End of Unit 4 Celebration! May 12, 2011

Our end of unit celebration for Unit 4, not only marked the end of a fantastic unit, but the end of a wonderful year together! We gathered to celebrate at Arizona Community Church with a fantastic Roman feast! And, we certainly did feast! It was great to spend time together, deepening our friendships and reminiscing about the past school year. We were all excitedly making plans for the next year, while sadly saying goodbye to our dear friends, the Canodes, who won't be joining us next year. The evening started with dinner, then we had a promotion ceremony for the three students who are moving up to a higher level next year: Ethan Keller who is moving to Lower Grammar and Brayden Nail and Jonah Mieter who are both moving to Upper Grammar. Then certificates were given to all of the students and we enjoyed a photo slide show tribute to the Amazing Canode family. Finally, the kids were able to share their memory work for the quarter and the Upper Grammar performed a play about the assassination of Julius Caesar. It was a fun, full evening of friendship, food and fun!

Co-op in Review: May 11, 2011

This was our last regular co-op meeting of the 2010/2011 school year! What a great year it has been, it's hard to believe it's almost over! Both the Upper Grammar kids and the Lower Grammar kids wrapped up their study of the Romans. This was a review week for both levels. The kids spent some time in their classes reviewing how Rome split, and learning about Rome's first Christian emperor, Constantine. Then both classes joined and the kids all made really neat standards, bearing a design for their families, their faith or just something fun! Meanwhile, the FIAR class read Corduroy, the classic tale of a department store bear who climbs down from his shelf to look for his lost button. The story has a happy ending, when Corduroy is purchased by a little girl and is taken home. Then the kids made adorable Corduroy pictures complete with removable buttons!

Co-op in Review: May 4, 2011

This week, the Upper Grammar class focused their studies on the martyrs of the early Christian church. They talked about the faith of these brave men and women, their strength and conviction. In addition they learned about modern day martyrs, prayed for those who are being persecuted and those who are being called to hostile areas to share the gospel. They also learned about Voice of the Martyrs, an organization that aids Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith. Finally, they made soap carvings of Christian symbols. The Lower Grammar class focused their studies on the games of the Romans. First, they discussed games for adults, mainly gladiator fights and chariot races. Then, they learned about some of the games Roman children might play--dice, knuckle bones and trigon. Then they took turns fighting each other in mock gladiator battles. The Five in a Row class was busy reading "Storm in the Night." When the lights go out, a young boy listens to tales from his grandfather. Without most of his senses, he must imagine how things look, feel and sound. The kids then did various activities to learn about our five senses, including making froot loop rainbows that are both beautiful and delicious!

Co-op in Review: April 27, 2011

This week both Tapestry classes studied Imperial Rome in the context of being a secular backdrop to the development and growth of the early church. The classes learned about typical Roman cities during this time and the every day life of a Roman citizen during this period of peak Roman expansion and conquest. One of the best means we have today for learning about Ancient Rome in the first century A.D. is the preserved remains of Pompeii. Pompeii was a bustling Roman city, nestled between the sea and beautiful Mount Vesuvius. Then, in 79 A. D., Vesuvius erupted and literally buried the city alive. Archaeologists have recently uncovered the buried city and have learned so much about the Romans from these artifacts. The Lower Grammar class made model volcanoes and erupted them on the church lawn to learn first hand the power of a volcano. The Upper Grammar kids meanwhile made beautiful sand candles in jars representative of the Saturnalia candles the Romans would have used during their festivals. Downstairs, the Five in a Row class read the story, "Night of the Moonjellies". Seven year old Mark is on his way to help his grandmother run her hot dog stand when he discovers a jellylike substance and places it in a bag of sea water. That night, his grandmother takes him out into the ocean to discover thousands of moonjellies shimmering in the night. The class played a jellyfish game, practiced writing the letter "J" and then made hanging jellyfish out of coffee filters.

Co-op in Review: April 20, 2011

Co-op this week started out with an Easter Party! We celebrated and remembered what Jesus did for us on the cross. He bore the full wrath of God on our behalf, died, and then rose victorious three days later, conquering sin and death. Hallelujah! Mrs. Canode read the story, "The Tale of the Three Trees", a story about three trees whose dreams all end up coming true in unexpected ways as one tree becomes Jesus' manger, one become his boat, and one becomes the cross on which Jesus died. Afterwards, we made bookmarks with the jellybean poem attached and then enjoyed some Easter treats. In our classes, both the Upper and Lower Grammar classes learned firsthand just how amazing Roman architecture and design really was. They combined forces to construct and design aqueduct systems out of cereal boxes and paper towel rolls. The Five in a Row class read "Play with Me." It's the story of a little girl who goes into the meadow to play with the animals, but they all run away from her. Until she sits quietly by the pond and the animals slowly begin to approach her. The kids all discussed whether they would like to pet animals such as chipmunks, frogs, snakes and bugs. They also made cute little bug boxes.