Co-op in Review: January 17, 2013

Our main topic this week was the short but significant Crimean War, which was fought from 1854-1856 in the Black Sea region.  England and France teamed up against Russia, to limit their growing power and influence in the Baltic region.  This war was the first that used railroads and telegraphs and the first to be photographed.  The war however has become famous for military incompetence on both sides--with both sides eventually withdrawing from active involvement in European affairs for years.  The Crimean War made a young nurse, Florence Nightingale famous.  Florence's work during and after the war led to the introduction of modern nursing methods and sanitation procedures that became very important in America just a few short years later.  The Dialectic class made beautiful scrapbooks about the life of Florence Nightingale.  While the Upper Grammar Class and Lower Grammar class listened to a guest speaker--Diane Kuefler--a retired nurse.  She described what it is like to be a nurse today, and then took questions from the kids. She taught the kids a lot about cleanliness and how to clean your hands thoroughly.  Then the kids did an experiment where they could see firsthand how good a job they do at washing their own hands!  The Five in a Row class read The Snowy Day.  This is the classic story of a little boy who wakes up to discover that it has snowed!  The kids made cute snowflakes out of coffee filters and made cut out snow angels!

Co-op In Review: January 10, 2013

Happy New Year!  This was our first day back to co-op after a long Christmas break.  It was good to get back in to the normal swing of things!  This week, our history classes took a trip to Asia and learned about things going on in China and Japan.  These countries are quite content with their cultures and were not seeking trade relationships with other countries.  However, Western countries were very interested in some of the things they had to offer them--silks, porcelain and tea.  Eventually, the Opium Wars opened up trade with China and the US Navy, under the command of Commodore Matthew Perry pressured the Japanese to once again open their ports to Western traders.  The Dialectic Class did not spend much time discussing China and Japan--they were busy finishing up their Oregon Trail simulation that was left hanging at the end of 2012.  The pioneers made it to Oregon, suffered some losses, but had many successes along the way as well!  The Upper Grammar and Lower Grammar kids both started class with a Chinese food feast.  The kids loved sampling the dishes!  Then the Upper Grammar boys made Chinese Peasant hats, while the Lower Grammar kids made Chinese lanterns.  A big thanks to Mrs. Lee, who was a guest speaker for both classes.  She answered questions from the kids about life in China, and taught the kids how to hold and use chopsticks!  The Five in a Row class read the book Katy and the Big Snow.  Persistent Katy never gives up as she digs out the city of Geopolis from a big snow storm that buries the entire town!  The kids then had a blast making yummy snowmen out of marshmallows and frosting!

End of Unit 2 Celebration!

On December 11, 2012, Tapestry of the Desert had it's end of Unit 2 celebration at Arizona Community Church.  The kids first recited their memory work for the Unit.  All three history classes memorized the Luke 2 1-7, the verses that describe the birth of Jesus.  The Five in a Row class sang parts of the song "Go Tell it on the Mountain".  Both classes did an amazing job--they do so well with such challenging memory work assignments!  Afterwards, it was time for the Lower Grammar and Upper Grammar class to perform the play, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.  The kids each had a part and they all did a fantastic job.  They really enjoyed getting into the parts, rehearsing and performing.  Finally, it was time for the kids to show off their work from the first two units of co-op and enjoy some yummy treats and a time of fellowship with each other.  Merry Christmas, and may God bless us, everyone!

Co-op in Review: December 6, 2012

Co-op this week started with a Christmas Party!  The birth of Jesus is a great reason to celebrate!  We started out by singing Christmas carols, then we played a fun game with candy canes and finally we ate bunches of yummy treats!  During class time, the Dialectic kids continued to work on their Oregon Trail simulation.  They are close to finishing it, but stay tuned as the final results will come in 2013!  The Upper Grammar class made covered wagons, just like the ones the pioneers would have used to cross North America on the Oregon Trail--except ours were made out of popsicle sticks and paper bags!  The Lower Grammar class took a pretend journey on the Oregon trail.  They boarded their wagons, and formed a wagon train as they traveled throughout the Arizona Community Church campus.  They faced hunger, Native Americans and bad weather.  They also camped for the night and ate Johnny Cakes.  The Five in a Row class read the book, "A Christmas Prayer."  They then made adorable manger babies--to remind us that the Son of God came to earth as a baby!

Co-op in Review: November 29, 2012

This was week two of three for the dialectic's class project--a simulation of the Oregon Trail adventure.  The kids continued to spin the wheel to see what their wagon trails would be doing next--sometime making wise moves, sometimes moving themselves into dangerous situations.  The other history classes learned about the history of the Western territories.  They read about the Mexican-American wars and the first cowboys in North America, the vaqueros.  The Upper Grammar class made totem poles--to remind them of the false religions the native Americans of the West would have practiced.  The Lower Grammar students made decorative Mexican ponchos out of paper bags.  The Five in a Row class read the book, "Who is Coming to Our House."  The made an advent craft to remind them of the real reason for Christmas as they count down the days!