Co-op in Review: August 25, 2011

This week in our history classes, we studied the feudal system in medieval Europe.  Feudalism was a fascinating development.  In Europe during the time of the Viking invaders, Europeans did not have strong leadership in the form of kings so the system of feudalism developed.  Wealthy lords and nobles built castles to protect themselves and their families, and free citizens voluntarily put themselves under the authority of the manor owners for their protection.  In return, they would help protect the castle and work for the lord.  Layer upon layer eventually developed, and eventually there was a pyramid-like class structure with the kings, nobles and knights at the top and serfs and peasants at the bottom.  The Upper Grammar class focused on the invaders from the north, making a long boat like the Vikings would have used for exploration and conquest.  Meanwhile, the Lower Grammar class made stained glass coats-of-arms like the knights would have worn to show which family or manor they had pledged their loyalty to.  Downstairs, the little ones read "Dinosaur Roar".  It's a rhyming story that teaches the kids opposites such as "roar/squeak" and "fierce/meek".  The kids then made some ferocious looking dinosaur masks and decorated them with stickers and jewels.

Co-op in Review August 18, 2011

This week in our history studies, we took a journey to Arabia where we learned about Mohammad, a supposed prophet of the god Allah.  Mohammad was the founder of a religion called Islam and the followers of Islam are known as Muslims.  Mecca is the holy city of Islam, located on the Arabian peninsula.  We learned about the growth of Islam, eventually spreading into the Byzantine Empire, all the way east to India, throughout Arabia, across Northern Africa and even into Spain.  The Upper Grammar class did a craft to teach the kids about the geography of the region--making awesome (and delicious!) oases out of frosting, candy and animal crackers.  Oases are areas of the desert where there is a deep water supply and there are plants growing in an otherwise barren land.  These were important transportation centers for caravans of travelers throughout the Islamic Empire.  The Lower Grammar kids also made a partially edible craft this week.  They made models of Mosques out of boxes, paper towel tubes and sugar cones!   Mosques are centers of worship for those practicing Islam.  They turned out great!  Downstairs, the preschoolers read the book, "Mrs. Wishy Washy's Farm."  They giggled at this story of farm animals that ran away from home because they didn't want to take baths.  They learned quickly that home really isn't so bad!   They then finger painted with chocolate pudding and made a cute craft of pigs playing in the mud!

Co-op in Review: August 11, 2011

This week in co-op, we started out with a service project during our large group time.  Our co-op donated and filled 15 backpacks with school supplies for homeless children.  The kids worked together to lovingly fill each back pack with crayons, pencils, glue and notebooks.  We then prayed for these kids and their families--that they will have a great year in school, but most importantly that they will come to know the love of Jesus.  Our prayer is that they were able to see His love in our simple, small act of humble service.   In their classes, both the Upper and Lower Grammar kids discussed the Byzantine Empire.  The Byzantine Empire was what remained of the Roman Empire after the Western Empire fell to the Barbarian tribes.  The Byzantine Empire survived for hundreds of years after the fall of the west in 480 AD.  The kids learned about the most powerful emperor of Byzantine, Justinian I.  And, his equally powerful wife, Empress Theodora.   Under Justinian, the Byzantine Empire reached it's prime, as Justinian conquered many of the lands that were lost to the Barbarians.  We also learned that Justinian was a Christian, and during his reign, the Christian church in the East split from the Christian church in the West--led by the Pope in Rome.  Both classes made beautiful Byzantine mosaics to celebrate the artistic style of the Byzantines.  Downstairs, our preschoolers were reading the book "Barnyard Banter."  This rhyming book shows just how noisy a visit to the farm can be!  The kids then did a game of farm animal bowling and made shimmery hand print peacocks.

First Day of Co-op 2011-2012

Thursday August 4 was the big day!  Our first day of co-op for the 2011-2012 school year.  This year, we are blessed to have 10 amazing families and 31 awesome kids as members of Tapestry of the Desert.  We are all excited to learn all about the middle ages, Vikings, knights, castles, Aztecs, explorers, pilgrims, colonies, founding fathers and the America Revolution.  Returning from last year are the Cervantezes, Fenders, Glaziers, Kellers, Meiters, Nails, Roberts and Ryans.  And, we are thrilled to be joined this year by the Lee and Stenhoff families.  As usual, our co-op day began in the Commons for lunch together.  We then headed upstairs for our large group time--prayer, pledge, memory work and art study.  Afterwards, we broke up into our three classes:  Five in a Row, Lower Grammar and Upper Grammar.  Downstairs, the Five in a Row kids read the book, "Old McDonald Had a Farm."  They then made cute farmer figures out of toilet paper rolls.  Upstairs, the Lower and Upper Grammar classes joined forces to make salt dough maps of medieval Europe.  It was a great first day and we are all looking forward to a great year together!

Phoenix Zoo Field Trip

To celebrate the end of another great year, The Tapestry of the Desert Co-op had a wonderful field trip to the Phoenix Zoo. The weather was unseasonably cool and the kids and moms all enjoyed being outside with the animals, learning about and enjoying God's amazing creation.