classes continued to learn about immigration in America by looking at the people, experiences and stories of Ellis Island.  The kids also learned about captains of industry, such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and John Pierpont Morgan.  The older kids learned about how the business leaders developed industries using consolidation, trusts and monopolies.  The Lower Grammar class and the Upper Grammar class both made cute personalized banks.  The Dialectic kids finished up their immigration simulation--with some staying in America, while others were deported! The Rhetoric class worked hard on their discussions and their Presidential biography projects.  The Five in a Row class read the book, "Somewhere in the Ocean."  This rhyming book teaches children the names of marine animals and their babies!